The House on Boston Road – Singletary Farm

By Steve LeClaire

While cleaning out my parent’s home on Boston Road recently, I came across this fascinating photo. It shows the home on Boston Road that would be owned by my grandparents, Stephen & Mary Benjamin from 1927 to 1953. I’d never seen this picture growing up, and immediately knew I’d struck gold. My grandmother’s scrapbook only had pictures back to 1927, so I knew this was the earliest picture that existed of the property. It shows seven people who appear to be the owners or residents. I’d never seen the white picket fence in any photos my grandmother had. Who were the people in the picture and when was it taken? On the back, in script I did not recognize it said: “Esq Sibley Estate, Later John D. McCrate followed by James W. Stockwell. So I knew I had the right place. I set out with the two volumes of the Sutton Town History to find out what I could and make some educated guesses. Here’s what I found out:

The Whipples -

Not many know the history of what is currently St. Mark’s Catholic Church Rectory on Boston Road. The Sutton Town History says “the original upright part of the house was presumably built by John Whipple sometime in the 1760’s.” Tracing the Whipples is complicated, as there are several generations of ‘Johns’, as well as second and third marriages after deaths. Whipples feature strongly in the settling of Rhode Island. John Whipple I, was born in 1695 in Salem Mass, and died in Sutton in 1740. He served as Sutton’s Town Moderator off and on between 1725 and 1730, and as Selectman between 1721 and 1727. My guess is that he arrived in Sutton in 1721, just before the birth of his son, but I’m unable to ascertain where he lived at first. One of John’s earliest recorded acts as a selectman in 1723 was to ‘be (on) a commity to dispose of ye room allowed for Pews to such Inhabitance of Sutton as they according to their best discressing (discretion) shall judge meet.” Whipple was assigned ‘front 5 foot and 3 inches, deep 5 foot and 6 inches, being on the west side of the south door’. The new church on the common was barely 4 years old. He is then sprinkled throughout the town meeting records of those earliest years, amongst those charged with hiring, handling salary disputes and eventually dismissing the first minister, Rev. John McKinstry, and hiring Rev. David Hall.

His son John, later Capt. John Whipple II was born in Billerica Mass in 1722. He married Susanah Putnam in Salem. As this John Whipple would have been 45 years old in 1767 when the main portion of the Sutton house is estimated to have been built, it is probable that this is the John Whipple referred to in the Town History as the builder of the house. He died in Central Falls Rhode Island in 1807, and is buried there. The only official mark John II left of his time in Sutton, is the recording of the birth of his son John Whipple III, born on March 15, 1766. When John III was born in Sutton to Captain John and Susannah Putnam, she was 42 he was 44, perhaps old for child bearing years by the standards of the day. The Town history refers to John III as ‘Jr’, and says he was educated at Leicester academy, before marrying Anna Hall of Sutton in 1794. They had ten children together, and moved to Charlton Massachusetts, where he died in 1847 at 81 years of age. He was buried there, and left behind a large estate. John Jr ( or III) also had a half- brother, ‘Deacon John Whipple’ (1748-1772) from Captain John’s first marriage to Sarah Cummings. The half- brother and family are buried in South Sutton Cemetery. Confused?

Rev. Edmund Mills -

John Whipple Jr (III), conveyed the property to Rev. Edmund Mills in 1803. Mills occupied it about 15 years, to about 1818, when the family moved east to Sutton Center. ( to the Halls-Mills house ) Mills was born in Kent, CT in 1752. After graduating from Yale College in 1775, he married widow Abigail Moore Packard in 1789. Rev. Edmund Mills was ordained pastor of the First Congregational Church in Sutton on June 23, 1790. Before the move to ‘Singletary Farm’, Mills owned the ‘Major Elliot’ home, later owned by L.W. Howard as of the writing of the Sutton History Vol 1 in 1876, and currently owned by Keith Downer. Mills brought up two of Packard’s children there, and the couple had six children of their own. Mills died in Sutton in 1825. In 1826, the Town voted ‘to procure gravestones to the Rev. Edmund Mills grave ( in Sutton Center cemetery ) said stones not to exceed forty dollars.’

Hon. Jonas Sibley, then by his son Jonas L. Sibley, esq.

Brothers John and Richard Sibley arrived in Salem MA from England in 1629. John’s sons Joseph, John, and Jonathan were amongst the original proprietors and first 30 families to settle Sutton. Five generations later, Jonas Sibley was born March 7, 1762 in Sutton. Jonas and wife Lydia had 3 children. He represented the district for nineteen years in the state legislature and was also a state senator. He died in 1834. His youngest, son Jonas Leonard Sibley was born Jan 4, 1791 and graduated from Brown University, class of 1814 and was admitted to the bar in 1817. Although Jonas and Jonas Leonard were ‘engaged in agriculture’, they both found time to be active public servants. Jonas L. represented Sutton for several years in state legislature, and was eventually appointed US marshal for the port of Boston by President Jackson himself. The elder Sibley served as Town Moderator between 1802 and 1809, and the younger between 1812 and 1833. He served as Sutton’s Town Clerk between 1823 and 1830, and served on the School Committee.

The ell of the house was built during the Sibley’s ownership, presumably between 1830 and 1850 and was used as a law office under Jonas L’s tenure. The 1850 census lists the value of the farm at $2,250 encompassing 80 acres of improved land and 26 acres of unimproved land, $75 dollars-worth of machinery, 1 horse, 5 milk cows, 2 working oxen, 13 other cattle, and one swine. The value of the livestock was set at $475 dollars. After 35 years of marriage, Jonas Leonard Sibley died in 1852. Margaret died in 1858.

Jonas Leonard had married Margaret Nusom Monroe in 1817. Together, they had 8 children. 4 of whom were living at the time of the writing of Sutton History, volume 1.

1. The eldest, Susan Maria Sible was born in Sutton in 1818. She married the Honorable John Dell/Dennis McCrate in Boston on January 2, 1851. McCrate was born in Wiccasset Maine on October 1st, 1802, and died in Sutton in 1879 at 77 years of age. The McCrates had no children.

2. Daughter Joanna LeBaron Sibley was born May 1st, 1820. She marred the Rev. John J Pierpont in Sutton in 1844. They moved to Medford, where she died in 1852. She is buried in Sutton Center.

3. John Monroe Sibley was born on August 7, 1822 in Sutton. He married Experience Clark Wheelock on September 6, 1848 in Warwick RI. He died on June 4th, 1900 in Sutton. The couple went to California for a time, and had one son, John Pierpont Sibley.

4. Frances Lydia Sibley was born Feb 22, 1824 in Sutton and died Oct 21, 1827 in Sutton.

5. Mary LeBaron was born March 16, 1826 and died June 3, 1830. Mary and Frances are both buried in Sutton Center.

6. Henry Jonas Sibley was born on April 21, 1828 in Sutton. He married Mary Hutchinson of Lebanon CT on Sept. 23, 1878 in Alameda, California; died on Sept. 17, 1889 in Sutton, MA. As of the 1880 Census, Henry & Mary were living in California, where Henry worked as a real estate agent. Henry died in 1889, and is buried in Sutton. Mary died in 1904, and is buried in California.

7. Frances Mary Sibley, born August 29 1830 in Sutton married James Willard Stockwell, son of Simeon & Delia ( Holbrook ) Stockwell, on June 25th, 1867 in Sutton. She died ‘suddenly and unexpectedly’ in Sutton on November 10, 1900.

8. Margaret Louisa Sibley was born October 26, 1832 in Sutton. She died on January 29, 1836 in Sutton.

The McCrates & Stockwells -

Jonas L Sibley’s eldest daughter Susan (b. August 31, 1818 ) married Hon. John D. McCrate on January 2nd, 1851. McCrate was born in Wiccasset Maine on October 1st, 1802 and had entered law school at the age of 13, graduated at 17, and began his profession in Maine at age 20. He was a member of the House of Representatives from Maine and together he and Susan became the owners of the Sutton property around 1852, when McCrate retired from law ‘to engage in agricultural pursuits.’ He died in Sutton in 1879 at 77 years of age. The McCrates had no children.

Another of Sibley’s daughters, Frances Mary, born in 1830, married James Willard Stockwell of Sutton in June of 1867. Stockwell was born in the Eight Lots district in 1838. He registered for the Civil War draft in 1863 at age 25 as required, but apparently was never called up. As a point of interested, he is listed right along with Hollis Sherman, also age 25. Sherman’s son Louis would purchase ‘The Elms’, the home east of Stockwell on Boston Road in 1912.

As of the 1870 census, Stockwell is listed as a lumber dealer. The Stockwells apparently had no children of their own, but James had guardianship for Hattie L Warfield, born in 1857.

The Stockwells became the owners of the property upon Susan McCrate’s death in Boston in 1889. Sutton Town History vol II states: “(The Sibley sisters) were cultured women, respecting old customs and traditions. Mrs. McCrate was regal in bearing, of great courage and determination, yet kindly in nature. Frances Stockwell was a woman of unusual charm and grace. On November 10, 1900, as she returned to the room after bidding goodbye to guests whom she had entertained for the evening, she sank to the floor and passed away in an instant. Thus, quietly came the end of her beautiful life.” James W. Stockwell himself gave many years of public service as Town Treasurer, Tax Collector, and as State Senator from the district in 1879. He was chairman of the School Committee, and instrumental in the establishment of the first Sutton High School. He was a member of the Olive Branch lodge of Masons.

Mr. Stockwell married his second wife, Joanne Garvin on April 23, 1902. Because of ill health, the Stockwells sold the farm in 1927 to Stephen E. Benjamin of Millbury. Mr. & Mrs. Stockwell had by then moved to the Bancroft Hotel in Worcester, where they lived until their deaths in 1931 and 1935 respectively.

The 1900 Census Survey, taken just prior to Frances Stockwell’s death shows the following residents:

James W. Stockwell: Head of family, age 62

Frances Stockwell: Spouse, age 69

Joanna Garvin: Sister in law, age 28. Her birth date says 1851, ( tombstone says 1854) which would make her 49. There are many other discrepancies re: Joanna Garvin. Her parents were both born in Ireland, making her 1st generation in this country. In other documents and census, she is listed as a ‘domestic servant’. At any rate, she was living ‘with the family’ prior to Francis Stockwell’s death. If she was a ‘sister- in- law’ to the head of the household, I’ve yet to find the connection.

Also listed as residents on the 1900 census:

John M Sibley: Brother in law, ( son of Jonas L. Sibley ) age 77, married in Warwick RI in 1848. He died June 4, 1900.

Eliza Farrill: Servant, age 32 from PA.

So, who are the seven people in the photo? We’ll never know for sure. But with some extrapolation and known pieces of the puzzle, one can make educated guesses. Most of the Sibleys, McCrates, and Stockwells were gone by 1900. The straw boater hat is a clue. Although these hats existed as early as the 1820’s, they were not ‘popular’ until the 1880’s through the 1930’s. The full- length dresses appear to be turn of the century in style. If we ‘assume’ that the women in the white dresses are Susan Sibley McCrate ( who predeceased her sister) and her sister Frances Sibley Stockwell, ( who died in Boston in 1900 ) the picture could be circa 1890, with Susan being about 70 and Frances being about 60.

There are three men in the picture. Since we know John D McCrate died in 1879, it is unlikely he is pictured here. James W. Stockwell would have been only 52 in 1890, and John M. Sibley would have been 67. But let’s assume the picture is circa 1879. Is the man seated behind the fence - who appears to be the oldest of the group - indeed McCrate? He’d be about 77. Then, are the couple in the fence opening James W. Stockwell ( age 41) and wife Francis ( age 49 )? Is the short woman in the hat Joanna Garvin, age 22? Is the man in the boater John M Sibley at 56? With wishful thinking, it could be possible.

I’ll never know, without seeing proven pictures of all those named, but it’s fascinating to me to put together the pieces of the puzzle of those who went before us, and made their lives on Boston Road. I find them all friendly ghosts. I welcome any corrections or further information.

The Hikers

Originally Published August 24, 2016 by Steve LeClaire

It was John MacLaren who suggested in about 1923 that the young ladies in his parish start a “Young Woman’s Club”. The first president was Maude ( Ray ) MacLaren, who had married Reverend John’s son Harold in 1913. Sutton was a small town, and everyone knew everyone.

Rev. John McFarlane MacLaren was pastor of the First Congregational Church of Sutton from 1916 to 1924. Born in Greenock, Scotland, he came to Thompsonville, Connecticut and married Ada Logan in 1886. All of their children; William, Alta, Harold, Grace, and James Eion, were born in Connecticut. The last, Edward, was born in Worcester. The family moved to Sutton and into the parsonage in Sutton Center when Rev. John became minister. The family quickly assimilated into Sutton and its culture.

One of Rev. MacLaren’s Deacons was Dexter Alonzo Brigham. Dexter Alonzo’s father, Dr. John Brigham had settled first on the old Whticomb place, which almost 100 years later would become Pleasant Valley Country Club. In 1873, the Brighams moved to the Royal Penniman estate on Leland Hill, naming it “Calmer Farm”. They would farm there for almost 80 years.

Fast forward to the 1920’s. Deacon Dexter A. Brigham’s son John Dexter –a big strapping farm boy freshly discharged from the Army in World War One, would eventually court and marry the minister’s daughter Grace, firmly cementing the MacLaren-Brigham relationship bridge in Sutton. Tradition says that young John Dexter Brigham would ride his motorcycle from the family farm on Leland Hill up to the Sutton Center parsonage to court the minister’s young daughter, Grace. There may have been some sideways glances or raised eyebrows, but in due time Miss MacLaren became Mrs. John Brigham and both became respected members of the church and Sutton community.

Grace Brigham became the dutiful farmer’s wife at Calmer Farm on Leland Hill. The farm operated a dairy and raised many chickens, but was mainly a produce and truck farm, as vegetable farms were known then. John Brigham and his International truck were a common sight on his vegetable route into Worcester. “Calmer Farm” was a progressive farm, and eventually boasted having the first rubber tired tractor in Sutton. Tractors had steel wheels then, but Brigham purchased his 1935 John Deere on rubber. Other farms scowled at first, doubting its prowess and usefulness, but soon there were rubber tired tractors all over Sutton. John Brigham knew. He’d been to Stockbridge Agricultural where he’d been a star athlete as well as a avid student of farming.

Reverened John MacLaren suggested to his congregation in the 1920’s that they start a young women’s group. Many of the women agreed it would be a good idea. Some were newlyweds, some had small children already, and some were raising teens. The first president was Maude ( Ray ) MacLaren, who had married Rev. MacLaren’s son Harold in 1913. The MacLarens lived on Uxbridge Road, just up the hill from the common and the church. Harold worked as a construction superintendent.

Eunice ( Perry ) King, and her husband Arthur lived just a bit further up Uxbridge Rd , right about where Bond Hollow Rd forks off to the right. Arthur was in the cattle business, having purchased his farm in 1921. Eunice was a 1914 graduate of the then relatively new ( 1908) Sutton High School building on Singletary Ave. In time, Eunice would become an active worker in town, interested in organizations of the church, school and Grange. She would go on to hold many important offices in these groups and serve on countless committees. She would become a register of voters for many years. She would be High School Librarian in my lifetime. A town scholarship still exists in her name. But as a young woman in the 1920’s, she quickly joined her neighbors in the newly formed young women’s club. Years later, John and Grace Brigham’s son Donald – a talented artist - would paint a beautiful mural depicting fields, trees and cattle on the two huge doors of King’s farm truck garage on Uxbridge Road.

A couple of the members of the Women’s Group lived up in the Eight Lots district. Nelson Gerber inherited his father’s share of the large brick house and estate ( now owned by Dan Moroney ) in 1927. He’d married Miss Dora Ann Rau of Rockville, Conn in 1911. Dora Gerber became an active member of the little group. The Gerbers were farmers. Before the elder Gerber had passed in 1925, the farm was divided and a tract of 276 acres across the road was sold to George Thompson and his wife, Miss Mamie Stratton of Grafton. The Thompsons were farmers as well. Mamie joined the Young Women’s Club at the urging of her neighbor, Dora Gerber.

Another member was Mrs. Milton Holbrook, or ‘Ruth’ as she was called. The Holbrooks lived next to the Sherman Blacksmith shop, in the house currently occupied by Mark and Audrey Brigham. (the great grandson of Rev. John MacLaren!)

Of course the minister’s daughters became members of the Young Women’s Club. Alta Irene MacLaren, who never married joined, as did her younger sister Grace (MacLaren) Brigham.

So, the group of young women continued to meet, assist in church affairs, and share lunches and ‘teas’ at each other’s homes. A sub section of the group – the aforementioned women - got together to share their enjoyment of quilting. They would gather at each other’s homes and work on beautiful quilts together. One day, gathered around the watering trough in front of the Brick Block in Sutton Center, Dora Gerber jokingly said that if they would “hike” to her home in Eight Lots District on the Oxford line she would serve a chicken dinner. The five others took her up on it. The second “hike” was to the Brigham Farm at the Northbridge line. From those two hikes the six “Hikers” met once a month at a member’s home and made bed quilts. Thus was born, ‘the Hikers’.

The Hikers had no official status or standing. The name was an unofficial moniker given them by townspeople who saw the little group walking about town to each other’s homes, merely for the exercise and comradery. The ladies were a sub-group within the larger Young Women’s Club, of which they were the backbone as it was. However, they continued to exist and meet throughout the 1930’s and the Second World War years of the 1940’s as ‘the Hikers’.

The War took John and Grace Brigham’s eldest son John Dexter Jr. off to service with the Navy in 1942. Dexter survived the kamikaze attack on board the Belleauwood in the pacific. Son Robert served in the Army of Occupation from 1946 through 1948. Later, youngest son Jim served with the Navy during the Korean War on board the USS Midway. Prior to the start of the war, John Brigham Sr. had scaled down his farm operations, leaving the work to his sons and hired hands. John joined the US Post Office as a mail carrier. Grace cared for her family while she continued her work with the church and meetings with The Hikers. She baked a mean apple pie, and homemade donuts.

Harold & Maude MacLaren’s son John likewise went off to war, serving with the US Army throughout Scotland, England, Africa and Sicily. Son George, known as ‘Midge’ entered the service in 1942 and flew fifty missions in combat with the 15th Air Force, and was awarded several medals. Arthur & Eunice King’s son David entered the service in 1946 and served with the 25th Infantry Division on Occupation duty in Japan.

The Hikers still got together once a month, hiked shorter distances, worked within the church group, and maintained close family friendships. World War Two and then the Korean War ended, and the heroes returned to the blue star mothers. The prosperous 1950’s began. Sutton was looking forward to its 250th anniversary in 1954. The town planned a large celebration, including a massive parade, spectacular fireworks, historical displays, religious services, and a festive ball.

This is when The Hikers made themselves heard. “Wouldn’t it be nice to include Purgatory Chasm and State Park in some way?” Maude MacLaren suggested. The Purgatory State Reservation had been established in 1919 through the efforts of Sutton’s own Herbert L. Ray, a former member of the State legislature, and father of Maude Ray MacLaren. A large portion of the park, including the chasm itself, was acquired from the Whitin Machine Works in neighboring Whitinsville. In 1950, John C. Dudley and Flora H. Dudley gave the 70 acre John H. Dudley Memorial Forest to the town, in memory of their son, who was killed in action over Sicily in 1943. Another Hiker quickly agreed that Purgatory should be utilized; “Yes, but how?” It was suggested by a Hiker that perhaps the church would sponsor a picnic breakfast at Purgatory. With the agreement of the church, the Hikers agreed to spearhead the planning of the breakfast, to be held on Monday, September 6th 1954 – Labor Day – as part of the big 250th celebration.

With the help of Park Superintendent Charlie Graveline, the breakfast was planned to be held in the parking lot near the pavilion at the entrance to the chasm. The church and its kitchen workers helped. Volunteers from the local farms offered their trucks and helped to gather all the wooden picnic tables from throughout the park, and bring cooking gear from the church.

John Brigham was responsible for making coffee. He stoked the wood and charcoal fires in the stone fireplaces and boiled huge pots of water. His son “Dexter” cooked on one of the grills. Charcoal grills were made from metal barrels cut in half length-wise, and placed on metal stands. Thick, sheet metal rectangular, pans on top formed the grills. Grace Brigham handed out homemade donuts. Ruth Holbrook and her daughter June, as well as June’s friend Doris Jones passed out donuts and little boxes of cereal. The MacLarens all worked the grills, flipping thousands of pancakes and slices of ham. There were other members of the church that helped by preparing the batter, stocking the grills, and rolling plastic silverware into paper napkins. Alden Perry cracked and fried eggs, along with Bucky Smith. Alden’s father, Norman Perry and “The Maples” supplied the refrigerated milk truck to keep milk cold. My mother, Betty Benjamin – secretary for the 250th celebration itself – poured coffee. A few weeks later she’d meet and begin dating my future dad. The first breakfast was a huge success by all accounts.

The breakfast continued annually for over 50 years. With the demise of The Maples farm, Eaton’s Dairy eventually supplied milk. Over time, the children of the originators helped and then took things over completely. Dexter Brigham was chairman for several years. He and his brother Jim manned the grills. Dexter’s son Mark eventually helped, flipping his share of pancakes. Ed MacLaren’s son Ben joined in, grilling ham as I recall. Bucky Smith’s son Andy took over on the egg grill. Jack Perry assisted his father Alden in grilling ham. The grills became tightly controlled, and highly coveted spots in the assembly line breakfasts. It became a joke that in order to work one of the grills, you had to be bequeathed a spot in the cook’s will. It was a badge of honor to work at the Purgatory/Labor Day Breakfast. By the 1970’s it was an annual tradition to get a couple of Bucky’s eggs, Alden’s ham and Dexter’s pancakes, as well as Grace Brigham’s donuts and June Holbrook’s cereal. John Brigham still poured coffee. He’d work long hours through the night before, in the kitchen of the church – boiling coffee and pouring it into large 40 quart milk cans to be transported to the Chasm in the morning. My dad helped my mother pour coffee too, and when I was old enough in my high school years, I helped pour too. The annual breakfast became a “must attend” social event of the year. Soon, there were busloads of out of towners attending. Motorcycle groups planned fall rides around attending the Labor Day Breakfast in Sutton. Long lines formed, and sometimes people waited hours for tickets. It was no matter. People socialized and saw folks that they didn’t normally cross paths with. It became a town reunion of sorts. Politicians, local and state all came to shake hands and lightly solicit votes. The breakfast became profitable, and I remember my father writing ‘rain insurance’ for the organization in case the breakfast had to be cancelled due to inclement weather. For years, he had to meet the local meteorologist from Worcester Airport to measure and determine any precipitation. The policy rarely if ever paid off, the sun was often bright and clear over Sutton on many a crisp morning - and my dad and the weatherman would simply enjoy a hearty breakfast together.

By the late 1970’s and early 1980’s the next generation had taken over the heavy labor, but The Hikers remained at the center of it all. They obviously aged each year, and finally relegated themselves to sitting at the head of the line taking tickets and greeting the patrons. Many of the women retained their plaid 250th anniversary hats, and wore them proudly. They passed out token advertising items provided by local business sponsors such as yardsticks and rulers, bag clips and calendars, inflatable sponges and refrigerator magnets. Through the years, the efforts of the Hikers and their spouses have brought in a substantial amount of money, given to the First Congregational Church. Fire victims have been recipients of handmade quilts and money when disasters struck. The Hikers were the revered matrons of Sutton.

Alta MacLaren only saw the first three breakfasts, passing away in August of 1957 at age 67. And just a year before the first breakfast, the Tornado of 1953 had flattened Calmer Farm and the Brigham’s home on Leland Hill. Choosing not to rebuild, John and Grace built a small home on Boston Road and relocated. Grace passed away in 1983 at age 87, followed by John in 1990 at age 92. Nelson & Dora Gerber sold their farm on Eight Lots Road to Paul Libbey, and moved to a small house on Boston Road, at the base of Hovey Hill. I think Eunice King was the last living Hiker.

By the time fifty years had passed at Sutton’s 300th anniversary in 2004, the original Hikers were all long gone and the First Congregational Church had officially taken over the organization of the Labor Day Breakfast. The ‘breakfast’ had been moved to the Sutton Center Common, as it was becoming too difficult to set up a huge outdoor kitchen in Purgatory. Although a necessary and practical move, the atmosphere just wasn’t quite the same. However, the sensible Church workers wanted the option of being able to move inside quickly should it rain, which for whatever reason seemed to happen slightly more frequently than in the past. At least in my memory, I don’t think the breakfast has ever had to be cancelled outright. Different traditions are born each year as new members of the community mingle with the old timers and are welcomed into the culture that is Sutton.

The original women never forgot their trysting place either – the watering trough in the intersection in front of the Brick Block - and had kept it in bloom during the summer and green during the winter. That ‘trough’, the black and white striped iron pipe now sits in front of the Blacksmith Shop as a lasting tribute.

These were The Hikers:

Miss Alta MacLaren

Grace Brigham (Mrs. John D.)

Ruth Holbrook (Mrs. Milton L.)

Eunice King (Mrs. Arthur E.)

Maud MacLaren (Mrs. Harold L.)

Mamie Thompson (Mrs. George)

Dora Gerber (Mrs. Nelson, Sr.)

Monday, September 6, 1954 - “Picnic Style Breakfast” at Purgatory Chasm State Reservation

Home of Arthur E. King

Olive & Eunice - Whittier Farms Sponsor a Cow!

Guess what! We’ve sponsored a cow! and what’s better than one cow? TWO COWS!

President & CEO Steve LeClaire and his wife Joy, who is also our bookkeeper and ace registry runner, have personally sponsored two Whittier Farms calves through The Raelyn Calf and Herd Sponsorship Program.

What does it mean to sponsor a calf? Read on!

In 2020 The Raelyn Calf and Herd Sponsorship Program at Whittier Farms was founded and created by long time resident of Sutton, Linda Turgeon. Linda was looking for a special gift for her daughter Raelyn. Linda also wanted it to be a gift that gave back to the community. The idea was sparked when remembering how much Raelyn loved animals and her fondness for cows. She knew that the gift of care and support of Whittier’s dairy cows would be perfect. The farm had always been such a huge part of Raelyn's younger years. Living close by, the family would walk to the farm frequently to visit the cows and the farm store for a treat. The daily drives by were the highlight of Raelyn's day as she always announced "Hi Cows!" Whittier Farms is thankful for Linda's creative thinking and Raelyn's love for their cows as this program builds upon Whittier Farms’ stewardship and sustainability.

Learn more about how you can sponsor a cow by clicking here!

Why Olive & Eunice?

After much name debate, "Olive" and "Eunice" were decided upon to honor Sutton dairy matrons Olive Sherman Perry at The Maples and Eunice Perry King at Arthur King's Farm.

Both The Maples And Arthur King’s have roots going back to the earliest settlers in Sutton, but enjoyed their heyday in the 1940’s through the early 1960’s. The Maples operated on Singletary Avenue while Arthur King raised his herd on Uxbridge Road, near Bond Hollow. Olive and Eunice helped to support the farms and the families of two once thriving and important farms in town. Both women were close friends of Mary Stevenson Benjamin, wife of SBIA founder, Stephen E. Benjamin!

Sutton and the surrounding area has a rich history of family-run dairy farms. Unfortunately, as the dairy industry changed over the decades, many of them closed for good. Whittier Farms remains as the only full time dairy farm in Sutton. In addition to supporting young calves through the Raelyn Calf and Herd Sponsorship Program and supporting our friends & neighbors at Whittier Farms, we also wanted to highlight the importance of keeping agriculture alive and well here in Sutton by honoring legacies.

In the photo above, taken by the Whittiers, Olive is the black calf with bright blue jacket. She was born on February 16th. Eunice is the black and white calf and was born on February 1st. Both calves currently reside in their own calf hutch. We can’t wait to follow along as they grow up! We’re proud to be Caring for the Next Generation and supporting local agriculture and businesses.

The Blue Jay

Originally Published January 15, 2020 by Steve LeClaire

I’d love to know who held the first ‘Common Victualler’ license in the town of Sutton. I’d be willing to bet Lazarus Lebaron’s tavern in Wally Johnson’s former (ok, George Funari’s current) house would be a contender. Many an 18th century traveler, weary and dusty from rumbling over dirt road by horse and wagon probably quaffed a mug of ale or dined on a slice of meat, bread or cheese while enjoying Lazarus’ hospitality. Sutton’s hospitality roots run deep.

Besides various taverns, where did the locals go? From 1931 to 1941 my grandmother ran ‘Singletary Farm’, in the building that now houses St Mark’s Catholic Church Rectory. Sutton’s youth could sometimes be found at the barn dances in good weather, but you could hardly call what was offered there ‘fast food’ or even ‘informal dining’. Singletary Farm was a little more ‘upscale’ than that, at least in my grandmother’s mind. She called it a ‘tea-room’. You got a good meal, but you also got gracious hospitality.

Herbert L. Ray had a small store just south of their house in Sutton Center, next to Sutton’s first high school. Here they sold “ice cream and tonics, cigars and tobacco.” I also read in town reports of the day that Mrs. Ray served a hot lunch that the school kids could purchase for a dime in the 1920’s and 30’s. My Mom always noted that everybody referred to him as “Hog Ray”, for reasons that likely have been taken to the graves of his many customers.

As the automotive age dawned, and the ease of mobility increased, diners and roadside stops sprung up to meet the needs of travelers. Car hops like The Flying Saucer over on route 20 drew kids, as did Speedy’s on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. I remember the crinkly cut fries served in red & white striped boxes at The Flying Saucer. What a special treat to go for those! Those were quintessential 1950’s roadside car hops, and Sutton had its share of informal eating joints as well. Doris & Nick VanTwyver’s “Doris & Nick’s” on Central Turnpike, Red and Jenny Labrie’s “Corey’s Hot Dogs”, as well as Henry & Bea Lavoie’s “Henry’s Lunch”, both on the Southbound side of Route 146, and John and Rose Mooskian’s “Pleasant Valley Restaurant” diner on the northbound side. You got good, quick meals, albeit served across a Formica counter.

There was Vern’s in Manchaug, which was known for steamers and fried chicken in a basket. But when I was a kid growing up in the 1960’s, the place that held eminent fascination – and was ‘the’ place to go in Sutton - was The Blue Jay.

Known over the years as The Blue Jay Club, Blue Jay Four Corners, Blue Jay Lobster Pond, The Blue Jay, and finally simply as The Jay, this famed Sutton eatery and bar served Sutton well. The Sutton town history does not address the venue’s heyday, but certainly traces its origins. It says: “On the southeast corner of the junction of the roads, S. Martin Shaw sold land to C.E. LaRochelle of Whitinsville in 1931. This was in the days of prohibition and Mr. Larochelle erected a gas station. He maintained that a bus line was to be opened through the town and this would be a stopping place. The gas station turned into a dime and dance hall, known as The Blue Jay Club. In a few years Mr. Larochelle sold to William Bellargeon, who later sold to Ulysses Paquin. The Paquins made an apartment over the club and lived there with sons Ronald and Warren.

Details of how the Blue Jay got started or got its name are sketchy at best. An article in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle in 2010 stated that: “In the 1920’s, 25 men collaborated to purchase a schoolhouse on a spot known as Plummers Corner (in Whitinsville – currently Ocean State Job Lot) and moved the building to its present location around 1932.” Whether or not the town history implies that Larochelle or Paquin sold illicit booze during prohibition (which ended in 1933) is lost to facts and interpretation. But, for the next 20 years it was known as a bar with a 5 room apartment on the 2nd floor. The original building was encapsulated into The Blue Jay as renovations and expansions were made as the business grew.

In 1950, George & Helen Mosher, along with their two sons Richard and Ed purchased the business and molded the restaurant into the family friendly eatery that would become known throughout the region for seafood. Richard, who had been an accountant – and his wife Barbara would become the face of the business during its heyday, before turning it over to their sons.

Under the Mosher family ownership, The Blue Jay was one of very few full service – full menu restaurants in town. ‘The Jay’ was strategically located at the intersection of Putnam Hill Road and Central Turnpike – the true geographical center of Sutton. In the 1950’s, it became a destination place to go. There was always a good crowd and the booths, counter and dining room would be filled during the summer months with patrons from the various campgrounds around Manchaug Lake. It was not ‘fine, elegant dining’, but The Jay served good, wholesome homemade food. They claimed generous portions in the American tradition. Folks traveled from Rhode Island, Connecticut and beyond just for the live lobsters and fried clam dinners.

One of the earliest additions became one of the most enduring symbols. The Moshers had a custom built lobster pond installed – basically a series of fiberglass tanks that turned fresh water into salt water. The ‘pond’ was designed to hold as many as 2000 lobsters at once. Guests were welcome to walk up to the pond and choose their lobster to be immediately cooked. The lobster tanks were wonders to behold, full of live wriggling crustaceans, their massive claws pegged or rubber banded for safety. This writer stared into those tanks for what seemed like hours, fascinated by the lobsters. We wanted to poke at them and pick them up, but were always admonished by the grownups to ‘leave the lobsters alone’.

This writer remembers the Blue Jay dairy bar. The dairy bar room was on the north side of the building, facing Central Turnpike. A large paved parking lot sat between the building and the road, where cars could pull right up to the building. The parking lot surrounded the front three sides. A covered porch wrapped around the main entrance on the front northwest corner. Entering from the parking lot, one first encountered the sound of running water from the lobster tanks immediately to one’s right. A half- dozen booths lined the wall to the left, against the parking lot side. This wall was lined with large picture windows, looking out over the parking lot.

The Jay was the personification of a 1950’s roadside restaurant. A Jukebox held all the hits of the day on 45 rpm records. Control mechanisms were at each booth where for a quarter (a dime maybe?) you could select your song. The sounds of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Patsy Cline, and Fats Domino were juxtapositioned with a homogeneous blending of white bread pop from Perry Como, Andy Williams, Pat Boone & Patti Page. The jukebox played softly in the background to the clink of glasses, and the sounds of silverware on plates – added to the gentle flow of water over the lobsters. A row of eight chrome and red vinyl stools were anchored to the floor in front of the counter. Behind the counter was a lengthy grill and service area, decked out in gleaming steel, looking similar to the slick and sleek Airstream travel trailers Dick Mosher began selling in the adjacent parking lot. Even well into the 1970’s, the dairy bar seemed just like on the TV show “Happy Days”. The work area against the wall contained a grill where the burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches were made, along with a milk shake machine and sink for washing dishes.

The Blue Jay was THE place to go for teens in the 1950’s and 60’s. I never saw it empty. Dick Mosher treated the high school basketball team to dinner when they won the Clark Tournament in 1958. It was a huge deal. Those kids said they felt like celebrities, in their letter jackets. George Lamothe, the captain and star of that team, later reflected, “We celebrated at the Blue Jay after that win [the Clark championship game, a 4-point victory over North Brookfield. That was like going to Las Vegas. We thought we were pretty slick when we could go to the Blue Jay. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t any place else to go.”Burgers, fries and milkshakes. Happy Days.

The connection of the Blue Jay and Sutton sports remained strong over the years. The Mosher boys all played baseball, with Andy captaining the Sammie baseball team in 1978. Dick Mosher sponsored one of the original and enduring teams in the Sutton Little League, who wore “Blue Jay Lobster Pond” proudly in blue across their uniforms and created strong teams in the late 60s and early 70s under coaches Bill Eklund and Nelson Towle. It was the tradition each year that the winning team (whether “Blue Jay” or another team) would drive from the Little League field by the old high school (actually they were driven by their parents as they were ages 10-12)_to celebrate at the Blue Jay with milk shakes from the dairy window. Never would a milk shake at any other point in a celebrating players’ life taste as good as on that night. The Moshers also sponsored Sutton’s sole Babe Ruth league team in those years, “Mosher Trailer”, and once again the Blue Jay was the venue for celebrations of championships won by that team, including the Worcester County Babe Ruth championship in 1972.

‘The Jay’ provided gainful employment for a host of Sutton kids as dishwashers and busboys, including future Sutton police chief John Hebert who learned to cook there. The Mosher’s kids Ricky, Gary, Andy and Beth all worked at the restaurant. A host of Sutton women waitressed there. It seemed Blanche Bottomly worked there forever. The waitresses had one table down by the door to the kitchen where they sat and smoked, clinching endless cigarette butts into an ash tray.

There was a dining room in what was probably the original part of the building. In my youth, I don’t recall seeing it used much; we only ate on the dairy bar side when we were fortunate enough to go to The Jay. Later on in perhaps the early 80’s, I do recall going to a wedding reception there, as well as Lion’s Club meetings and the like.

Dick & Barbara Mosher eventually employed all of their children including their three sons Richard Jr, Gary and Andrew, who spent years co-owning the restaurant with each other. A daughter Elizabeth, would be killed in an auto accident in Sutton in 1971 while a senior in high school. Richard and Barbara said the ability to give hundreds of local adolescents their first job was an additional bonus they enjoyed over the years.

The Moshers sold their business three times and purchased it back twice, all while managing the demands of an RV business in Texas. The Moshers estimated they invested $200,000 in the eatery when they reacquired it in 1986. Holiday weekends routinely grossed over $10,000 apiece – impressive considering lobster dinners sold for $2.50 each plus sides for a long time.

During the early 1980’s, the business was owned and operated by Genevieve and William H. “Duke” Carlo. A young Patricia Fanning, who lived up Putnam Hill Road within walking distance of the Jay, worked there as a waitress while in college. Pat and her family now live in Dudley and she shared some recollections for this article:

“For the duration of 25 years of growing up in Sutton, The Blue Jay Lobster Pond was a beacon for me. It was always there to signal that I was almost home. It also served as a prominent landmark when giving directions to our house over the years. As a young kid I remember walking the 1/4 mile down Putnam Hill Road with friends to enter the outer entrance to the Blue Jay to press our noses against the glass to peer into the gurgling dark pools holding the live lobsters. Occasionally, we’d go inside and get a milkshake at the counter and be able to see the lobsters without glass between us. Who knew that in the little old landlocked town of Sutton there would be a seafood specialty restaurant with live lobsters?!?! I waitressed at the Blue Jay while in college in the early 1980’s for a couple of years. By then the Mosher family had sold it to Duke and Jenny Carlo. I had a lot of fun while working there because I worked with Lisa Bailey (now Andrews) who I knew from high school and we became good friends during this time. I usually worked Thursday through Sunday nights. There was quite a cast of characters working there. Blanche Bottomly, was a very stern (with us young waitresses anyway) bartender and didn’t too often crack a smile with us, but she seemed well liked by the patrons. She’d been there a long time. The nighttime bartender was usually Paula Theodore (now Smith) who was closer in age to us and was very nice. Those are the two bartenders that I remember most. One of the highlights of the bar for me was when Gene Harmon brought in his pet skunk Waddles and let him walk right down the center of the bar. His fur was soft and thick and patrons seemed to get a kick out of him. He was tame and de-scented. There were a lot of regulars in the bar side. Edgar Leonard, who was a school bus driver. Paul “Captain Hook” Stanford, the welder who lived up on the top of Putnam Hill Rd. He had prosthetic hooks for arms. Sometimes for a joke, he would drop his fake ear into an unsuspecting patron’s glass of beer. Bill Harting spent a lot of time at the bar. And you could always find at least one of the Stevensons. The mainstays of the waitresses were the head waitress Rozy Paciorkowaki, who was an older (to me) stout woman with her brown hair coiled intricately on top of her head. I often wondered how long her hair really was. There was Penny Schroeder, who could walk faster than any human being I’ve ever met and was an extremely nice person. Penny’s husband Phil was a nice guy also and he used to come into the bar and he had a nickname for me; “ Peppermint Patty”. At the end of the night after closing, we’d all sit at the big round waitress table where Jenny would send Lisa and I over to the bar to get a round or two of drinks, as we balanced our checks and the cash drawer each night. Two tips stand out in my mind, the first tip was over $50 on just over a $100 bill. It was an extended family of about 6 people and I chased them out into the parking lot thinking they left too much in error, but they said no, they left it on purpose. This college student was very grateful. The other memorable tip was from a party of 2 young guys from Millbury. One left me a dime, in addition to a descent tip, and his phone number on a napkin. We ended up dating for a couple of months. 🙂 I learned things from the chefs too. Tony Wolochowicz, who was Jenny Carlo’s nephew, showed me how to put lobsters to sleep by standing them upright on their faces and rubbing the tops of their heads. He once had a lineup of about 6 or 7 lobsters “sleeping” on his workspace, about to be put into a boiling pot of water. It could have all been a joke, but they all stayed still as stone. From a very volatile and loud chef named David, I learned to pick up my order promptly or run the risk of a knife being tossed at you when you did show up to lick up an order. David didn’t last too long. Jenny was known for her salad bar, which was massive. It was the bane of my existence setting it up each day and worse, breaking it down at night and cleaning the containers. I think it was that darn salad bar that finally drove me to seek a different job and an ended up in a store in the Auburn Mall until I graduated from college and got a ‘real’ job.”

By the 80s and into the 90s and early 2000s, the Blue Jay became the central social center for people in town, a magnet like gathering place for town regulars and former residents returning for Christmas, Thanksgiving or the like, and a welcoming place where you know you would run into old friends and continue long running conversations, much like an old time town tavern. The bar where this occurred was not high end or flashy, but it had a friendly, familiar, warm, safe and townie vibe, in contrast, for example, to places like JJ’s on Route 146 where biker gangs tended to dominate the crowd during this same time period.

Andy Mosher was the last family member to run the business, undertaking major renovations in 1986. Sutton contractor Tom Judson did the work of remodeling the dairy bar, removing the long time dairy bar counter down the side, and changing it to a 3-sided counter at one end of the room. I remember having the first official breakfast there, at 6:00am on the morning Andy opened. I wanted to be his first customer to wish him luck, and he gladly cooked my ham, eggs and home fries himself.

The Blue Jay burned to the ground in December of 2005, while under the ownership and operation of Edward Kooyomjian Jr. It was believed that an electrical short circuit started a fire in a grease trap ventilation system. The fire quickly spread throughout the old building, which soon became totally engulfed. In googling some background for this story, I found a scant few reviews and mention of “The Jay” while under the Kooyomijian ownership. The bar remained a friendly watering hole for the locals, the old dairy bar side was moderately successful as a breakfast destination. But sadly, ‘The Jay’s’ time had come.

The remains of the building sat until May of 2009 when the burnt structure was finally removed. The fenced in cellar hole foundation remained until construction of the new Sutton Police Station began. The concrete foundation was knocked down, broken up and taken away. Out of the ashes, rose Sutton's new police station. I'd like to think that on a quiet night, if you listen just right, you can still hear the laughter from the bar. And maybe, if the breeze is just right, police chief Dennis Towle gets a whiff of french fries through his office air vent.

The 2010 Chronicle article featured the Mosher family and “The Jay”. Andrew Mosher was quoted as saying, “We used to have customers that would come into the Blue Jay, pour their own coffee, and even clear up a table every once in a while. I think it had the sort of local style that people miss today.” The Blue Jay and its long history are fondly remembered.

The Election

Originally Published January 6, 2016 by Steve LeClaire

As we’ve turned the page on 2015 and entered the craziness of the election year of 2016, my mind goes back to 1968 and when I first became aware of politics and what elections were all about.

1968 was one crazy year. I was only nine years old, but I became far more aware of the larger world around me during my tenure as a fourth grader that year. Certainly I was growing up, but world events were crowding in on us. A lot happened that year. In January, the Viet Cong launched the Tet offensive in Vietnam. Nixon entered the race for president in February. In March, Bobby Kennedy followed suit. In April, Martin Luther King was shot. In June, Andy Worhol was shot. Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. I’ll never forget those ghastly black and white images in Time magazine.

Good stuff happened too. 1968 was the “Summer of Love”. Apollo Seven was launched, followed by Eight in December. The Beatles released The White Album, on the heels of Sgt Pepper the year before. Girls went to San Fransisco with flowers in their hair. Heady times. In our insular world in Sutton, the presidential election was big news. Probably following their parent’s ideology, many kids were for Richard Nixon. Heated discussions broke out on the playground as to who we would vote for if we could.

The Sutton Elementary school decided to make the elections of 1968 a teaching event. The administration at school planned that they would give us a lesson in government, and hold student council elections modeled after the national election procedures. Each class would nominate candidates who would be allowed to campaign and run for office. Somehow, someone nominated me, and I hesitantly began my first campaign for office.

Each of the students running gathered all his or her friends into their own campaign headquarters and made posters. We were allowed to hang them up in the classrooms and hallways. The clutter spilled into the cafeteria. The political feeding frenzy and back stabbing began as each candidate attempted to sway their classmates to their camp. The school began to look like a department store/garage sale/carnival, with huge banners and flags stuck up everywhere. Balloons and streamers. The quest for power had us little candidates salivating. Friendships were divided as the political camps were set up by popularity. Bribery on the playground was rampant, as candidates traded lunch snacks for potential votes. The administration intervened in a feeble attempt at damage control, and told us that only two posters would be allowed per candidate, and that after recess that day we would all do our part in tidying up the school. We all ran through the halls at recess and gleefully ripped down each other’s best posters, destroying them. I watched, crushed as someone from the ‘enemy camp’ tore down my biggest poster within seconds. I’d worked on it all week at home with my grandmother. It was chaos, and we hadn’t even had ‘the primaries’.

Once the rules of campaign issues were straightened out, we had a big political rally in the cafeteria. Reporters from the Telegram and Gazette were there. The event was recorded for posterity on the school’s black and white Betamax TV camera. Each candidate was allowed to speak in front of the entire student body and state his platform and pledge his goals. I’m sure my grandmother coached me and probably “ghost wrote” my speech, because I spoke of honesty, integrity of office, and my pledge to do right, and try my best to get things done. It proved to be the wrong tack given my audience. Some of the other kids made some pretty amazing campaign “pledges”. Someone suggested a go cart track built around the school along with free hot dogs at a snack stand. One girl said she would build a beauty parlor in the Nurse’s office. The roar and applause that greeted these two candidates was deafening.

Third grader Donald Eaton spoke, “Fellow students: Every day when we come to school there is a strict rule of line up, silence, and order. If I’m elected, at least one day a week, we’ll have no line-up, no silence and no order! Second, I understand certain teachers inspect their classes for clean fingernails, clean ears and handkerchiefs. I say, lets inspect the teachers for the same! Third: I’ll tell the cooks to serve grinders every week, ice cream every dessert, and to carry our trays to our tables. Last, We can’t forget (Superintendent ) Mr. Spence. When we are sent to his office, it’s a rather long and frightful walk. I say, have escalators to take us there. If I’m elected for vice president, I promise to fulfill these duties!” T&G reporter and Sutton resident Alice Anderson wrote the following:

“Reid Kneeland, candidate for fourth grade president floored the delegation. Bespectacled, studious-looking and impressively dressed in his cub scout uniform, Reid addressed the crowd: “Ladies and gentlemen. . . Sure I’d love to see a swimming pool in the multi- purpose room and a gas cart track around the school building. Maybe even a beauty shop in the library for the girls. But are these reasonable requests? Oh no! You can bet our town fathers would think these requests to be ridiculous! But, I will repeat –and I will repeat again and again – I will work as hard as I possibly can to carry out your wishes for making our school a better place for all of us! Remember, Ask not what your school can do for you, but what you can do for your school.”

As I recall, Reid did win the election for class president. He was a popular kid and smart.

My ‘honesty and integrity’ speech fell pretty flat to a smattering of polite applause compared to some of the grand illusions of other students. I didn’t win, but waged a good campaign.

We heard through the parent grapevine that the whole process was deemed a fiasco by the administration, and they vowed not to try it again. I remember there were a few quiet student council meetings to appease the elected, but the teachers didn’t really let them do anything at all. The whole process was dropped. The administration saw itself losing control, and of course they couldn’t have that. It was the age of ‘Question authority’, and the beginnings of ‘tune in, turn on and drop out’. Our little elementary school election was nothing compared to the High School’s dress code protest and student walk out a few years later. That got little Sutton live television coverage!

Over at the high school, the students staged a walkout one afternoon, protesting the school dress code. Both boys and girls showed up in bell bottom blue jeans, flannel shirts, tie dyed T-shirts, work boots and the pre-requisite army fatigue jacket. None of this was allowable under the current dress code. Television news crews from Boston showed up, and the administration would not comment. Boy students wore their hair long over their collars, and girls decorated themselves with love beads and peace signs. They all sat outside and refused to go back to class, even under the threat of suspension. The administration finally relented, and agreed to an overhaul of the dress codes. We thought that the older kids were so cool for their defiance of the system. It was a really big deal in Sutton for quite a while, that we had made the news. The rains of national social unrest and protest were drizzling down to our level, and the waves had rippled out to little Sutton.

We became more and more conscious of the war in Vietnam. Dave Leno was in my church Sunday School fourth grade class and he told us about his older brother Barry who was “over there fighting the war”. Every Sunday morning before class started, we prayed for “David’s brother Barry who is fighting in Vietnam”. David explained to us that Barry drove a tank. He showed us a black and white photo of Barry aboard a tank, which was half hidden behind a huge pile of sandbags. He was shirtless, and his barrel chest and muscles rippled. He was deep in the jungle, but smiled and mugged for the camera. We watched the television announcer standing in front of the big map pointing to Phnom Pen ant the Ia Drang Valley. Names of faraway places like Cambodia and the Mekong Delta were heard frequently. Suddenly, the elections and politics seemed very small and unimportant. David Leno just wanted his big brother home. It didn’t matter if the Republicans or the Democrats could do that for the Leno’s. Nixon or Humphrey. It didn’t matter. Mom and Dad never discussed the war in Vietnam that I recall. They never told us anything about it. Maybe they thought that we were too young, but the images from the surrounding world left lasting impressions. I can still hear the thump-thump-thump of helicopter blades in the background of the live news reports on TV every night. That and the screaming electric guitars of Jimmi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane became the soundtrack of the times.

We all know how the election of 1968 turned out and what happened after. But in our little world, the Beatles earliest recordings now seemed tame in comparison to what they – and the rest of the world were releasing.