FAMILY HISTORY IN MA

It has surely been a while since my last blog and there is much to tell of!

I suppose I should back track and relate the tales of my trip to Massachusettes which began two Wednesdays ago now. I got out of work early and went back to get something to eat. Someone from the historical society picked me up and dropped me at the airport where I realized that I needn't have worried about the 2 hour rule. Four gates and I was pretty much the only waiting for awhile. But I got to O'Hare allright and then I was delayed. So I took a walk, got a shake and looked through magazines on the stands. When I got in, it was late and so I took a taxi (all by myself, for the first time) to Aunt Sue's. After a little talk, it was straight to bed. In the morning we headed off to Lowell where Grandpa grew up- stopping at the cemetary to find those who had passed and finding the old family houses and standing creepily outside them taking pictures. When one woman came to ask what we were doing there, she and Grandpa shared stories of the house.

Then we headed out to lunch where we encountered New England accents which I was very excited for. I didn't really remember hearing them before, but perhaps I just wasn't paying attention. Apparently though when I was little, Grandma told the story of how I asked Great Aunt Anna what country she was from because of her Boston accent! Then we headed off to the old schools and stopped by Lowell Tech (it was a bit weird to be back in a university) and to the historic site of the mills where Grandpa used to work during the summers. I did not know that before and it was very interesting to think he had worked in similar buildings with the loud clanking of the looms that shook the ground.

The next day we headed out to Deerfield, settled into our historic hotel and headed out for historic house tours. Why Deerfield you ask? Well, (although there are a few generation gaps) Deerfield is the home of some of our ancestors. The story goes that the French fur trader Jaques de Noyon was ready to become english because of the better fur prices. He was courting Abigail Stebbins, a Deerfield native, and then the town was attacked by the French and Indian groups and they were taken back north to Canada. So we toured the historic town, which has actually been a tourist town for quite awhile. During the early 1900's, unable to compete with the industrial towns, Deerfield started celebrating its colonial history and taking part in the arts and crafts movement. We also visited a cemetary and tried some grave rubbings which we later read in the brochure that we were not supposed to do. Oh well. Without clear signage I cannot feel bad.

And just as quickly as it started, it was over and I was back on a plane and heading back home with a layover through Denver where I had a glimpse of mountains.