Some time around 2000 I began setting down my thoughts on my childhood because I didn't want to forget them. Plus, I decided it would be good for my children (child at the time) to know what their father's life was like. I didn't really finish but I did write a lot so I'm presenting the gist of it here. I cringed at the writing when I went back and reread but I think I was doing more stream-of-consciousness writing to make sure I didn't leave anything out rather than elegant prose. I have edited here and there but not deleted the facts. Where appropriate I have addenda as I've remembered other things or something has changed. The first piece is about my memories of Indian Orchard when I was about 5 years old or younger.
Childhood Memories - The Very Early Years
My earliest memories come from when we used to live at 41 Dubois St. in Indian Orchard (a section of Springfield) MA. Since I was born in October of 1966, and we moved in the early 1970s to Mountainview St., I expect that these memories are from when I was 3 to 5 years old.
I can recall the inside of the house very vaguely. I remember my mother washing John in the sink. I presume that my mother wasn’t putting a 3 year old in the sink so John was probably about a year old. This would make me about 3 years old. I remember the white piano on the screen enclosed, porch in the back. The piano was dinged up. I can remember having a small swimming pool out back, maybe 12 feet in diameter and probably only about a couple of feet deep. This sticks out in my mind because I recall Jerry (or maybe Mike) swimming in circles under water and I remember putting small toads into the pool. The toads flourished in our back yard, probably because we lived close to Lake Lorraine. I can recall seeing the top of the roof which was covered in gravel. Don’t ask me why I was on the roof. No doubt I got yelled at for climbing a ladder. I remember trick-or-treating with my brothers, at least Ken was there and I have a picture in my mind of Ken’s friends walking down the unpaved street after trick-or-treating. I remember playing with marbles in a gravel or sand pile in back of the back yard fence, probably in the parking lot of the company behind our house. There was a used car lot at the end of our street, I think, or maybe an ice cream place or both. In any case I remember being in the lot with a bunch of old cars around. A Frankie & Johnies Pizza place is now there. The electric meter for the house was on the left if you were facing it and the house was one story. The front yard was small. We had some mint growing in the back yard against the house. I remember eating it (with an OK from mom) and I remember being disappointed that there was none at the Mountainview St. house when we moved.
2010 - I don't think there is anything to add. Kind of sad but at least I have some recollections. Dubois St. is now filled with two story houses which seem so close together. Number 41 is still there but it looks altered. Pictures from when Ken and Jerry were young make the area look positively expansive. Finally, the local Frankie & Johnnies has closed but I'd still encourage you to go to the one on Island Pond Road in Springfield. It has the best pizza.
I can recall the inside of the house very vaguely. I remember my mother washing John in the sink. I presume that my mother wasn’t putting a 3 year old in the sink so John was probably about a year old. This would make me about 3 years old. I remember the white piano on the screen enclosed, porch in the back. The piano was dinged up. I can remember having a small swimming pool out back, maybe 12 feet in diameter and probably only about a couple of feet deep. This sticks out in my mind because I recall Jerry (or maybe Mike) swimming in circles under water and I remember putting small toads into the pool. The toads flourished in our back yard, probably because we lived close to Lake Lorraine. I can recall seeing the top of the roof which was covered in gravel. Don’t ask me why I was on the roof. No doubt I got yelled at for climbing a ladder. I remember trick-or-treating with my brothers, at least Ken was there and I have a picture in my mind of Ken’s friends walking down the unpaved street after trick-or-treating. I remember playing with marbles in a gravel or sand pile in back of the back yard fence, probably in the parking lot of the company behind our house. There was a used car lot at the end of our street, I think, or maybe an ice cream place or both. In any case I remember being in the lot with a bunch of old cars around. A Frankie & Johnies Pizza place is now there. The electric meter for the house was on the left if you were facing it and the house was one story. The front yard was small. We had some mint growing in the back yard against the house. I remember eating it (with an OK from mom) and I remember being disappointed that there was none at the Mountainview St. house when we moved.
2010 - I don't think there is anything to add. Kind of sad but at least I have some recollections. Dubois St. is now filled with two story houses which seem so close together. Number 41 is still there but it looks altered. Pictures from when Ken and Jerry were young make the area look positively expansive. Finally, the local Frankie & Johnnies has closed but I'd still encourage you to go to the one on Island Pond Road in Springfield. It has the best pizza.