EDITOR'S PAGE

From the woods of Northwest Connecticut...

March 3, 2008   

I was advised that Gerry Smith had passed away on March 1st, 2008.  Obituary Notice

September 28, 2007

I was advised that Jeanne Jarry Burlingame had passed away on September 22, 2007.  Obituary Notice.

May 9, 2006

Sadly, I was advised that Bruce Brown and Jack Donovan died, Bruce on March 28, 2006 and Jack on April 1st.  

September 25, 2004

Our reunion was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and would do it all over again at a moment’s notice.  It was such a pleasure seeing everyone, and I believe that to be a universal reaction.  If anyone attended the reunion and didn’t enjoy themselves, then it had to be their own fault.

 I was part of the Committee that began the planning back in the Fall of 2003.  September 2004 seemed to be a long time in the future, but before we knew it the reunion came and was gone.  Even more incredible was the fact that 50 years had elapsed since we graduated from Mary E. Wells High School .  Time proved to be the great leveler, and societal status didn’t seem to be a factor in discussions.  The questions were centered around “Where are you living?” and “How many children and grandchildren do you have?”  Professions were of an incidental nature, since most of us are retired.  Old friendships were made new  again, and this weekend proved that we are ALL friends and ALL relationships were special. 

 I had the honor of delivering the toast at dinner on Saturday, and it was as follows:

 “To those we've lost along the way, God bless you.”

“To those who couldn’t be here, we missed you.”

“And to all of us present, good luck and good health.”

“May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.”

Fourteen of our classmates were  “lost along the way.”  Their names can be found on the Memorial Page of this website.  In 1954 we all thought that we would live forever, but time has proven otherwise.  Each of those fourteen names evoke immediate memories, and a great sense of loss.  But we can remember them as they were, and regret that they couldn’t be with us this weekend.

 There were many that "couldn’t be here."  And they were missed.  Paul Kollios’ wife Marsha was taken ill on Saturday and Paul was very busy attending to Marsha.  Jerry Smith and his wife were not able to attend due to health issues.  Likewise Claire Brennan Pontbriand, and certainly others who we  hadn’t heard from.  Charlie Dionis had every intention of being with us, but business pressures interfered at the last moment.  And so, to all of the above and to others who couldn't be with us, we sincerely missed you.

 And to those who were present, the Old Irish maxim seemed appropriate.  Wouldn't it be nice to “live as long as you want”, and to be comfortable in the process. 

 Although our High School ceased to exist in 1962, the building has changed very little externally.  The ivy that was so carefully and ceremonially planted each year has disappeared, and an addition was evident on the Pine Street end of the building.  No doubt the interior must have changed considerably over the years, but that is of no consequence now – truly, “you can’t go back again.”  Better to remember the rooms and people as they were.  And the memories are sweet!

 And as the school has changed, so has Southbridge .  Very little of the Main Street remains as it was.  Most of  the downtown area has disappeared with time.  The Strand Theatre is now a vacant lot, but we all remember the splendid building that it was.  And the “Hipp” is also gone, with its bowling alleys and pool tables.  Close your eyes and you can hear the pins being struck by the bowling balls.

 The YMCA building, one of the town’s most prominent landmarks for many years, has also disappeared, having turned into yet another bank or drug store, I’m not sure which.  The YMCA as we remembered it was a walk up the steep stairs to the second floor.  On the right were two pool tables, on the left “the desk”, and straight-ahead were the ping-pong tables.  The “big” gym was also on that level, and the track, “small” gym and locker rooms were in the basement.  Many of us spent as many hours at the YMCA as we did in school.  It was a social gathering place, a place where we could compete, and who will forget the “Y” dances?  Mr. D’Arcy and George Wuchter ran a tight ship, and kept us all on the straight and narrow path.  It is safe to say that without the YMCA and all of its associated activities, many of our lives would have turned out differently.  More than most other places, this is where we gathered to socialize, compete, and enjoy ourselves, all the while learning to conduct ourselves properly.  We valued the privilege of being there highly enough that it was an incentive to behave properly.  And it was a much simpler time.  Drugs were unheard of, alcohol was on the scene but rarely abused, and politeness and courtesy were expected.  I don’t know where today’s high school students gather, but I hope that it is in a place that is much like our YMCA.

 Gone is the Telephone Company, now a parking lot.  Likewise the old Police Station, and the original buildings between the two.  All of the clothing stores in the downtown area seem to have disappeared, victims to the March of the Malls.  But we remember Goodwins, Robbins, Lenti’s, Hit or Miss, the C&S Outlet on Central Street , Blondie's Variety Store and the many other family owned businesses.  Gone are the diners (“Spectown” and “Central”), the Colonnade and The Rendezvous,  and “The Wall” on Main Street hill, which was the scene of countless late night gatherings.

    The Churches and the Jacob Edwards Memorial Library have withstood the crunch of time.  A fire destroyed my grammar school at St. Mary’s, and bricks and mortar now cover the schoolyard where we played countless games of baseball.  The house where Mrs. Beauregard lived is still on the corner of Pine Street , as is the window through which I drove a baseball.  The window was repaired, but the baseball was never returned.  Such things destroy relationships, and we were never again on friendly terms.  I hope to meet her in Heaven, if that is our final destination, and perhaps I’ll get that baseball back.

 The American Optical Company, once the backbone of the community, has been reduced to a ghost of its former self.  After a series of disastrous sales and mergers the company ceased to exist as the principal place of employment in Southbridge .  Most of the buildings remain, but nothing is the same.  My few brief years of employment at the AO produced fond memories of the many people who labored there.  None of us would have predicted that it would meet the fate that awaited it, but enormous change happens in 50 years.  The change is gradual to those who remained in Southbridge, but somewhat shocking to those of us who traveled back on the Time Machine.

 If you look close, however, much of what we knew is still there.  The Victorian architecture and decorative trim on the houses is still evident.  Restoration of some of the prominent buildings that had fallen on hard times is occurring.  The monuments are still where they were, although Felix has been moved back a few feet.  The churches are still well maintained and each one is unique. Although they had proper names, we knew them as the French Churches, the Irish Church, the Greek and Albanian Churches, and the Polish Church.  The ethnic mix has changed, and these names are not as pertinent as they were.  What is important is that the churches remain.  “The Globe” and its manufacturing buildings are still there, as are the multiple tenement buildings in “The Flats”.

The Town Hall remains, looming over that part of the community like some strange Gothic Castle.

 Going full circle, the Cohasse Country Club has undergone some remodeling, but is essentially the same building that housed some of our past reunions and some of our formal high school functions.  It was a perfect location for our reunion, the staff was pleasant and courteous, the music was appropriate, and dinner was exquisite.  From my perspective we could not have made a better choice.  We should place our reservations now for our 75^th and 100^th reunions.

 Special thanks go to my fellow Committee members.  Someone has to deal with the details and arrangements, and I thought that was accomplished very well.  Helen, Carol, the two Joans, Paul, Tommy, Cliff and Dick made straight the ways, and though the events went smoothly and apparently effortlessly, that only came about through their persistent and dedicated efforts.

 We gathered from miles around.  John Coderre from Seattle.  Dick Costa and Norbert Dupre from New Mexico, Bill Allabashi from Colorado, Phyllis Bruso Romine from Vermont, Shirley Lemoine King and the Cleri’s from Florida, the Twites and Sally Anderson from Cape Cod, Polly Anderson Deveau from Maine, Connie Faford Watt from New York, and I represented Connecticut.  And just as quickly as we all came together, it was suddenly over.  There were sudden  “good byes” and we all scattered to the winds again.  But we took away with us great memories of a very special weekend.  The remembrance of the many conversations and renewed friendships, Phyllis’ paintings and Shirley’s incredible persistence, and the excellent surroundings, music and food, will remain with us.  We have pictures to jog our memories as they begin to fade.  And I have my keychain in my pocket, as a portable reminder of a wonderful time.  Thank you, Shirley.  And thank you Phyllis for the beautiful painting.

 But it’s not over yet.  A Committee Meeting is tentatively scheduled for November, and plans for the future have begun.  So stay tuned, stay in touch, and check the website frequently to see what’s new.  The first 50 years are the hardest, and we can look forward to fair winds and following seas from here on out.  1954 – it was indeed a very good year.

April 2004

Sally Anderson Watson informed us yesterday that her sister Polly's husband, Roger Deveau, had died on Wednesday, April 15th.  We all extend our condolences to Polly and to her family.

January 2004

Winter has been a long time coming, but it will get here soon with a vengeance.  New Year's came and went quietly.  The big push for 2004 is to finalize plans for our 50th Reunion.  A letter containing Reunion details will be in the mail to all class members shortly.  It will be interesting to see how all of this turns out.  I get the impression that those who don't live in the Southbridge area are generally more interested than those who do.  Time will tell.  There are rumors that Helen Santilli is already planning the 100th Reunion in 2054.

March 2003

Spring has finally arrived after a long, long Winter

The Mary Wells High School Website is very close to complete.  A few classes are missing because information is very difficult to locate.  Several classes have submitted information related to Class Reunions, the most recent being the Class of 1953.  John Quinn, of the Class of 1953, has posted a website at http://webpages.charter.net/MaryWells53/Home containing details on their upcoming 50th reunion.

June 2002

Work is moving along on the Mary Wells High School web.  Most of the classes back to the mid-40's have been included, and we are rapidly catching up on the missing classes.  Please have a look at http://webpages.charter.net/wellshighschool

The E-mail address for the site is wellshighschool@charter.net .

March 2002

I received the sad news that Diane Gravel Bartkus had died on March 6th, 2002.  We all extend our condolences to her husband Ted and their family.  Obituary Notice

January 2002 

The seasons are marching along, and we've just had our first real snow storm of the winter.  There was a smattering of Email activity around the holidays, a sign that not everyone is in hibernation.  

October 2000

I exchanged letters with Diane Gravel Bartkus after the "All Class" reunion in August.  In her most recent letter Diane stated, "I will have a computer some day soon and I will sit for hours E-mailing my children and grandchildren and all the friends that I wish lived close by.  (Wouldn't it be nice to have a list of classmates addresses.)" 

We took that thought a step further, and contacted Helen Ludwin Santilli, who does have an address list that was used for the recent "All Class" Reunion.  We are in the process of computerizing the list so that we can generate a mailing to inform everyone that we have a Web site.  We hope that this will cause a flurry of correspondence the likes of which hasn't been seen in the 46 years since we left Wells High School.

Because I have put this Web together I am for the present its de facto Editor.  Anyone who is familiar with Microsoft FrontPage is welcome to sign on as Co-Editor.

I hope that no one will be offended by anything appearing in these pages, and I accept full responsibility for accuracy of any and all statements herein.  My concept of humor might not agree with yours.  Anything that anyone might consider offensive will be removed immediately.

Please stay in touch and feel free to contribute.  E-mail any comments, news, links to the lost, complaints, whatever, to: wellshighschool@charter.net .  

My residential address is on the Home Page.

Thanks,

Jack Sheehan