Jackie Fellows Hull, daughter ~
“As a child living in New Boston, New Hampshire, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, I remember riding the yellow bus up the steep hill out of town and over a bumpy dirt road to Scobie Pond for our swimming lessons. It was interesting to me to be riding with a menagerie of students many of whom were high school age like the Whipples, Dodges and Barss clans.
“On our way bouncing over the potholed road we sang many different songs some of which we didn’t have a clue what they meant or weren’t a part of our young lives. They harked back to the early 1900s. Songs like “On A Bicycle Built For Two”, “You’re a Grand ‘Ole Flag,” and “Irene Good Night.” My very favorite was “You Are My Sunshine.” Then, to top all that off, the boys would begin a rousing sound of “100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” That (beer) was definitely not part of my innocent life at that age.
“Arriving at Scobie, we all piled out of the bus onto a tiny spit of beach for our swimming lessons. Some kids were really excellent swimmers and would go out to the raft for lifesaving training or diving lessons. We, on the other hand, stayed in the shallow water doing dog paddles. Then there were the dreaded bloodsuckers that swirled about your legs. Totally, Ick!
“After all that excitement one-by-one we entered the bus to travel over the potted road back to town. Then, we climbed Meeting House Road to the trail that crossed the field to home. Oh, yeah, no moms waiting for us at Dodge’s Store to drive us home like today.
” I really miss New Boston and our house on Meeting House Road. That has always been home to me.“
Marion Fellows Patterson, daughter ~ New England in the summer. Blackflies herald spring along with “bluettes” or “pissabeds” as Dad called them. This followed quickly by mosquitoes and followed again by horse flies. There were more memories of New England and more charming than these, so share them!
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