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By James A. Riddle
The agency known today as Lambert, Riddle, Schimmel and Caldwell was founded in July 1917 as the Lambert Insurance Agency. After graduating from Yale University, Denison D. Lambert went to work for the Travelers Insurance Company and was assigned to Washington, D.C. as the branch office manager. In 1917, he left the company to start his own independent insurance agency in downtown Washington.
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The Lambert Insurance Agency prospered during the 1920s, but hit hard times during the Great Depression of the 1930s. A bank failure wiped out the account that contained money paid to the agency by its clients and held in escrow for future payment to insurance companies. Those companies, particularly The Travelers, worked with the agency and allowed Mr. Lambert several years to repay the lost funds. Perhaps because of his commitment to both customers and companies, the Lambert Insurance Agency flourished and grew through those difficult times.
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James A. Riddle, Mr. Lambert's son-in-law, joined the agency in 1953 and became a partner in the Lambert-Riddle Agency in 1957. After a career spanning more than 50 years, Mr. Lambert retired in 1969 and the agency moved its headquarters to Fairfax, Virginia.
During the 1970s, Lambert-Riddle merged with the Horrigan Insurance Agency and brought Jack Caldwell into the company as a partner.
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Thomas Schimmel, Mr. Riddle's son-in-law, entered the firm in 1981 after working as an underwriter for the St. Paul Insurance Company in their Boston and Syracuse offices. Mr. Riddle's son, James Denison Riddle, joined the agency in 1985 after working as an underwriter for The Travelers in Richmond and Roanoke.
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| Denison Lambert's original entrepreneurial enterprise has expanded into the Lambert, Riddle, Schimmel & Caldwell of today. James A. Riddle, John Horrigan, and Jack Caldwell are enjoying well-earned retirements while the third generation of the family-owned business carries on the tradition of outstanding service to clients with a sense of commitment to the community they serve.
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