Interactions with Proctor students and locals
It is the summer of 1961. I rush into the diner as always, mostly on time but rarely early. It’s unusually quiet for the start of the lunch hour. Lil has assumed her usual spot at the far end of the counter, no coffee, no cigarette, waiting restlessly for a customer, any customer to arrive. […]
In the summer of 1961, I was a rookie waitress at Quimby’s Diner, not quite 17, and a soon-to-be high school senior. Do you recall your first job? Were you skillful and confident on day one or a bumbler and fumbler like me? My story continues. The uproarious laughter at Quimby’s lunch counter can be […]
Formerly located where Mane Street Hair Salon is today
“Quimby’s Diner, Serving Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, Open 6 AM to 8 PM” is stenciled on the glass door. A bell sounds as I push the door forward, further jangling my already racing heart. I am 16, facing my first job interview, shy, tiny in stature with a confidence level to match. I quickly check […]
Descendants of Gilman and Hannah Hersey
Andover – The descendents of Gilman and Hannah Hersey gathered on August 3 for their 127th annual reunion, which was held at the East Andover Grange Hall. Twenty-seven members were in attendance, coming from the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. A potluck meal was enjoyed by all and was topped off by […]
Literary allusion made by Hamilton to Washington
Hamilton, Washington and the Man Who Might ”Ride the Storm and Direct the Whirlwind.” © John A. Hodgson As Rep. Adam Schiff opened the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in January 2020, he began with a quotation from Alexander Hamilton: “When a man unprincipled in private life, […]
Literary allusion made by Hamilton to Washington
As Rep. Adam Schiff opened the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in January 2020, he began with a quotation from Alexander Hamilton: “When a man unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits—despotic in his ordinary demeanour—known to have […]
The body is that of Mary N. Chase (1863-1959), the subject of my essay that highlights her place as a distinguished resident of Andover, 1899-1948. When she died, December 30, 1959, aged 96, she lived in a comfortable retirement home for indigent women in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Boston newspapers on December 31 […]
Summer memories
Summers as a kid in Andover begin and end with memories made at Highland Lake. There are so many, but the snippets that follow rise up and gather as bubbles do where the water meets the sand. Memories of puttering around the lake in our family’s 10 foot “power” boat, designed and constructed totally by […]
Open House Sunday, June 9, 1–3 PM
A handrail has been installed 187 years after the Tucker Mountain School opened to provide education for the children of District # 9. Thanks to the expertise of Jay Aubertin of Wilmot, the new-old railing looks authentic for the period. He noted that farmers in the 19th century would have reused material found around the […]
All-time record snowstorm in 1956
The lights flicker wearily, and sleety snow raps on the kitchen window. Mom and I are eating dinner together in silence, lost in our own thoughts. I’m guessing she’s worried about my dad, driving home tonight in this yucky weather. For me, our big house feels empty and lonely with my brother, newly married now, […]