Thursday, January 25, 2007 Older Editions

The Back Page: Readers' memories... Fire wagons, a castle and other spots

By Bill Dalton

Dave MacDonald has lived in Andover all his life. He was married to Ruth Anderson, who passed away in 2001. They are an Andover story that I'll tell in a future column. Meanwhile, Dave has sent some great pictures. The photo that appears here is one of my favorites of early 20th Century Andover. Ruth (Anderson) MacDonald's grandfather is driving the old fire wagon. Ruth's father is sitting sideways with a look of delight on his face as the wagon races through the town.

A Castle and Commandos

In previous columns, I mentioned the Joyce Castle, formerly located in what is now Castle Heights (just north of the Shawsheen River on the left off North Main Street). I also said there was some mystery involved in the destruction of the castle in the 1930s. One reader suggested it was blown up. Two people said that, just prior to World War II, the FBI torn down the castle brick by brick, and there was a rumor that some of the hired help might be spies. No evidence exists, and I wonder what could have been worth spying on in Andover. The real true story is more likely quite mundane: it was torn down for economic reasons during the Great Depression.

Tom McNulty is one of the McNulty brothers I wrote about a few weeks ago. They lived in the gatekeeper's house for the Joyce Castle a few years after the castle's demise. The gatekeeper's house is the brick structure next to the river on North Main Street. Tom says, "We arrived at 232 North Main in July 1943 when I was 10. As any kid would do, I explored the territory and found the cement entrance slab to the castle on the first day of our arrival. There were steps going up the hill from the remains of the castle that led to an orchard where we swiped apples and pears. Then we swiped the steps!" Tom and his brothers, Jack and Jim, used the steps to build a camp along the river next to their house. The brothers were part of "The North Main Street Commandos." In addition to the McNulty brothers, the Commandos were Billy Valentine, Snuffy Smith, Walter "Windy" Winward, Evie and Patsy McClay, Smacker McNamara, and Hector Patullo (whose son is now Andover's police chief). The camp must have been quite an enterprise, because Tom says, "We had a cellar made from a [very large] crate that served as the foundation to what turned out to be a two-room cabin with trap door to the cellar and an attic with pitched roof. From 1943-'46 that place served as a hangout for all the Commandos - actually, quite a harmless group."

Hockey and Skating Rinks

Recently, I heard from Jay Pennick, who was in Andover High School's class of 1973. He is an actor living in Los Angeles who says, "I haven't been as successful as fellow Andover show biz stars Jay Leno and Michael Chiklis (The Shield), but I still keep reaching for that brass ring. I'm in touch with my Andover buddies like Scott Seero, Ed Flannery, David Sweetser, Bill Hixon, etc. to get my hometown fix."

Mr. Pennick continued, "I always enjoyed winters in Andover as a kid. When we lived in West Andover, we'd go sledding at the 6th hole of the Andover Country Club - a wide open swath with homemade jumps and bumps and moguls everywhere, and it seemed like a hundred kids and families were either zipping down the hill or trudging workmanlike back up the hill. Once, I actually saw six or seven kids sliding down the hill in the upturned hood of a car."

Mr. Pennick likes hockey and says, "We'd go ice skating on the swamp/pond behind the houses where Virginia and Shirley roads meet. And playing hockey - aw, my friends and I would travel all over town playing at various 'home' rinks. Sometimes we'd play on a pond inside West Parish Cemetery, or venture down to Baker's Meadow and pick up a game. The 'Vale had a nice rink with boards and real good players. At Haggetts Pond the solid black ice offered a smooth, hard surface. The unobstructed open water affordedroom for two or three simultaneous games. Rec Park [had] a small rink, but it had lights."

Jay Pennick's favorite place to play hockey was on the athletic fields off Balmoral Street: "When we moved to Shawsheen, I discovered this gem of a skating and hockey-playing paradise. I don't know [if it was created] by the town or the nearby boys' boarding school, Sacred Heart, but I remember the entire athletic field all packed down and sprayed over and transformed into a giant skating area. And adjacent to that was a rink with boards, lights, and a hand-operated wooden scoop [that was] operated as a Zamboni by the Brothers of Sacred Heart. The Brothers took meticulous care of the rink and the ice. Remember as a kid your parents would say, 'be home before the street lights went on'? Well, that's when all the fun began at the rink. The older kids would come down, and the intensity of the games kicked up a notch. I dreamed of playing in those games, and over time I did work my way into the rotation of players. Flying up and down the ice (at least if felt like that), sucking in that crisp frozen air, playing pucks off the boards, shooting on guys in full goalie gear guarding official-size, real-netting goals, well, I felt like Bobby Orr. It was great."

Jay is now 51, but still plays hockey on indoor rinks in LA. He says, "Sometimes, when the body is willing and the ice is open, I imagine myself flying up and down the boards on a crystal clear winter night on that rink in Shawsheen Village."

The High Street Dump

Maury Shea, now retired in Naples, Fla., was brought up in Shawsheen. He reminded me of the old dump between High Street and Burnham Road. It more recently was used as a place for the town to pile snow removed from downtown. Maury says the Shawsheen Mill, owned by American Woolen (one of William Wood's mills), had daily trips to the dump, "...often with some nice stuff for little boys to play with!"

He continues, "As youngsters, the dump was a magnet for kids. Arthur Mooney, Johnny Robinson and I played there, often going where we were told not to go."

You can see the old dump by driving down High Street and looking to the left about 250 yards after the "V" intersection with Burnham Road. If you want to see it from a satellite view, go to "Google Maps" and type in "Burnham Rd. 01810." The old dump is clearly shown on the "hybrid" map. It is to the right of where Burnham curves toward the railroad tracks.

Bill Dalton would like to do a column on the "All Girls Band." If you have any stories or photos, please let him know. His e-mail address is billdalton@billdaltononline.com.