Thursday, March 29, 2007 Older Editions

The Back Page: Albert H. Reed Jr. - A snapshot of Andover in the 1930s

By Bill Dalton

In 1922, Albert H. Reed Jr. was born in the America House (147 Main St.: the house where Samuel F. Smith wrote "America" in 1832). It was in a small apartment, and his first bed was a dresser drawer. His parents were Albert Sr. and Mildred C. (Abbott) Reed.

Young Albert Reed lived in Andover only until 1948, but served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Great Depression work program for young men, and then signed up for a six-year tour of duty with the Navy at the beginning of World War II. His years in Andover added up to less than two decades; yet, those years left him with vivid memories that are described in this column and one next week. He says one of the biggest disappointments in life is that he didn't finish high school, but he is pleasantly articulate, as you will see.

From the America House, the Reed family moved to Cuba Street, across from the old Indian Ridge School, torn down in 1958. Mr. Reed says, "My first grade teacher's name was Miss [Jessie P.] Brown. She also was the principal of the school. We lived in two different homes on Cuba Street. A niece of mine and her family now own and live in the second home. It is there that I remember seeing Santa peeking in the window."

They moved a third time in 1931, to a house at 28 Argilla Road. Mr. Reed says, "The house no longer exists. The property was sold after the death of my parents. Last week I was talking to one of my sisters and asked about the big horse chestnut tree that was near our house. She said it is still there. That tree must be over a 100 years old. I believe there were only 16 homes lining both sides of Argilla road. Some of the people who lived on Argilla Road were Sid White [later, a selectman for many years], who lived with his grandmother, Mrs. Charlotte Baker, the Alexander Henderson family, the Matthews, my grandparents Fred and Bertha Reed, the Slates, my uncle Ray Reed, the Art Newman family, the Sheehy family, George Rennie's family, the Sidney Batchelder family, and Mrs. Helen Shtrumpfman."

Albert Reed's next school was Stowe. "When I started to go to Stowe School, we had to walk, as there were no buses. I think after two years we finally got bus service. Our bus driver was Chet Abbott. He lived at the corner of Reservation Road and Red Spring Road [115 Red Spring Road], and his father, James, lived in the house between his and the Old Abbott Homestead on the corner of Argilla Road. I believe at the time that the father owned the homestead."

Eventually, the Reed family grew to have 11 children, five boys and six girls. Albert Sr. was a sexton at Christ Church for several years and made extra money by digging graves and checking the furnace during the winter. Mr. Reed mentions his father's work: "I have no idea how old I was, but it was a thrill for me to go with my father into the belfry. While he was pulling the rope to ring the bell, I was able to grab the rope and go up and down."

The description of the Reed's home on Argilla Road is a glimpse into a time just before houses were equipped with modern conveniences. Mr. Reed says, "The house had six rooms. In the winter two rooms were heated by wood-burning stoves, three rooms by fireplaces. The upstairs bedroom was heated by having a 12-inch vented hole in the ceiling above a fireplace. We had to use a hand pump to get the water from a well in the yard until the town installed water lines. We were brought up using the old outhouse.

"Saturday night was always a lot of fun. My mother would have to heat water on the stove in the kitchen, then get out the galvanized laundry tub and [we would] sit it in the middle of the kitchen floor. She always stood by just in case we needed more water. When we all had our baths, our kitchen was just like a skating rink. "We could not wait for the weather to get warm enough so we could go over to the Shawsheen River to a place we all called the Clay Hole to take our baths. We used the Clay Hole as a bath until October 1 or when it was too cold."

The Clay Hole, or the Clay Pit, is in the Shawsheen River, less than 200 yards southwest of the Central Street Horn Bridge, between the railroad tracks and Abbot Bridge Drive. Mr. Reed has a favorite story about the Clay Hole: "It happened that one day I was leading a group of boys. We would run as fast as we could to see who could be the first one to get in the water. As we were running across the field, we started to take off our clothes and by the time we got to the river bank we were in our birthday suits. As I was making my jump into the river  I looked down, and there were six girls using our sacred spot in the river. They were also in the nude, and I almost killed myself trying to stop and get back to the river bank. The girls were students at Abbot Academy. We were good kids, and we backed off quite a bit to let the girls get dressed and leave, as we boys already put on our clothes."

Although he hasn't lived in Andover for almost 60 years, he has a number of cousins and closer relatives here. A sister, Mildred Waldie; nieces, Donna O'Brien Richardson and Donna Hajj; and a nephew, James Demers, all live in Andover. Two sisters live in nearby towns. His mother's side of the family was one of the Abbott families in Andover. Mr.Reed says, "A few people still may remember my grandfather, Robert Freeman Abbott, who lived at the corner of Lovejoy Road and Dascomb Road. He owned land on both sides of Dascomb Road at least half way to Lowell Street. He owned four teams of horses to do all the farm work. He would load the wagon with produce, and drive to the market in Boston. After the produce was sold, he would return to Ballardvale. All the way home he would sleep in the wagon, as his journey to market started at dawn. The horses knew the way and would bring him home. These same horses and a wooden plow would clear the area roads of snow in the winter. When I was 14 or 15, I would drive a horse and plow to clear the sidewalks in Ballardvale."

Mr. Reed continues, "Although my grandfather's real name was Robert Freeman Abbott, at some time he chose Freeman [he switched his first and middle names and became known as Freeman R. Abbott] because his buddy whom he came to Mass. with was also named Robert, and he wanted people to distinguish one from the other. Using the name Freeman was to his advantage, because when he walked into the local tavern the bartender would ask, 'Would you like a beer, Free?' Always his answer would be, 'Darn right, I'll have a free beer.' His first one was always free."

Next week, I'll have a second column about Mr. Reed's memories, including a description of the Fourth of July celebrations in Ballardvale.

Columnist Bill Dalton can be reached by e-mail at billdalton@andovertownie.com.