Tomorrow, April 3rd, is my sister, Susan's 50th birthday and I am planning and scheming away with her husband and 2 teenaged daughters.
One of my earliest memories is throwing a party for Susan in the woods when she turned 3. Knowing me, I would have invited MY friends and am wondering if any of you remember that event? It was held in the woods behind the house that was in between the Beales and the Seidels. I have no idea why we chose that location...Who lived in that house then?
Linda
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The Bardellos lived there first, probably at that time if we were 7. They had 3 girls, all older and very exotic. The youngest, MaryAnne, was Peter's age, about 5 years older than me. They had the world's most annoying dog, a Pomeranian named Daisy who would chase after every car on the street. (Is there anywhere out there were dogs still roam free?)
ReplyDeleteThe Harbors lived there, with a girl named Cathy. Also I remember some boys about our age who had moved from Albuquerque, again an unheard-of bit of exotic wonder.
The woods behind that house had a clearing that we used as a fort, a play house, and everything else our imagination could dream up. There was a "prow" of trees that jutted out at the front, facing east. I also remember the blossoms on the cherry trees in those woods behind our houses, so beautiful in the spring, and in the early years we collected cherries from the trees. It must have been an old orchard.
-Meagan
Hi, Linda: Hard to think of Susie as 50. In 1962, it was probably a family named the Harburs. I thought initially it was still the Bardellos, but their youngest child, Mary Ann, was 2 years older than ME, so she would probably not have been on your radar screen. The Harburs had 3 or 4 kids--the oldest was my age, and I think her name was Sue. So if you had the party there, it was probably because there were some younger kids that were friends of yours/Susie's.
ReplyDeleteI think the Harburs left quite suddenly after a year or two, with some unpaid bills....but in any case, they were replaced by that very unpleasant Doctor's family whose name I have blocked. You know, the ones with the dog Pepper who pooped on everyone's lawn. I remember this--they had a big, loud party one summer night (not inviting anyone on the street) and kept everyone up late. I believe your father started up the lawnmower early Sunday morning and left it running on the strip of lawns between your houses, right under the Dr.'s bedroom window...
Even in Paradise there are the occasional black flies...
Wendy
Wendy, The dr.'s family was named Lewis. He was once on call and so frustrated by our terrible phone service that he bashed his phone into the wall. I also remember the sadness of them losing a child to SIDS.
ReplyDeleteNancy
Yes, I remember the Lewis' lost a baby, so very sad, but by that time they had annoyed us so much [and I was so young and callous] that it was hard to be properly sympathetic. The Dr. drove a Porsche, but it was never as cool as the Fisher's dark green Mustang, the first year they came out, and the karman ghia.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reminding me of the Lewises. Yes, he did have a terrible temper. Once Pepper chewed through the spark plugs on his motorcycle, and he threw rocks at the dog, right out there on the street, in full view of all us kids! (As you can see, they were not cherished neighbors at all!)
ReplyDelete-Wendy
The boy was Larry Kemp. I had one of the Bardello women for a math teacher at Hampton. She went on to marry the History teacher Mr. D'Amico.
ReplyDeleteTom
That was Eleanor. Frannie, the middle daughter, married another Hampton teacher, Scott Craig. They stayed in touch with my mother over the years.
ReplyDeleteWendy
Remember Jackie piling all of us in that karman ghia and rushing to Geil's to get Boston creme pies 5 min. before Geil's closing, so we could have Boston creme pies for our sleep-out at the scary edge of the wood behind my house? Remember "the boys" coming to scare us late that night?
ReplyDeleteEven though you have the memory of an elephant... I would like to inform you that they were frozen Morton Creme Pies: chocolate, lime, strawberry etc with beautifully formed frozen do dads running all along the perimeter. mmmmmmmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteLinda