House & Garden Edition • Spring 2010 • BLOCK ISLAND TIMES
Continued from previous page all open to the public whether you owned property nearby or not. From then on, the Risoms rented a house on the island for a week or longer each summer until 1965 when Risom bought seven acres of land for $5,000 and built a prefabricated house to his own specifications. The land is near the northern tip of the island and affords a commanding view of the North Light and the waters of Block Island Sound. In the 1950s and 1960s, Risom’s furniture company was prospering with showrooms in New York City and Chicago as well as in London. From 1954 to 1974, Risom organized the production of his furniture designs so that the parts were manufactured in the southern United States and sent to northeast Connecticut to be assembled in an old mill in North Grosvenordale, a village in the town of Thompson. At its height of operation, the company had 300 employees, including many high school dropouts. Risom beams with pride when he describes how he worked with the state of Connecticut’s labor department to set up an adult education program at the mill for his employees who did not have high school diplomas. “We hired teachers from four or five communities to come and teach our workers from 4 to 6 p.m. three days a week. Every six months we would run cars into Hartford for them to take the high school equivalency test,” he says. The 1970s were a decade of change and emotional challenge for Risom. In 1974, with energy costs rising because of the national oil and gas shortage, the furniture company was sold. Risom’s beloved wife, Iben, became ill with cancer and died in January 1977 when their youngest son,
Core Drilling
Sven, was only 17. Two years later, Risom married his present wife, Henny. She had been a childhood friend of Iben in Denmark when both women were classmates at a girls’ school. Iben and Henny kept in touch over the years and with their husbands met for dinner in London where Henny was an osteopathic doctor. “Henny’s husband died first, then Iben died, and so I said to Henny, ‘How would you feel about living in the United States.’ She said she would never live in the United States, but she came to visit, and stayed,” he says. In his 94th year, Risom views his life’s work as a combination of artistic design and practical business acumen. For the past five years, Ralph Pucci International, which has a New York City showroom, has been selling a new line of furniture Risom designed. Some pieces are variations on Risom’s older designs; still others are new. They include a sofa, dining tables, side tables and an armchair. Design Within Reach also sells many Risom-designed furniture pieces. Risom is especially happy that all four of his children love Block Island, where they grew up and continue to spend time. As for married life, he smiles, “Henny and I have been married for only 30 years, so we are still newlyweds.”
f
Page 7
Island Living
Keep up with The Times on Facebook! Are you on Facebook? So are we!
Become a fan of The Block Island Times, and get the latest breaking news in your news feed as it happens. From your facebook account do a search for The Block Island Times, and become a fan.
Ocean State Style
Ground Testing 25+ Years Experience
don@lakesideelectricinc.com
Jed van Dale Proprietor
Back Alley Woodworks Furniture Building, Repair and Restoration 355 B Main St Wakefield, RI 02879 jedvandale@hotmail.com • backalleyonline.com • (401) 789-6939
Accomplish your remodeling vision, ideas and dreams for your Block Island retreat with Marvin Windows and Doors.
The Right Support
The Right Advice
The Right Price
The Right Service
401.783.0613 or visit www.the-right-click.net South County Commons South Kingstown, RI
8 Coddington Highway • Middletown, RI 1666 Post Road • Warwick, RI
877.814.9771 • www.BuildWithTheH.com/BI Humphrey’s Staffs Its Own Professional Installation Crew