Thursday, February 1, 2007 Older Editions

The Back Page: Readers remember: Special teachers, '50s dances, more

By Bill Dalton

Last week, I mentioned Dave MacDonald and his wife Ruth, who passed away in 2001. Dave has sent me some pictures. The one with this column shows Ruth (Anderson) MacDonald's mother, two aunts, and one of their friends in 1903. How can you not love those hats?

John O'Conner and Miss Barrett's Pictures

I grew up with John O'Conner. He lived at 54 Summer St. as a young child, and then moved to 110 Chestnut St where he became a neighbor of respected principal Catherine Barrett. Miss Barrett ruled Stowe School in the '30s, '40s, and early 1950s, finishing her tenure at Central School (now Doherty Middle). She was a strict, fair person who positively affected many lives. If you once knew her, you remembered her the rest of your life.

Mr. O'Conner has an interesting story to tell. Twenty years ago, John was involved in an asbestos audit in Andover's schools. As part of that job, he went to a remote part of the lowest level of Central School to inspect an area where asbestos had been removed. John says, "There and collecting dust were several pictures of our first principal. She was beautifully depicted. I believe it is a tragedy for those pictures to be there. We all had such admiration and respect for her."

I agree with John and wonder if those pictures are still there. If so, they probably should be at the Andover Historical Society or, at a minimum, hung in a safe place in the school.

After graduating from Andover High in 1963, where he ran cross-country and track, Mr. O'Conner spent three years in the service. Then, while attending college, he read water meters part-time for the town. In that job he visited Miss Barrett's house. She remembered him and said, "Good morning, John."

"I respectfully and reverently replied, 'Good morning, Miss Barrett.'" said John. "It may be one of those things where you had to have lived the experience to really comprehend the admiration and respect we lucky few had."

John, I fully understand your point, and am sure many others feel the same way.

John now lives in Marblehead with his wife Leona. I asked John about his four sisters. He says, "My sister Mary Sears (who would have been class of '58 but was educated at Abbott Academy) is living in Atkinson, N.H.; Alice (class of '60) is living in near Lebanon, N.H.  They are now both retired. Jane Frantz, class of '66, is living in Newton, and my sister Nancy Stolberg, class of '69, is in Andover."

Adelaide Wright

Peg Blake had Adelaide Wright as a first grade teacher in the late '30s. Mrs. Wright was a fine teacher and nice person who taught for decades in the Andover School System. Peg says that when she and other kids left class to go home for lunch (many of us in the Central District schools went home for lunch because we lived so close), they used to jump Roger's Brook "as a rite of passage on the way back from lunch."

Peg adds, "Many students didn't make the jump, getting their feet wet in the water. Mrs. Wright would have them wear her shoes while theirs dried. She had a closet full of high heel shoes and we loved wearing them around all afternoon."

Mrs. Blake also reminded me that before Masconomet High School was built, many Boxford kids came to Punchard High School. She was in school with one of those kids, Paul Knowles, whose grandfather was the governor of Wisconsin and whose family owned one of the big beer companies.

The Big Bopper

Recently, Mike Connolly sent me an e-mail saying, "I am not sure if you remember me but I also lived and grew up on Chestnut Street at the same time as you." Mike lived at 111 Chestnut St., and I remember him pretty well; he was a real good guy. However, like many Andover kids, he went the Catholic school route - St. Augustine's and then Central, class of '61 - so Mike and I didn't go to school or play school sports together.

Mike is married to Sharon (Lyons), who lived at 30 Washington Ave. I remember Sharon better because we were in the same class at Andover High and both graduated in 1961. Mike went to Villanova, and he and Sharon lived in Andover at 23 Washington Ave., just a few houses from where Sharon grew up. They accepted a transfer from IBM and moved to New York in the early '70s. After reading my columns about Shawsheen, which mentioned the Crystal Ballroom, Sharon said to Mike that she remembered going there for a dance when she was in high school. Mike told Sharon that he was at the same dance.

Although the Crystal Ballroom stopped scheduled weekly dances not long after World War II, there were special functions for several years.

According to Mike and Sharon, the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) held dances there. I believe the Catholic Archdiocese then owned the building. The dance they remember was held in late September, 1958. Although they were at the same dance, they didn't dance with each other. Mike saw Sharon there, but she didn't see him. That amuses Mike.

"The music was provided by a disc jockey, most likely Bob Phinney. The big dance hit of the evening, 'Chantilly Lace,' was played multiple times. The song was new, and it was the first time any of us had heard it. The record's opening, a telephone ringing loudly over the ballroom's speaker system, startled and then silenced the crowd, providing the perfect set-up for the song's opening line, 'Hellooo baby, this is the Big Bopper speaking.'" Mike says, "In my Back To the Future fantasy, I would have danced with Sharon and said, 'In the future, we're going to marry and have six children together.' I told Sharon this the other day and, after thinking for a few minutes, she smiled and said that if this had happened she would have instantly left the dance floor in tears!"

After the dance, Mike and a bunch of other guys who were too young to drive but too old to be picked up by their parents "...walked back to town via Enmore and High streets to Elm Square and hung out long enough to smoke two Luckies before walking the rest of the way home."

Mike says his parents danced at the Crystal Ballroom and concludes, "At least in a limited way the experience of the Crystal Ballroom survived beyond the World War II generation to be remembered by a later generation of Andover teens." Mike and Sharon have lived in Woodstock, N.Y. for 35 years and have six children and nine grandchildren. Mike has been with IBM for 40 years and writes technical books.

Columnist Bill Dalton's e-mail address is billdalton@billdaltononline.com.