The Old Folks Home

[7 Biddies]

YES !! You have your facts straight!!!! THAT is the funeral home, in the Y. Sorry your school is gone, One of my first schools was torn down and a parking lot full of cars takes up the area where we played at recess. ALways made me feel sad to see the cars, and the lot empty, the grand old school gone. So I feel for you.

Cousins run the business now. My mother sold off her share of the business a few years ago. I don't go visiting as there is now bad blood, but I have fond memories of the place and remember my grandfathers office well. Funny I never thought about when my grandfather and his brother started their business there-- it was there before I was born so to me it has ALWAYS been there. GUess not. lol

My grandfather's sister is still alive, with dimentia now, but at her 100th birthday party she still recognized most of us. SO I have plans to make it to 100!! IT is in the genes!!

We lived just past Burncoat Park, on the next block, just a couple of houses up on the right. It was a big old Victorian with a nice front porch that was divided into a 2 family home; the owners (the Prescotts; the daughter who was around my age, was named Joyce) lived upstairs and we rented the downstairs. Our next door neighbors were the Smiths; his name was Ivan and they had 2 kids, Debbie and Buddy. Don't ask me how I remember this stuff, but it just comes flooding back to me when I envision where we lived. I see on the map that there's a large expressway or overpass just before the park, now. Gosh. I just remembered that my 3rd grade teacher's name was Miss Tierney. My cousins were Ted and Doug Mullens. Any of these names ring a bell?

 

[Arielle]

Small world. With my uncles, Josiah and George Ingham, having a business right there, and my grandparents living across the street, I wonder if our families knew each other?

My grandfather was very involved with his church, a casualty of rte 290 going thru worcester ( I have some of the stained glass) and then attended my grandmothers church, he was a mason, too, so perhaps they did know each other! My grandfather was one of those folks that seemed to know everyone.

I'm sorry I don't know any of the names you recall-- the down side of my mother marrying after college and moving permanently to Maine. Where she still lives, unless she is in FL ! lol

 

[Stumpy]

I've been enjoying some of P. Allen Smith's short little videos on Youtube and thought I'd share a link.

 

[Arielle]

Love P. Allen Smith !

 

[Stumpy]

I've caught a few of his gardening programs on PBS, but I didn't realize until today that he had livestock and that you could tour his house and garden. That would be a lot of fun.

 

[Arielle]

HE seems like the sort of person you talk the whole day away. I know he did a show about chickens as I recall, a natural inclusion for a gardener, but I didn't know he had livestock; maybe the chickens were his?

 

[Stumpy]

There are several videos on Youtube showing his chickens, cotton wagon coops, Wyandotte breeding, Muscovy ducks, etc.

 

[Arielle]

THe limitations of dial up is no video streaming. . . . at least not at a speed that is not totally frustrating! LOL

I caught one of his segments on TV in the last year or so.

 

[Stumpy]

Arielle, I completely understand. We've only recently gotten a better internet service here.

 

[Arielle]

I can get FIOS, but . . . . I don't trust the installation. Our utilites are underground and they tell me they dig a 6 inch deep trench to lay the cabling. THis is the sales person on the phone of course trying to convince me of their capability to provide access . . . .too easy to do a poor job IMO.