Businessman Antonio “Tony” Pomerleau has two offices. There is Follett House at 69 College Street — an 1841 historic Burlington landmark — and there is “Paradise Found” — the office that he docks at the Burlington (Vermont) waterfront every summer. With the help of a cell phone and constant communication with the land office personnel, Mr. Pomerleau appears to conduct business and/or interviews with equal confidence on this floating summer paradise!

Early days

Antonio Pomerleau was born in Quebec, Canada, but the family eventually immigrated to the Newport area. Now a successful real estate entrepreneur, the 92 year-old Vermonter recalled his life in Newport and later Burlington.

Left to right: Donor Tony Pomerleau, Saint Michael’s President John J. Neuhauser, and Saint Michael’s Board of Trustees Chairman Joseph Garrity. Photo courtesy of Saint Michael’s College.

“I came up the hard way. As a young kid, I was always looking to make money. If I got a job for 50 cents, I’d find a friend, hire him and give him 25 cents. I’d keep the rest. I washed cars, trimmed store windows. I did anything and would trade anything for money. I also worked for the J.J. Newberry store.”

“Newport did a lot for me. Our family helped neighbors a lot, too. I had one brother and one sister. My brother was 10 years older than I. He always worked for me. Oh, yes, I remember the stock market crash in 1929 but around us most everyone farmed and traded locally. In the early 1900s many Vermont forests had been stripped bare for farming.”

Tony Pomerleau played hockey and baseball in school but never continued because he was too busy working. He did go to St. Charles Seminary in Canada. “It was not only a seminary for men studying for the priesthood but was a regular college, too.”

“My mother and I were very close. She lived with me and in 1946 when I married Rita Murphy, she lived with us. How did they get along? Well, one spoke no French and one spoke no English! But my wife soon learned to speak French,” he said.

“I came to Burlington in 1942 and worked for Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company. I decorated the store window and a picture of the window design was sent to the headquarters in Endicott-Johnson in New York state and I was hired then to work there for five years. I was known as a troubleshooter. They gave us fringe benefits. IBM (International Business Machines) copied the idea of offering employees fringe benefits. IBM’s headquarters were in Endicott-Johnson.”

“Returning to Burlington I borrowed money to buy a grocery store I had seen for sale. Three years later, I owned four stores. I changed the way the customers shopped. They were allowed to go about my store and find their own groceries. That’s the way all stores work today. I sold the stores and went into the wholesale business then started with the Ethan Allen Shopping Center on North Avenue. I started four or five other centers. In 1957 I also started a commercial insurance company,” he said.

Community activities

For almost two decades Pomerleau served on the Burlington Police Board. “Before Bernie Sanders ran for mayor of Burlington, he came to see me to seek support. I said of course, this is my town, too. He did a lot for the police force and we worked together on the department.” Eventually Pomerleau gave the former Acme Glass building, which sits next to Battery Park, to the department.

The name Pomerleau reminds the Burlington community of the traditional children’s Christmas Party that he sponsors each year. It is held at one of the local hotels and is very-well-attended. He also supports the Vermont National Guard’s Adjudant General’s annual December holiday celebration for Guard members and their families. In 2008 he was awarded the Patrick Henry Award, which recognizes civic leaders who “… give exceptional service to the National Guard.”

St. Michael’s College

Pomerleau has had a long connection with St. Michael’s College in Colchester. Two daughters, a son and two granddaughters have attended the college. He served terms on the board in 1970- 76 and 1987- 99. While on the board he saw the building of the Ross Sports Center, the Tarrant Student Recreation Center and the McCarthy Arts Center

“While I was a trustee, I advised the college on its financial structure. I suggested they keep the college small and not expand too much.” He was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws in 2004.

In October 2009, the Rita and Antonio Pomerleau Alumni Center was dedicated. Ernest Pomerleau, a graduate of the Class of 1965, was there with his father. (He serves on the college’s board of trustees).This ceremony was the culmination of a $1 million challenge grant the Rita and Antonio Pomerleau Foundation had initiated in the early 2000s. During the ceremonies, a plaque commemorating the Pomerleaus’ gift was unveiled.

Follett House

A word about Follett House — a Burlington landmark and currently the home of the Pomerleau Real Estate Agency. The elder Pomerleau and his son, Ernest, bought the house from the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1978. Despite a major fire in 1979 that heavily damaged the top floor and roof, the Pomerleaus were determined to restore it to its former glory and did just that.

Built in 1841 by “Empire builder” Timothy Follett, the house faces down the hill overlooking the docks, which Follett and a partner, Henry Mayo, owned at the time. The house was designed by Ammi B. Young, a well-known architect, and features six iconic pillars and a second-floor recessed balcony. Young also designed the University of Vermont’s presidential home and the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier.

Follett House had several owners and was used in earlier days to rent rooms to young working women, as headquarters of the Patriotic League during and after the first World War, and as a servicemen’s center. Also it had served as Red Cross headquarters for transient French war brides and a hospitality house run by the YWCA. In 1927 it was used by the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Charities offices and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Antonio Pomerleau has recieved many awards over the years for his community service, including being named “Vermonter of the Year” by the Burlington Free Press. Vermont’s Senior Senator Patrick Leahy, Pomerleau’s nephew by marriage to Marcelle Leahy, has described “Uncle Tony” as “one of the most amazing citizens of our remarkable State of Vermont” and noted that, despite the fact he and his wife, Rita, “faced the tragedy of losing two beautiful daughters” he has retained his position as a leading citizen of our State … and … as an example to all of us.

But Antonio never forgot his Newport roots. “ Let me tell this story,” he said. “When my father was very ill, we had no money for a private room in the Newport Hospital. I asked for a private room and promised to repay the hospital. They trusted me. I did later, of course, and recently gave $100,000 to the hospital.”

He is working closely on the effort to get the Newport Renovation Project under way. A planned hotel will be built on land he owns. “I also plan to hold another Christmas party for the children in Newport this year.”

With so many accomplishments in his lifetime, did he and Rita ever travel beyond Vermont? “Oh, yes, many times. We went to Greece and France. We loved Greece. How did those Greeks climb the island cliffs and build their homes up above? Amazing! “

“Because my wife is a Murphy we had to see Ireland. When we were in Shannon, we asked someone how to meet the real people of Ireland and we were told to travel through the center of the country. We did and along the way we met a man and asked where we were. The man said, ‘This is Murphy country and I am a Murphy!’ We were thrilled.”

With so much accomplished in ninety years, wouldn’t Antonio Pomerleau — this man generous of spirit and of the fruits of his labor — take retirement? No; it looks like the Newport Renovation Project is next on his list!

Margery Sharp is a freelance writer. She lives in Hinesburg.