The Bennett and Pratt families have deep roots in Homer, and in several columns last year, we learned about how the two families became intertwined through marriage. This is a continuation of that narrative, and if you missed the original articles, you will find the stories of Dr. Lester Pratt, Augustus H. Bennett, Emma G. Pratt, Lester P. Bennett, and Alice Ruth Watson on the Cortland County Historical Society’s blog at www.cortlandhistory.org.
On September 5, 1906, Lester Pratt Bennett and Alice Ruth Watson welcomed their son, Porter Kingsbury Bennett into the world, and four years later, another son, Malcolm Watson Bennett, completed their family. Little did they know then that their small family would soon become even smaller. After a short illness, Alice died in 1913, leaving her two little boys to grow up without her love and guidance. Their father would remain a widower until his death in 1930, leaving the Porter and Malcolm parentless in their early 20s.
Lester Bennett remained in Homer to raise his boys with the help of friends and family. Both Porter and Malcolm attended the Homer Academy, and Porter continued his education at Hamilton College. Lester was a businessman who was behind not only the Champion Milk Cooler Company but also the Ekenberg Milk Products Company. Although extraordinarily successful and innovative, Ekenberg eventually went bankrupt, leaving Lester the ability to focus on Champion, which eventually became Champion Sheet Metal. Both Ekenberg and Champion were family businesses, and Porter followed in his father’s footsteps by casting his lot with Champion Sheet Metal in 1922. Another business venture for Lester was the insurance industry. At the time of his death, he was a partner in the Bennett-Barrow Agency, which Porter and Malcolm became involved with as well. In time, the agency would become known as P.K. and M.W. Bennett, Inc.
Porter Bennett met Eleanor K. Fischer, and they were married in a small ceremony in 1937. After a honeymoon to Virginia, they moved into a beautiful home on Williams Street in Cortland. Eleanor was originally from Saranac Lake, but she settled right into her new community. She was a teacher in Cincinnatus and an active organizer in the Cortland Civic Music Association. She also worked on the Community Chest Fund Drive and was involved in the Hospital Aid Society. Porter and Eleanor had two children, Peter and Deborah.
Eleanor kept busy with her community activities and with the children, but Porter was the epitome of service above self. His list of community activities and achievements is lengthy and admirable. Some of the highlights include the Rotary and Elks clubs; board service and leadership roles at the Cortland Free Library, the Cortland County Historical Society (CCHS), and the YMCA; F & A M Cortlandville Lodge; and he was the City of Cortland Historian from about 1940 to 1976. There was a period of about three years from 1960-1962 that Mary Cooper Brown assisted him as historian. Porter was quite involved in the development of Greek Peak, and he served on the board as its president. He could be depended upon to serve his community capably and well while simultaneously raising his children together with Eleanor and running Champion Sheet Metal and the insurance agency with his brother.
Porter Bennett was an avid historian with a voracious appetite for finding answers to local history questions. He was an active member of CCHS from the 1930s until his death and authored many historical articles for the society’s newsletter as well as for the Cortland County Chronicles, a series of books published by CCHS. The content for the third volume of Chronicles is completely made up of Porter Bennett’s research, writing, and storytelling from his numerous speaking engagements. His handwritten notes and typed drafts fill an archival box in the vault at CCHS. Not only did Porter Bennett work tirelessly to preserve local history through his position as the City of Cortland Historian, but he was also actively involved during some of the most important years of growth for CCHS. He was a part of the Sesquicentennial (150-year anniversary) Celebration for Cortland County, an event largely led by the Historical Society. He was involved in the monumental task of moving CCHS from the Courthouse to the Suggett House in the 1960s, as well as with building an addition to the facility in the mid-1970s. He would not have spent so much time and energy on something in which he didn’t believe. Through his leadership and longtime support, he helped establish a permanent home for CCHS, a place where Cortland County history could be gathered and shared, a place that would provide stability for the future.
Eleanor Fischer Bennett died on March 6, 1975, and Porter followed her on April 21, 1976. Their two children would both live to be in their eighties, a shift from the unfortunately short lives of their parents and grandparents. Porter K. Bennett grew up in Homer but lived most of his life in Cortland. However, in death, he returned to Homer. He and Eleanor are at rest side by side in the Bennett family plot at Glenwood Cemetery. On Porter’s other side is his little brother Malcolm.
In the end, the tables turned, and Porter K. Bennett became the subject of this historian’s research! History is an unending circle of mysteries, which we seek to solve with elusive clues and remnants of memories. How Porter fits into the fabric of our community’s story is something that is important to know so we have a deeper appreciation and understanding of the past. To be sure, Porter lives on through his published stories and in the files at the Cortland County Historical Society as well as in the memories of those yet alive who knew him, but where would we be without the Porter Bennetts of the world who work ceaselessly to make our communities better places? The legacy left by Porter Bennett is still evident today by the institutions and organizations he helped to build and strengthen like the Cortland Free Library, the YMCA, the Cortland Rotary Club, the Cortland Elks, and the Cortland County Historical Society. People like Porter Bennett are the foundation of a strong community, and we are lucky to have had such a dedicated citizen like him blaze a path of community service for us to follow.
~Tabitha Scoville, CCHS Director