Cleveland, Duble & Arnold, Greenwich’s oldest real estate company, celebrates its centenary. I’ve always been grateful to the firm: it’s provided gainful employment to my little brother Gideon for more than twenty years and Tom Gorin, its co-owner, years ago had the wisdom to refuse to hire me, thus freeing me to find my own path of obnoxiousness that could never have been tolerated by a fine firm like Cleveland.
Besides that, Tom Gorin is a walking memory bank of Greenwich history. If I have any question about some long-ago owner or some particular home, Tom’s on my speed dial because he’ll have the answer (of course, since he’s the only one who does have this knowledge, he could tell me anything and I’d believe him. He may be the Edgar Martins of local historians, for all I know).
All in all, a great group of people, an excellent firm and with its institutional memory, they’ve seen it all, from boom times in the 20s, the Depression, and all the assorted ups and down since then. Happy birthday.
UPDATE: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Tom’s other unsung talent, that of mad musician. Here he is below, taken when the Sound Beach Volunteer Fire Department band performed at Obama’s inauguration.
Three cheers for the red, white and blue!
