Milford: Curran, 'Mr. Library,' remembered as 'people person'
By Bill Shaner/Daily News Staff
MILFORD – Often seen wearing a corduroy baseball hat etched with the gold-embroidered "Mr. Library," Paul Curran left a mark on Milford that stands as long as the 80 Spruce St. building he helped to foster.
Curran died Sunday at age 85 after a period of declining health.
The Highland Street resident and long-time Town Meeting member was an integral player in the 1986 construction of the Milford Town Library. A photographer who cut his teeth in the Korean War and then Manhattan, he was an active historian and genealogist, published author, news columnist and an active community figure.
"He took lots of pictures in his youth. He had a keen interest in history" said Dr. Richard Heller, a longtime friend and doctor of Curran's many cats at the Milford Animal Hospital.
"Education was always an important thing for him and I think the library was an extension of that," he said.
In 1983, he spoke before Town Meeting to acquire the $2 million needed for the library construction project. Effectively, he started the movement, said librarian Deborah Eastman.
"He felt very strongly that a community this size with this much history going back 200 years deserved a community space where learning and self advancement was available to all people," she said.
Eastman has worked at the library's reference desk for 20 years. She manages the Paul E. Curran Historical Collection.
Before the Spruce Street location, the library was housed in the basement of Memorial Hall, something Curran found inadequate and fuel to the fire of a construction project, said Eastman.
Described as eloquent and articulate by his peers, Curran fought for the funding, took it upon himself to see through the construction, then filled the Milford Town Library with art and a personal collection of historic books, documents, pictures and memorabilia.
Curran started a career in journalism with a 15-month tour in the Korean War, shooting stills and moving pictures.
"When you're in a foreign country, regardless of why, it exposes you to so much, it certainly opens up your eyes," said Evelyn Bon Tempo, a longtime friend. "I think it set him on a new path."
After returning from his tour, Curran worked with Bert Stern, a famous fashion and design photographer, in Manhattan. He returned to Milford to pursue an education. He received his bachelor's degree in English at Framingham State University with the help of the G.I. bill.
In 2013, Curran published the Milford Chronicles, a 150-page examination of Milford's character, through photographs and essays. The book opens with a picture he took himself in 1943 – a World War II tank rolling through town.
Throughout his career, Curran was chiefly interested in people – the human side of every story, as opposed to specializing in something, like industry or war, said Lyn Lovell, a secretary at the Milford Historical Commission whom Curran worked with closely.
"If I were ever going to count up his articles, 80 percent would be on people; he's a people person," she said.
A natural historian, Curran took keen interest in Milford's Irish heritage. Being the child of Irish immigrants, Curran's fascination with genealogy frequently took him overseas to Ireland. There he would trace bloodlines and history for his own knowledge and for anyone who asked, free of charge, said Bon Tempo.
"He said, whenever someone asked to pay, if you're going to make out a check, make it out to the Friends of the Milford Town Library," she said.
A Franciscan monk from Ireland Curran had befriended in his many overseas trips had recently reached out to the Bon Tempos regarding Curran's passing.
"He said he has taken flight to heaven, and I'm sure he is in heaven," said Bon Tempo.
Last year, Curran went to the Fatima Shrine in Medway to offer a confession, knowing it could be one of his last, she said.
"He came out of the booth and said 'I'm free.'"
Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-634-7582 or at wshaner@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bshaner_MDN.
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