Born: July 24, 1909
Died: February 19, 1976
Edward "Eddie" Norman was a delivery man, the owner of Clark's Delivery Service. He was the recipient of the first Good Neighbor Award in 1967. 1 Phil Gallos wrote of him:
"Rough but generous, with a gravelly, foghorn voice and an ever-present Camel unfiltered cigarette dangling from his lips, a small man with powerful arms and a crooked gait, Eddie was an essential part of how this community worked in those days, a man whose calling it was to make life a little easier for those who couldn't afford automobiles and didn't have the strength to carry their own stuff.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, February 19, 1976
SARANAC LAKE -Funeral services for Edward Norman, 67, who died yesterday in the Saranac Lake General Hospital have been scheduled for 11:15 Saturday at St. Bernard's Church.
He was the son of Fred and Harriet St. Germain Norman and a resident of Saranac Lake since 1923. First employed at Western Union as a file clerk he later bought Clark's Delivery Service which he operated until injury forced his retirement in 1967.
Survivors include a brother, Lawrence of Saranac Lake, a niece and several cousins.
Little Eddie Norman was often characterized as the man who couldn't stop running. Eddie had been in the delivery business so long he developed a gait emulated by many but never successfully duplicated.
His community services covering half a century were legendary but since they were personal hardly anyone every recorded them. He received the Good Neighbor Award in 1967.
But people never forgot Eddie and they rallied to get him out of the near fatal doldrums in 1967 when he broke his leg and was unable to rekindle the desire to fight back from the pain and misery.
Money and gifts poured in on him at S. L. General Hospital and it was no time at all before he was trying to help himself and succeeding.
Eddie's career began back in the early 1930's when the community was a bustling health resort. With his dime delivery he became an indispensable link between the patients and the village stores and services.
He shopped, mailed letters, did personal errands and often carried love letters from one curing cottage to another giving him the aspect of cupid on the run.
His greatest enjoyment came in doing things for people who had very little money. For them he would hustle magnificently to do favors of a time-consuming nature for nothing. When they tried to pay him he would run, hollering back "I'm busy just now, be back later," and then add some mumbo jumbo to cover any further argument.
So, gradually Eddie became a sort of legend and news of his good works got around where they counted. . . with God and the people he helped.
In his hey-day he drove a red convertible and the day he bought it he paid cash. His greatest delight was to put the top down and cruise around the village or on the roads surrounding the area.
His death yesterday came as a great surprise to all of us since few realized that he had wound down so far.
We are happy to record that his tenure in this vale of sorrows was one of service, love and generosity.
Friends may call at Keough and Sons Memorial Chapels today from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Burial will be in St. Bernard's Cemetery in May.
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Footnotes
1. Adirondack Daily Enterprise, November 28, 1968
