Okinawa Beach For The Boy, the summer of 1957 seemed to go on and on forever. Every day brought new adventures and new opportunities to explore—sometimes in the woods behind their house on Kelsey Avenue—sometimes elsewhere. But on one of … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian's Corner
Historian’s corner
Winter Recess My, how times have changed! February, 1959 The boy leaned over the back of the sofa and steamed up the living room window with his breath; then he traced a big “D” on the glass with his finger. Outside the window, the … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
Judy Rettig June, 1995 It was any mother’s dread: her babies were gone and she couldn’t find them anywhere. She ran frantically from yard to yard along Fairfax Avenue, searching in vain for them—for they were just little--and if they … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
The Old Post Road Part III, The Stagecoaches See part 1 here. See part 2 here. By 1825, the business of travel by stagecoach was coming into full flower. A traveler could cover the distance from Boston to New York in a … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
Part II, The Postmaster See part 1 here. See part 3 here. The colonial mails were still slow, expensive and unreliable when in 1751, the Crown appointed William Hunter and Benjamin Franklin as Joint Postmasters for the Continent of North … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
Part I, The Post Rider See part 2 here. See part 3 here. Nowhere is there a statue honoring the first post rider in the New World; likewise, there is nowhere a painting honoring his first riding of the mail circuit from New York … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
Rationing and Victory Gardens If you were a child growing up in the Fifties or Sixties, you probably recall hearing something about them. In his later years, Father would tell The Boy about how commodities such as gasoline, coal, and … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
Sy Swan Part II See part 1 here. Sy Swan met Virginia Freije at a meeting of The Young People’s Syrian/Lebanese Society of New Haven in 1941. They married in 1943. Family life in America during the 1950s and 1960s … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
Sy Swan Part I See part 2 here. Mother set the telephone gently back into the cradle. She stared at the wall for a moment, and then turned to father. “Sy Swan died last night.” “What!?” “They said that … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner
Historian’s corner
The Gifts of Christmas The holly in the windy hedgeAnd round the Manor House the yewWill soon be stripped to deck the ledge,The altar, font and arch and pew,So that the villagers can say'The church looks nice' on Christmas Day. … [Read more...] about Historian’s corner