Paul Hazel

In his long career in Ridgefield Paul Hazel has been an educator, a novelist, and a matchmaker. A native of the Nichols section of Trumbull, the Yale graduate came here in 1972 as head of the English Department at Ridgefield High School. A year later Superintendent David E. Weingast (q.v.) put him in charge of professional personnel and he's worn that hat for 27 years, searching for and hiring teachers and other professional staff. "It's about matching," Mr. Hazel said of his job of hiring staff. "It's not only who I find capable, but who will fit in with the teachers that are there, who will be a good part of the school community and who the principal thinks is interesting," he told The Press. "It's not a match unless a lot of other people buy into it." As the century ended, Mr. Hazel had served more years as a central office administrator than anyone else on the staff. But through those years, he's had a second career: a writer of sophisticated and well-reviewed fantasy novels, mostly with Celtic themes: Yearwood (1980), Undersea (1982), Winterking (1985), and The Wealdwife's Tale (1993). When not hunting for teachers or perfecting plots, Mr. Hazel enjoys building finely designed rock walls in his garden. He also enjoys long distance bicycling, both here and in Europe, with his wife, Reggie, who is the first selectman's administrative assistant and a former school board chairman. Source: Notable Ridgefielders-Jack Sanders U