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Telling Our Stories
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Peggy
Ring, 82 years old. Born and raised
on Smith's Point in the good old days. She
thinks the town has changed drastically. When
she raised her children she knew whom their friends were and where they were
going when they went out the door. Today
it is different, parents no longer know their children's friends or where they
are at all times. The faces in town
have changed too; Peggy no longer knows many of the people she sees in Crosby's
market. Peggy's best story is about
her son Tom who was a crewman on the Hannah Boden, the commercial fishing boat
made famous in the book The Hungary Ocean, by Linda Greenlaw.
Peggy lives with her dog Abbott. She
used to be able to let him run in the woods behind her apartment but new homes
have recently been built, so Abbott has to stay on his leash.
Peggy remembers when the Plains was a campground for the boy scouts. |
| Ann
MacNeil lived 14 years in Rockport before moving to Manchester 50 years ago in
1954, after her mother married Al Backry, a Manchester native.
Her father passed away at age 29, from TB when Ann was 7.
She has always loved living here, formerly on Pleasant Street, now at the
Plains. Ann attended Essex Aggie
School and worked at the Singing Beach Club.
She did a lot of babysitting; she watched over two generations of
Samolchuk children. Ann has
memories, some good, some not so good about Manchester.
She has an amazing memory for dates and where she was at the time.
Ann remembers registering to vote for the first time in February 1982 in
the old town hall. She was babysitting when John F. Kennedy and Martin L. King
were assassinated. She was at home
when the first Challenger disaster happened.
Ann remembers the dates of these and many other events perfectly.
Ann lives with her cat named Holly, a Christmas gift from her sister on
December 8, 1991. October 7, 2004, the Plains |
| Peter
Petras, age 72, has lived at the Plains for 11 years. Since he moved in there has been a 90% turnover in the
residents. He was born and attended
school in Lynn, then moved to Medford when he married. He was a dental
technologist for 30 years, making ceramic teeth. Peter loves the quaintness of a small seaside town. Peter
thinks that keeping active and avoiding modern chemicals and pollutants is the
key to a long life. Peter gardens,
works at the Community Center, works out at the Manchester Athletic Center and
fishes. He is an avid reader in the
winter and an avid gardener the rest of the year. Over the years Peter carved
out a beautiful garden from the woods behind the Plains Community Center.
He has colonnaded apple trees, a peach tree, even an apricot tree.
He also grows roses, and lilies and hollyhocks, but his prize specimens
are his tree peonies. He loves the
gnarled form of the branches in winter and the many different flower colors and
forms in the brief blooming season. Peter
has one very rare tree peony, given to him by a friend who brought it back from
China. The yellow flowers seem to
hide under the foliage. Peter
learned that this variety was bred for a terraced hillside in China. Admirers can look up to see the blooms, which look down.
Peter is in the process of moving his garden closer to his apartment.
The Plains is expanding the Community Room and his garden will be lost.
He is disappointed but thinks it may be time to cut back on the size of
his garden. Peter combines fishing with gardening; his secret is digging in
mackerel when he catches it. Peter lives with his kitty, Billy Boy Wilson, 12 years old.
He also has 4 grandchildren in Lynnfield.
October 7, 2004, the Plains |
| Craige
McCoy moved to Manchester in 1944. He
remembers the good old days when he and the Vine Street gang hung out on the
library wall. In the early 1950's
Jack Delaney's Ice Cream Parlor (now Windward Gifts, kitty corner from the
library) was the place to meet and play pinball.
Other members of the Vine Street gang were Tyke Needham, Charlie Gorton,
Steve Gillis, Don Tossi, Larry "Bugsy" Hall, and Doc Herrick.
Craige reminisces about Manchester Playground, started by Joe Hyland in
the early 1950's. Three baseball
games could be played at once. It
was the dream of every local athlete to make it to the Big Diamond.
Other favorite Manchester pastimes in the good old days were tomato
fights and spin the bottle. Times
have certainly changed. Craige, who
works for the library and the housing authority, recently moved to Gloucester. October 8, 2004, Gloucester |
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William
MacEachern, life long Manchester resident, remembers walking to school, to
Beverly Farms, and even to Salem when he was young. The woods between Pine and School Streets (behind Newport
Park) had many paths, shortcuts for children going to school and workers going
to the Walker Estate. Bill
remembers the WPA digging out, by hand, the banks of the brook that runs behind
Newport Park. Today more pine trees
were removed to make room for additional parking.
When Newport Park was first built, no one anticipated so many cars.
Simmon's horse barn was located on the other side of Pine Street and
there were many corrals and trails; one could walk or ride to neighboring towns
including Hamilton and Wenham. Back then there was very little traffic.
Bill feels that Route 128 ruined the town; children today need to ride
the school bus because of the traffic. Bill
remembers walking to Singing Beach and having the beach all to himself; there
were no crowds in those days. People
also walked the tracks to Tuck's Point. Bill
remembers walking to the library, especially in wintery weather, just to get out
of the house. Back then there was
no talking in the library. The
children's room was located in what is currently the Director's Office. Kids used to sneak up to the clock room as a lark.
Bill's
father was Sergeant Dan MacEachern, of the Manchester police force.
His picture is on page 316 of Jeffrey's Creek.
Dan was a motorcycle cop in 1939-1940.
He would give the kids in nursery school a ride on his motorcycle.
Back then the police force consisted of 8 men. Bill thinks our town is over protected judging by the size of
both the police and fire departments, then and now. Bill
remembers his father treating him to a banana split, 6 scoops, for 20 cents at
Delaney's, where Winward Gifts is located today. Before Delaney's was Doc Chaney's, a country with a big
marble soda fountain. The apartment
building across School Street (and across from the library) was the original
location of Allen's Drug Store. Bill
was in the last graduating class of Story High School, 1952. He remembers Joe Hyland, the coach, mowing the playing fields
on Brook Street. Bill worked as a
golf course contractor for many years. Bill
remembers the gas shortage in 1973. He
was in Puerto Rico at the time and the island's gas stations were shut down
completely for a week. Bill thinks
it's a shame that nothing has been done in the last 30 years to develop an
alternate energy source. Bill
remembers the Tucker automobile displayed on Bridge Street in Salem.
Tucker built a very modern vehicle but was put out of business by the Big
Three automobile makers. Bill
is the father of eight children, the oldest is 49 and the youngest is 10.
He has 15 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
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Betty
Samolchuk is a fourth generation "townie." She has always been very happy here. She loves the small schools, and small town community.
She remembers her mother calling her husband a foreigner-he was from
Salem. Her paternal grandmother was
from Scotland. Both Betty's
grandmothers were a great influence on her.
In the summers Betty would go on "vacation," from her home on
Lincoln Street to her grandmother's house on Pine Street.
Betty remembers walking to school from Lincoln Street to Bennett Street.
There were no school buses or plowed sidewalks.
Back then (1940's) the town would hire high school students to shovel out
after a snowstorm, during school hours. There
were 24 students in Betty's graduating class.
Betty's mom (a Burgess) was the oldest of eleven children, so Betty had
aunts and uncles her age. Newport
Park resident Bill MacEachern is a cousin of Betty's.
Betty and her husband bought her childhood home on Lincoln Street.
Her children's friends often stopped there after school to see what she
was baking. Betty was a nurse and
worked for Clara Winthrop for many years. She
used to pick up large type books for Clara from the library.
Clara would escape to Alibi Cottage, when she needed to get away from the
main house. Clara Winthrop made
many gifts to the town, including the field on Route 127 west. Betty
had both her knees replaced 19 years ago and considers herself lucky.
She remains active and currently volunteers at Wellspring House in
Gloucester. Betty's two sons and
grandsons live in town. One thing she would like people to remember:
her father was a "gentleman." |
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Camilla Blair moved to Manchester in 1992.
She was born in England in a tiny town near the coast and came to the
U.S. when she was 12 years old. She
grew up on Long Island Sound, then moved to Missouri with her husband.
She first came to this area to visit a boarding school for her son in
1987. While driving through
Manchester one day, she vowed that some day, some how, she would move here
permanently. Camilla has always
lived by the ocean and missed it while living in Missouri.
She loves Manchester, the people, and the small town atmosphere.
The good thing about living in a small town, Mina says, is that you know
everyone. And the bad thing about a
small town is that everyone knows everything about you.
Mina also loves the convenience of being near Boston.
Her three children also settled in the area, Beverly, Somerville, and
Cambridge. October 15, 2004, Pine Street |
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Jackie Kurtz |
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Joe
Wroble lives in a home that was once part of the Denegre estate, in west
Manchester. His parents, Joseph Sr.
and Julia, came to Manchester from Chelsea to work on the estate.
In the summer the family lived in the same house Joe lives in now.
In the winter, when the Denegre's family moved to Washington D. C., the
Wrobles' lived in a section of the big house at the top of the hill, along with
Steve Waszak, another worker on the estate.
Joe's family moved twice a year for many years.
When Julia first saw the little house, she did not want to move to
Manchester, but her mother convinced her that Joe Sr. would do a good job fixing
it up. Every weekend Joe Sr., his
bachelor brother Anthony, and an assortment of other relatives from Chelsea
would work on the house. Julia
never knew how many to expect for dinner as telephone service was expensive back
then so communication was a luxury. Joe
and Julia would give their Chelsea relatives homemade elderberry wine, canned
tomatoes and cabbage, and flower and vegetable seedlings to take back to the
city. The estate also had chickens
and ducks and even two hogs. Every
part of the hog was used, except for the squeal.
The family enjoyed fresh, homemade kielbasa. Joe Sr. played the piano and
Julia sang, and the relatives joined in. That
was how people entertained themselves before television.
Eventually the Denegre estate was broken up and the Wrobles bought their
house. Brookwood School occupies
part of the estate today. Joe
remembers that for years, before Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal, his
family made payments to the bank on the interest only.
It wasn't until after FDR that the bank had to apply some portion of
payment to the principal. Joe's father's family was new to this country when
World War I broke out. Because they
were not citizens they could not join the American army.
So they went to France and fought under Haller.
Later they joined the Polish army to defeat Germany.
When they came home they got their American citizenship and when they
died they were buried in their uniforms. Another
story Joe tells is about his grandmother. As
a young girl she attended both American and Polish schools so she spoke both
languages. In 1918, during the flu
epidemic, she was a midwife. When a
woman was in labor, the police would send a paddy wagon to take her where she
was needed. She also had the
responsibility of registering the new births and was paid 10 cents each, which
her mother allowed her to keep. |
| Ella Secher Mrs. Secher emigrated from a small town in Jutland, Denmark, in late 1924, just shy of her 18th birthday, to marry her fiancé. In 1926 the Secher’s moved from Everett to Manchester, where Mr. Secher worked for the Dodge Furniture Company. About a decade later, the couple started their own business, Manchester Upholstery Company, working side by side for decades, until the business passed on to their son. Before going into business and the birth of their three sons, she and her husband occasionally worked for some of the wealthy families in the area; Mrs. Secher cooked and remembers preparing a memorable meal for one guest, J. P. Morgan. Once their boys were old enough to ride bicycles, she recalls the middle son being involved in a biking accident on Lincoln Street. Back in the 1930’s there was a bike shop in what we now know as the Abdo block. Kids used to rent bikes for a few cents for a couple of hours. In fact, the Abdo block was the first home for Manchester Upholstery, which later moved to the Bazylewicz’ former home on Bridge Street. Mrs. Secher didn’t know a word of English when she arrived in America. She used to go to the movies – ten cents a show – and this is where she picked up much of her early language skills. You may be fortunate enough to meet Mrs. Secher at Crosby’s during her weekly shop, or you may see her strolling down Pine St. for her daily walk. October 17, 2004 Newport Park |
| Our
Town's July 4th Parade by Janet Canty For years in the Lexington area, our family solemnly celebrated Paul Revere's 1775 Ride "through every Middlesex village and farm". Then upon moving to Manchester-by-the-Sea in 1967, we eagerly joined in the town's celebration of American Independence, the annual Fourth of July Parade. With great pride, young and old partake, rejoice and give thanks for the blessings of our great country with an exciting fun parade. Buildings, homes, boats and trucks are decked with red, white and blue ribbons. Colorful balloons fly high over antique cars and bikes, fire engines and doll carriages, marching selectmen, Cub Scouts, Brownies, football and little league players. All generations cheer the many and varied talented bands and clever creative floats as they parade by. Friends, relatives and neighbors gather along the parade route to celebrate. Our beautiful small New England town every year proudly proclaims "It's Great To Be An American". October 18, 2004, Hickory Hill Road |
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Lois
Keifer moved to Manchester in 1999 from Marblehead. Three things about Manchester stand out in Lois' experience: The
town has many activities for senior citizens to choose from, making it easy to
meet people and be part of the community. The
Council on Aging sponsors many activities, as well as other fraternal
organizations and businesses. Crosby's
Market and the Masons are two groups that stand out in Lois' mind.
Lois enjoys the trips and the luncheons and she also volunteers at the
library. The
second impression of Manchester's uniqueness is that everything has a Friends
group to take care of it, including the trees.
Lois thinks this is a much better arrangement than squabbles over tax
dollars. The
third positive discovery was that Manchester is more accessible to route 128
than Marblehead. Her frequent trips
from Marblehead to Manchester to visit her daughter and 3 grandchildren
convinced her to move here. Now
that she is here she finds travel out of town easier. And when shopping in town, Lois is pleased to note that she
always runs into someone she knows. That
never happened to her in Marblehead. |
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Terry
Walker is a photographer "Lost in the Woods," as his biography
states: The image selected by Adams—that of a gazebo mirrored in water—is a haunting one. Not because the subject was shrouded in mist. But because it was one of the last times Walker's work appeared in public more than twenty years ago. He vanished—into the woods. Over that time, he became a reclusive photographer with a concern for the vanishing wilderness, but without the resources to turn film into prints. Consequently, his intimate studies of rocks, trees and flora in their natural settings have barely seen the light of day. Or the illumination of a gallery wall. Now in his sixties,
Terry Walker has come out of the woods with his work. Arriving late in fine art
circles has always been fashionable." |
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Ann Wood-Kelly Not being a Manchester-ite born and bred I may
not fit the profile for "our stories."
I was born in Elkins Park, PA, outside of Philadelphia on 3/31/18, which
happened to be an Easter Sunday. I
schooled there until I was 10, then my father died in 1929, leaving my mother
widowed at 36 years of age with 5 living children, the youngest being 6 months.
After several years she decided Europe offered the best long range
educational opportunities, so we traveled to Namur, Belgum where my older sister
and myself entered a pensionnat (boarding school) for several years.
Finally we returned to the U.S.A. and I graduated as a senior from my
high school and in 1938 I graduated from college in Buffalo, NY.
In 1940 with war in Europe, President Roosevelt
started the CPT program, known as the Civilian Pilot Training program whereby
one, if selected, would learn to fly for free.
After much travail I qualified for that program at Bowdoin College in
Brunswick, ME, and that opened a whole new world for me.
I became a flight instructor and eventually was chosen to go to England
to join 24 other American gals to ferry aircraft from factories to squadrons
throughout England. I returned home in 1945, soon thereafter I was hired by
Northeast Airlines as public relations director, and in the early 50's found
myself house-hunting and renting in Manchester.
The war years are capsuled in my web site, http://www.airtransportaux.org/members/wood.html. Manchester becomes a positive when I am able to find and
convert a barn on Eaglehead by the mid-fifties, which brings me up to today
where I am living today. |
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