James Edward Haynes

LAKEVILLE — James Edward Haynes was born April 24, 1933,  in Port Huron Michigan, and died March 2, 2023, in Tampa, Florida.

At Port Huron High, Jim not only excelled academically, but was an accomplished athlete, participating in baseball, football, swimming and wrestling. He was accepted to Yale University. After graduating with a B.S. in Industrial Administration in 1955, Jim went to work for IBM in Poughkeepsie and New York City as a Methods Analyst.

Already interested in auto racing, Jim began competing as a driver in various races, winning the 1959 SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) National Champion Formula III event. He also won the SCCA National Champion Formula Junior race in 1963. Since IBM would not allow employees to compete professionally, Jim raced under the name “Eddie James.”

He left IBM in 1960 to form Lakeville Precision Molding in Lakeville, which he sold in 1964. Car racing had become one of Jim’s primary passions, so when the opportunity arose, he bought controlling interest in Lime Rock Park, a beautiful natural-terrain road racing venue in nearby Lime Rock. He successfully ran the track until its sale in 1984.

A seminal event in Jim’s always colorful life occurred in March 1978. He was asked to come to Florida to help revive the “Twelve Hours of Sebring” race that had been dormant for several years. He managed to get the track up to code to qualify as a sanctioned race. At the event itself, the catering for the corporate tents was being provided by Toni Abercrombie’s business, “Eat Your Heart Out.” They met and, as they say, the rest is history. As Jim would proudly say, “Toni has been my 4th wife for 43 years.”

After Lime Rock Park, they moved to Denver where Jim was Vice President of Special Projects with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Later (in 1988) Jim became CEO and General Manager of Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin., where he stayed until retirement in 2000.

Jim was active in the Rotary Club for over 25 years, serving as President in Salisbury, and named a Paul Harris Fellow in 1985. In both Connecticut and Wisconsin, he served as President or Member of the Board of Directors in the Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to Jim’s passions for Toni and vintage car racing, he also loved to fish and traveled the world to do so. Adventures included the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Pacific coast off Cabo San Lucas, the coast of Maui, the River Shannon in Ireland, Sail fishing off Palm Beach and many years in the Keys aboard his and his brother’s sport fisherman, “The Moonraker.”

Jim was the personification of a man who lived the life he wanted to live. He lived large. He was a voracious reader, particularly of mysteries, loved good food and not so good wine, unless one considers Corbett Canyon box wine a “good chardonnay.”

He is survived by his wife Toni Abercrombie Haynes, four children and nine grandchildren and brother, Alex. Rest in peace, Big Jim, we love you.

Latest News

Haystack Festival brings literary minds to Norfolk

The Great Room at Norfolk Library filled to capacity for the Haystack Festival.

Jennifer Almquist

Just after noon on Sunday, Oct. 6, attendees of Norfolk Foundation’s Haystack Festival spilled out of the red Shingle Style Norfolk Library into brilliant October sunshine, emerging from the final book talk of the weekend (excepting an event for young readers later in the day). The talk, which was a conversation between horse experts journalist Sarah Maslin Nir and author David Chaffetz, was rife with equine puns and startling facts. The tongue-in-cheek use of the word “cavalier” brought laughs from the engaged audience, while Nir disclosed that horses eat for a full 16 hours a day.

The talk brought levity and humor to the festival’s conclusion, while also diving into the serious history of the relationship between society and horses. Chaffetz explained horses were fundamental in the formation of large empires: “We don’t see empires until horses became fundamental to the political state.” Nir elaborated that the “wild” horses in North America are not native, but feral horses descended from animals brought by Spanish imperialists. “No tea grows in England,” she explained, “it is the result of empire – and so are horses.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Project SAGE's solemn vigil

"The Red Sand Project" is intended to draw attention to often overlooked domestic violence issues in the Northwest Corner.

Natalia Zukerman

To mark the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Project SAGE held its annual community vigil on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Community Field in Lakeville. Project SAGE is a community-focused organization dedicated to supporting, advocating, guiding and educating victims of relationship violence through a range of services and outreach programs.

A large group of people gathered quietly in the center of the field where they were handed packets of red sand. Red Sand Project, created by artist and activist Molly Gochman, is a participatory artwork that uses sidewalk interventions and earthwork installations to encourage people to reflect, connect, and take action against the vulnerabilities that contribute to human trafficking, modern slavery, and exploitation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Northwest Corner artists unite for Clay Way Tour Oct. 19-20

Pottery of all sorts will be on display at the Clay Way Tour, featuring 26 area artists.

Provided

Now in its 8th year, The Clay Way Studio Tour is an annually held event featuring some of Connecticut’s best potters. Twenty six artists will show their work among nine studios.

The Tour takes place in Litchfield County Connecticut and Wingdale, New York Oct.19 and 20 from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Potter and organizer Jane Herald explained the origin of the tour.

Keep ReadingShow less