Captain Leslie I. Gumport (2002)

Born in New Jersey in 1897, Captain Gumport, as he was widely known, lived an active life in the military and engineering worlds. He served under General Pershing in the Mexican Border Campaign in 1916 against Pancho Villa, and he served and was wounded in France during WWI. Afterward, Captain Gumport worked in the civil engineering field until he was recalled to active duty for WWII.

Capt. comport retired from the service to his farm on Sunset Road, just over the county line north of Norton Hill. In Greenville, Captain Gumport started the annual Memorial Day parade and pond ceremonies which he directed until his death. Captain Gumport also served as a Commander of American Legion Post #291 as well as the Greene County American Legion, a former Scoutmaster of the Greenville Troop #42 Boy Scouts, a Past President of the Norton Hill Wildlife Club, a Greene County Federation of Sportsman Clubs representative to the New York State Conservation Council, Chairman of NYS Boat Launch committee, and a member of the American Society of Military Engineers. With other community members, Captain Gumport helped create the present day Veterans Memorial Park. He passed away in 1966.

He married Rose Harrison in 1920 and they had one son, David L. Gumport, who resides in Greenville with his wife, Harriet.

- by Don Teator, Greenville Town Historian