Harriet remembered

It is with sadness that I learned of Harriet Wilber's death on Thursday Sep14th. Her dedication, consistency, and commitment to our community had a beneficial impact that will be long felt and remembered.

My father served with Harriet on the Conservation Commission back in the 1970's under Mayor Kelly's administration. My brother was the same graduating class at Shelton High School with her son.

It was Harriet who encouraged me to become involved in the Conservation Commission in 1998. A subdivision was proposed near where I live, and a resident had been going door to door to make us aware of what was happening and how it might impact us. I attended the Conservation Commission's meeting where they were addressing the application. I had no involvement or frankly paid much attention to what was going on in Shelton government, but this was something that gave me concern, so I stayed for the whole meeting to understand more about how this group operated and made decisions. Harriet recognized my surname and asked if I was Bob Harbinson's son. I said I was and she took my staying for the whole meeting as having a "real" interest, saying that there was an open position if I was interested in joining. I thought about it and came to the understanding (after observing a few more meetings) that if I wanted to be part of the community I live in, I had to be involved, and not just because something was "in my back yard".

I came on the Commission in 1998 and learned an awful lot from Harriet and her co-chair Terry Jones over the years, eventually becoming co-chair with Harriet through to the present day. As her health was failing, and she found it difficult to participate, she wanted the best for the Commission's operation and had sent in a letter of resignation so that we could have a full slate of able volunteers. The Mayor would not accept it, as he felt she is too important to Shelton's Conservation efforts and that we would wait till she got back to full-strength and could rejoin us. Sadly, that didn't come to pass.

Harriet had been recognized over the years with several awards for her work, specifically with Conservation issues. One of them was the "Woman of Substance" recognition in Shelton. Our community has lost a real woman of substance. She will be missed, but I will fondly remember her for years to come.