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Will Cressy and Blodgett’s History
note: Background is Will M. Cressy as “Cy Prime” - his most famous character
Credits: most of the information, articles, photographs, etc. about Will M. Cressy & Blanche Dayne are from the Cressy family archives, as collected by Cressy Goodwin of Tolland, Connecticut.
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Will Cressy was a world-class Vaudeville entertainer and great friend to Blodgett Landing. He and his wife, Blanche Dayne, were famous vaudevillians from the 1890’s thru the 1920’s. He was the driving force at Blodgett’s to get the “Casino” build at the beginning of the 20th century. He was also president of the Blodgett’s COA (Cottage Owners Association) and a major COA supporter throughout his life. Blodgetts Landing could just as well be named “Cressy Landing” or “Cressytown”, or “Cressyville” due to his numerous contributions to the Landing.
Will Cressy was considered “the Bob Hope of World War I”. He was seriously injured by a mustard gas explosion in 1918 while entertaining the troops in France. This lead to his early retirement from vaudeville and death in May 1930.
He and his wife owned the cottage on “Cressy Point” where he entertained family and many famous show people. These few pages cover mainly Will Cressy’s activities and contributions to Blodgett Landing; his career as “Cressy & Dayne”; and a world-class playwriter. He once wrote a 1921 newspaper article entitled “C.O.A. and L.S.P.A. are Good Angels of Lake Sunapee” Well, it can be said that “Will Cressy was a Good Angel to Blodgett Landing”...
In August 1925 the COA gave a surprise dinner to honor Will Cressy’s contributions. You may be interested in looking at some memoribilia from that party - quite an affair. You can read an original letter and poem Will wrote in response to the dinner party.
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The Cressy’s (Will & Blanche) were at their cottage on “Cressy Point”, Lake Sunapee during the summers (1897-1925) when, I believe, it was the off-season for the Vaudeville players. They invited many Vaudevillians to “Weirinnett”, the cottage on Cressy Point. Eventually many Vaudevillians bought cottages in Blodgett Landing and performed at the Casino throughout the summer. Here are some photos of Cressy Point and “Weirinnett”.
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The complete Cressy Family History in zipped file format (18Mb), from the family archives, as collected by Cressy Goodwin of Tolland, Connecticut.
or
The abridged Cressy Family History - Will_Cressy in zipped format (12.5Mb), from the family archives, as collected by Cressy Goodwin of Tolland, Connecticut.
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