dorothy & seafood
little compton days
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times -- life on Long Pasture Road in Little Compton, RI. For us kids, it was an adventure to live in a crazy old house with the stable and guesthouse and outhouse, surrounded by fields and ocean, within walking distance to Wilbur's Store and Wilbur's Woods. It seemed that in the summer the house was always filled with guests -- cousins and aunts and uncles and friends, dogs and cats and rabbits and a goat. For Mom, I know it was a difficult time, and she survived problems with the restaurant and marriage and health and three wild daughters. Thank god for Tommy -- at least HE behaved himself! Mom worked hard to keep the house warm, food on the table, and her family intact.If only she'd had Internet access back then, she might have found these useful links to help her sleep better at night:
- The cupboard's a little bare! What shall we have for dinner?
- Help! I just found my son asleep on the back steps with a handful of beans!
- Gee! Didn't I ask you girls to turn off the sprinkler in the garden?
- Company's coming and we have no water! I wonder if we can actually use that old outhouse?
- I just saw Lucy holding hands with Donny Medeiros!
- What the hell am I going to do with that dead goat?
Submitted by Lucy.
memories from cynthia
Ah those wild and wooly days of the 1950's, Sue at Bryn Mawr and Cyndie at Radcliffe. For some odd reason a football game comes to mind. Donald and I gathered some Harvard friends and headed to Bryn Mawr. Sue welcomed us and we frolicked in ways that seemed oh so smart then and now silly/strange. We had great fun. Sue and her date (who Sue? I don't remember where Eliot was) and the rest of the crew piled in the car to go to game at Princeton. While cozy on laps and singing our hearts out, we realized one of the blind dates was telling us about her eagerness to be in heaven. Wow! She was so serious while most of us had not spent much time thinking about heaven. We were focused on the game and parties and laughed till our tummies hurt in response to Sue's stories. She has that beautiful gift today.In the blink of an eye we were brides and mothers. The awesome wonder of new life filled us with joy, thanksgiving and a huge sense of responsibility. For Sue and Eliot, twin daughters and Cyndie and Donald, a son. We soon had them playing in the tub together. One day we were all in Massachusetts and gathered at the Chace cottage, Long Pond. We shared our delight that we were parents to these amazing children and our dismay around sleepless nights, and what to do re............!! Five decades later, Sue and I live in Massachusetts and give thanks for gifts of our lives that brim with blessings and challenges. My friend who majored in English and now writes poetry, founded a recovery home for alcoholic women. She made such a difference in the lives of many women. Now she delights with her work at the Audubon Center, helps seniors in her neighborhood, knits and quilts for family , friends, and others with special needs. Her energy grows each year as she plays bridge, bowls, exercises, swims in her beloved "pond" and breathes deeply of the salt air at beaches from Horseneck to Duxbury. I have shared some of her jaunts, including to Maine, Quebec and Tennessee. The best was our train ride to San Francisco , staying in one of the Belden cabins and time with Nancy and other Leonard family. She gives tirelessly of herself, sees light in darkness and tells dandy stories, almost always funny and some sad. We have played together since we were 7 or 8. I fell in love with her family and give thanks each day for this precious friendship.
Submitted by Cynthia.
sara & ben come east 1999
Pembroke, Mass. 1999
Gramma threatening Karl & Ben with the Pa Leonard manoeuver.
Ben, Sara, & Karl at Mom's
The sign on Karl's mortarboard reads "Hi Mom!"A Rare Photograph, taken by Karl H. VanPetten at the graduation party for Karl L. VanPetten at his and Jane's home in Middletown, RI. From left to right: Susan Loomis, Sara (Loomis) VanPetten, Grace VanPetten, Jane VanPetten and Debby Loomis. Ben and Karl are at the table.
cross-country trip on amtrak with susan, sara, karl & ben 1984
At the end of April - 1984, Mom treated me and the boys to a train journey to attend the wedding of Dorothy Loomis and Jeffery Wilson. Karl had just turned 3 and Ben, 1. The first leg of the journey, Boston to Chicago, we had the old-fashioned Pullman accomodations. The seat folds down into one bed and another bunk pulls out from above. Good old Mom, we each took a kid into our beds for the night and I don't think either of us got much sleep, but it was fun. When we awoke, we were in Cleveland, and our friendly porter opened up the partition to the adjoining compartment so we had a "double".
From Chicago to Reno, we switched trains to the "deluxe" compartment...the complete width of the train. Mom & I illustrate the spaciousness . Actually it was very nice to have two windows. There was a double bed, a twin bunk under the window and another one opened out above the double. I'm afraid I fell asleep fast and slept like the dead, because Mom asked me the next morning if I'd heard Ben crying and I hadn't. The only thing I can think of to justify my unmotherly behavior was, knowing that my Mom was on the train, I felt safe enough to sleep so deeply.
In Western Colorado and Eastern Utah, the conductor looked the other way so I could lean out and take these picture of our view. The pictures I took through the windows are pretty discolored because of the double panes and the plastic glass so I won't include them here. However, I will add that one night, we ate trout in the dining car, and several times we took walks to the Observation car, with the "VistaDome" roof. Downstairs from there was a snack bar where we had a treat of Hagen Daz ice cream!
The betrothed couple - Jeffery Wilson and Dorothy Loomis
Gramma takes the kids to the beach, a very chilly Feather River.
Mom, Aunt Tootoo (Ruth Leonard Kendall), and cousin Edie watch Dorothy open gifts in her home at Belden.
Mom decorates the wedding cakes with help from Kyria (age 4).
The mice bride & groom were a gift (hint to D&J) from Dad some years previously.
The reason we came!
From Chicago to Reno, we switched trains to the "deluxe" compartment...the complete width of the train. Mom & I illustrate the spaciousness . Actually it was very nice to have two windows. There was a double bed, a twin bunk under the window and another one opened out above the double. I'm afraid I fell asleep fast and slept like the dead, because Mom asked me the next morning if I'd heard Ben crying and I hadn't. The only thing I can think of to justify my unmotherly behavior was, knowing that my Mom was on the train, I felt safe enough to sleep so deeply.
In Western Colorado and Eastern Utah, the conductor looked the other way so I could lean out and take these picture of our view. The pictures I took through the windows are pretty discolored because of the double panes and the plastic glass so I won't include them here. However, I will add that one night, we ate trout in the dining car, and several times we took walks to the Observation car, with the "VistaDome" roof. Downstairs from there was a snack bar where we had a treat of Hagen Daz ice cream!
The betrothed couple - Jeffery Wilson and Dorothy Loomis
Matthew at 1 years old riding his Smurf down Mainstreet, Belden Town, California
Gramma takes the kids to the beach, a very chilly Feather River.
Mom, Aunt Tootoo (Ruth Leonard Kendall), and cousin Edie watch Dorothy open gifts in her home at Belden.
Mom decorates the wedding cakes with help from Kyria (age 4).
The mice bride & groom were a gift (hint to D&J) from Dad some years previously.
The reason we came!
Submitted by Sara.
the 1990s
Here's a series of pictures that capture the years from about 1990 to 2000. Fun with family and friends.
A typical Thanksgiving picture, which includes knitters, readers, beer swillers, chatters, and Mom dressed for bed but not yet there yet. We can always tell what year it is by the color of Mom's bathrobe.
Summer 1991. Nick and Grandma dip their toes in Robbins Pond, East Bridgewater.
Grandma and Nick sharing a joke. Grandma is offering to buy him a pony, and it looks like Nick is hip to the idea.
Another Thanksgiving -- haute couture at Halcyon Farm. Good butt-smoking wear.
February 1994. Grandma feeds Hannah, about 2 weeks old. Someone needs burping.
Summer 1994. Nick, Hannah, and Grandma go for a ride on the merry-go-round. Matt was visiting us then, but he was off riding the roller-coaster.
Hannah wearing her jumpsuit, hand-knit with love by her Grandma.
Nate and Teddy with their Aunt Susie, Middleboro.
Susan and Brud go fishing. She was the only one who caught anything, on her first cast -- a respectable sunfish.
"And when it starts to rain, my hair stays perfectly dry!" Brud listens intently as Susan extolls the virtues of her new hat.
Ready to hit the road -- trip to Baltimore, Washington, and Virginia, 1998.
Susan moves to Pembroke, 1998. First day in her new house on Little Sandy Bottom Pond.
Nick and Grandma do a little hip-hop dancing, Ogunquit, Maine.
Trip to Joe's Rocks, Lakeville, Massachusetts, circa 2000. Nick, Grandma, Hannah, and the friendly water-works man.
A typical Thanksgiving picture, which includes knitters, readers, beer swillers, chatters, and Mom dressed for bed but not yet there yet. We can always tell what year it is by the color of Mom's bathrobe.Summer 1991. Nick and Grandma dip their toes in Robbins Pond, East Bridgewater.
Grandma and Nick sharing a joke. Grandma is offering to buy him a pony, and it looks like Nick is hip to the idea.
Another Thanksgiving -- haute couture at Halcyon Farm. Good butt-smoking wear.
February 1994. Grandma feeds Hannah, about 2 weeks old. Someone needs burping.
Summer 1994. Nick, Hannah, and Grandma go for a ride on the merry-go-round. Matt was visiting us then, but he was off riding the roller-coaster.Hannah wearing her jumpsuit, hand-knit with love by her Grandma.
Nate and Teddy with their Aunt Susie, Middleboro.Susan and Brud go fishing. She was the only one who caught anything, on her first cast -- a respectable sunfish."And when it starts to rain, my hair stays perfectly dry!" Brud listens intently as Susan extolls the virtues of her new hat.
Ready to hit the road -- trip to Baltimore, Washington, and Virginia, 1998.Susan moves to Pembroke, 1998. First day in her new house on Little Sandy Bottom Pond.
Nick and Grandma do a little hip-hop dancing, Ogunquit, Maine.
Trip to Joe's Rocks, Lakeville, Massachusetts, circa 2000. Nick, Grandma, Hannah, and the friendly water-works man.-
Submitted by Lucy
nutty (and not so nutty) knitting
Mom has made it all -- sweaters, vests, dickies, socks, scarves, hats, afghans, pillows, doll clothes, mittens ... you name it, she's knitted it. What could she possibly knit next? A willy warmer? A felted cupcake? Among hundreds of strange and wonderful choices, here are some suggested projects:Knitted Toilet Paper (and other fun patterns)
The best knitting of all is knitting that is cherished. Here are Livy and Claire Holloway with their dolls, created for them by their Great-Aunt Susie.Submitted by Lucy, with picture of the girls from Junie Leonard.
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