A start at my "Autobiography"
Selected stories by Dick Whitney
Growing Up on Litchfield Ave.
Looking up
Litchfield
from our house (1954 photo)
Memories of growing up on Litchfield Ave in
Southbridge –
Dick Whitney
(see photos of 122 Litchfield thru the years - Rev 5-Oct-11)
Recently, the home I
grew up
in at 122 Litchfield
Ave in
Southbridge was in need of major repair, and with this occasion
I soon
began
looking back at old photos of the house dating back to 1947,
where I
found Dads
first photos from December of that year.For those who are
interested,
my father recollections
on
his
purchase
of
122
Litchfield
Ave
(where Mom still
lives today) makes interesting reading today. Originally
from
Newtonville Mass,
Dad and Mom (Don and Jan Whitney)
moved to Southbridge six months after
getting
married in June of 1947, as Dad had started work at the American
Optical Co in
the R&D Lens Design Department in Southbridge.
Dad taught me the love of photography, and
due to
this I
have been able to share many memorable Southbridge photos since
the
late 1940s.
As I have scanned and preserved the photos of Litchfield Ave and
Southbridge in
general, I have reflected on how fortunate I was (and still am)
to live
in such
a wonderful area and I am proud to call Southbridge my home.
Assuming
one was
fortunate to grow up as I did in a household that was loving and
nurturing,
early neighborhood memories are almost certainly going to looked
upon
fondly as
the years pass. In my case, this is true and I expect those that
are
reading
this will have similar memories. Perhaps reading these will
trigger
similar
memories. Because of the photographs taken, some of my memories
are
brought to
added light by these special “Kodachrome” memories.
(Note: Dec 2010 was the last month where
Kodachrome film could be processed anywhere in the world - I
guess
nothing last
forever!)
Turning to the topic of my growing up years
on
Litchfield
Ave, I was fortunate to be on the dead end portion of the street
and
have a
large back yard where I could play ball, badminton, croquet,
practice
archery,
and even photograph the nighttime sky as I grew older.
Some of my earliest recollections of the
neighborhood relate
to events – such as the 1955 Flood. I was four years old at the
time
and I can
recall looking out our back window and seeing the entire
backyard was
underwater. This flooding in our yard was not the result of the
dams
bursting as
had occurred in the West Street and Flats area of town. Litchfield
Ave
is
significantly
higher
in
elevation
than
these
other
town
areas.
It
was
just
that
the
ground
was
saturated from the heavy rains and I was impressed with the
water that
I saw.
Note: following the floods, our back yard was dug up and
drainage
installed as
part of the flood control effort. Therefore, the second patio in
back
(shown in
the photo of Sues Birthday Party was demolished. A patio closer
to our
back
door remained, and we enjoyed many picnics and family gatherings
there.
The Stone wall and patio above was dug up in 1956 because of
the
Flood
- See photo below.
This was a birthday party for my sister Sue.
1956 View of drainage pipes being put in after the Flood of 1955
I became close friends with several boys and girls in the neighborhood; My oldest and closest friend was Jeff McKinstry. We shared many experiences growing up in my neighborhood. Jeff lived around the corner at 58 Poplar Street, which was within earshot when Mom used to signal that play time was up and it was time to come home. Jeff and I played for hours in the back yard and woods. Since we both were shy, our bond grew and an early memory was of Jeff crying when his mother Esther (who I called “Autie Esther”) left him off at West Street school for the first time. I felt like crying as well, but don’t believe I did for I was watching Jeff.
Dick and Jeff - 1954
The McKinstry’s and Whitney’s have shared a
unique
family
relationship, as both Sues family and mine have also been and
remain
very close
with their offspring to this day. When
Jeff passed away of a sudden heart attack on May 16,
2001, I
gave the
following
tribute at his funeral:
“On May 16, 2001 I lost my best friend since childhood. We both grew up in the same neighborhood, and the Whitney and McKinstry family has fostered many close friendships thru each succeeding generation. Jeff and I were inseperable since our pre-school days, and Best Friends as long as I can remember. I knew his phone number before I memorized mine!
When I think of Jeff, I think of many things:
Mrs Mundell's Kindergarten Class at
Trinity
Church
1st day as West St School / we walked home for every lunch
Cub Scout Pack 135 in Fellowship Hall
YMCA Summer Day Camp
Playing in the Silo at his cousins Farm in Charlton
Wells Jr. High / recess in the middle courtyard, which we
accessed thru
the
Window!
SHS Class of 1969 experiences and our Graduation
The many games we played (Golf, Badminton, Chess, Archery,
Etc.)
Best Man at my wedding / I photographed his Wedding
Births of our children (Cory, Allyssa, Chris and Erica)
His wife JoAnne Babysat for our kids
Jeff will be sorely missed“
Other boys that I played with in the neighborhood included Steve Maytis, Paul Turpos, Don Barth, Steve and Neil Tiberii, Ed Brunelle, Dennis Wright and Bobby Haynes. Sue and I became very close with Leslie Martel, Sara Haynes, and Diana Rossman who all lived in the neighborhood.
When I was very young, the next door neighbor (Mrs. Ohwiler) became like a Grandmother to Sue and I, and would babysit for us when Mom and Dad would go out. Both of their parents still lived in Newtonville, and so she was a great help to us.
Sue, Oho (Mrs. Ohwiler) and Dick - 1954
The Haynses moved into Mrs. Ohwilers house in the late 1950s and they lived their until 1962, when they moved to Maryland where Bob Managed the AO Frame plant there. Our families were close then and remain close today. Both Dad and Bob worked at AO but were also ham radio operators and enjoyed contacting one another on their rigs even when they lived next door. I am reminded of one time Dad commented on Ham radio to one of his contacts that he had to sign off as he had a dinner engagement with neighbors; something which he did not was to attend. When Bob opened the door to his house, he said – “so I understand you don’t want to eat here tonight?” That was one of life’s embarrassing moments.
I was fortunate to have been able to walk to and from school from first grade through high school. When I went to grade school, West Street School was a neighborhood school and grades 1-5 from our neighborhood were housed there. Chartlon St and Eastford road were also neighborhood grade schools. I can recall enjoying my walk to and from when the Spring weather arrived. I also remember that for those West St School years, I was allowed to walk home for lunch!
My first grade teacher at West Street
was
Miss Proulx. She
taught for years, and when I stood in line with my son when he
was
entering
first grade, Miss Proulx called out Christopher Whitney’s name
to come
forward
she hesitated and looked straight at me. I vividly remember her
startled look
stating – “little Dickie Whitney- is that
you???” It was a blast to have my first Grade teacher
remember me
and to
have my son as well. What I was stunned to see as the Miss
Proulx
seemed much
younger than I had remembered her to be some 30 years earlier.
Another
teacher
at West Street School at that time was Mr. Purrachio, who later
was the
Principal when Chris attended. I remember he was on “The Price
is
Right” and
for the day he was absent, we watched him on TV. He now serves
with me
on the
Board of Jacob
Edwards
Library and he and I have had fun swapping such
stories. I found the above article in a scrapbook Mom had kept.
It also included this list of my First Grade for a 1957
Xmas Party. Check it out!
Backyard "snow fort" Sue, Dick, Steve Maytis, Diana Rossman, and
Eddie
Brunelle- 1959
I had great outdoor fun in the summer and winter on Litchfield Ave. I recall buckling my winter boots that snapped with metal buckles (that frose up with snow and Ice when used), so that I could play for hours in the snow. We had great fun. One year the snow crusted such that we were able to sled on the hardened snow. I remember sledding next door to Leslie Martels house near the end our street, and thinking how great this was. I had a “snow devil” uni-ski sled that Dad had given me, and remember that to be the best winter fun I had ever had. That was saying something, since we also had great fun building igloos with our friends. I even remember shoveling half the back yard to make trails that we could walk.
Playing in the driveway ~ 1954 that is no longer there. When the
Garage
was built in 1974 this was filled in.
Picked fence - 1954
1960 photo in the backyard during one of our many picnics- One
of my
first photos!
Looking down the driveway with Mom standing in this 1960 photo,
where the ladder was used by our cats to enter a small trap
window
halfway up in the wall!
Mom and Dad in two more early photos of mine ~1960
March of Dimes Fundraiser that we put on in the Backyard on
Litchfield
Ave ~1960
This was the view of a Neighors house across the street as it
appeared
in 1954.
It was
renovated in Sept 2007 and second floor was added.
1954 of Al Charrons house across the street
1971 photo of Al Charrons Car after pedal got stuck!
The photo above was the view from our front door in 1954; by
1965
(photo
of Dad below),
the shrubs in the background had grown! Now
they
completely
block
the
view.
1966 view of the back of the house and me with my new bow and
arrow
Backyard picnic in 1968- note Mom had just fallen thru the
chair
when it broke!
Another thing of the past - Mom burning the leaves in 1969
A Bulls Eye - 1969
1969 photo of Dad with the Funcasta's - viewing the sun
Perseid
meteor taken from our backyard on Litchfield Ave,
Southbridge (~
Aug
1968)
A view of Litchfield ave neighborhood, where the house at 122
Litchfield
Ave is showntp the right of tthe orange marker.
The house is above the garage, which was built in 1974.
Return
to
Index
of
Dick
Whitney
Autobiography
Dads W1NEP Ham radio "shack" at 122
Litchfield
Ave.
