The H-W Chronicle article in readable form
Former neighbors of ‘Lord’s Hill’ turn out for reunion
By Bill Woolley
bwoolley@cnc.com
It had been years. Decades, actually. Homes in what was tagged the “Lord’s Hill” development in Wenham started going up in the mid-1950s, attracting dozens of young couple looking to settle down and raise families.
Nearly a half-century later, many of those same families that became so closely acquainted by living near each other on Burnham Road, Hilltop Drive and Main Drive, recently reunited at the Ipswich home of former neighbor Bob Dubrow and his wife, Danyelle.
Dubrow, a little shaver back when lots were being acquired and houses were being built for little more than $30,000, organized the “Lord's Hill Gang Reunion Party” after a chance encounter of former neighbors.
Research was done, contacts were re-established, invitations were extended and nearly 100 guests, spanning three generations and coming from as far away as Seattle, Vienna and Taiwan, gathered in Dubrow’s yard on a sunny Sunday afternoon to become reacquainted.
“It was an absurd idea, I grant you,” smiled Dubrow, as he scanned the crowd that was abuzz with conversation. “But it was just a great neighborhood.”
Much of this reporter’s next two hours were spent looking for guests who could confirm Dubrow’s opinion and explain what had made the Lord’s Hill neighborhood so clearly special. After all, school reunions, family reunions and military reunions are fairly common. For so many neighbors to want to see each other again after 50 years is a bit more extraordinary.
Pat Graham was quickly identified as one of the charter “Lord’s Hillians.” She and her husband, Bob, married in 1956, bought a lot, built a house and moved in a year later. They were the second people to live on Lord’s Hill, at 5 Burnham Road, after the Van Ausdal family.
“It was wonderful because we all had young children at the same time,” said Graham. “At one point, I remember 48 children waiting for the school bus at the end of my driveway. It was also important that all the mothers were at home. We shared play groups and that always made a big difference.”
Zetta and Phil Herrick were also pointed out as some of the must-meet guests. They were the ones who commissioned Rupert B. Lillie to write a history of the Lord’s Hill section of Wenham. The author, in his “Houses and Lands Associated with Lord’s Hill, 1637-1983,” said Phil Herrick, explained how, in the mid-20th century, the hill was an estate owned by the sisters Burnham, who lived in a large house at the summit.
The first reference to Lord’s Hill, wrote Lillie in his 1984 work, was found in Wenham town records. There, in 1659, it was described as “Lord’s Farm,” owned by one William Lord. A significant portion of the farm was sold, in 1651, to the Rev. John Fiske, the first minister of First Church in Wenham.
Some 300 years later, said Phil Herrick, the Burnham sisters sold the estate to developers for a subdivision, a transaction met with little enthusiasm from most people in town. In 1958, the Herricks were the fourth people to move to Lord’s Hill, at 10 Burnham Road.
“It was just a wonderful place to raise children,” said Zetta Herrick, who gave birth to four on The Hill, three of whom attended the reunion. “It was a safe place and the children were given a lot of freedom.”
Pam (Graham) Foley, a contemporary of Bob Dubrow, said, “It was the people who made it special. So many of us kids were the same age at the same time.
“We went to each other’s houses, had overnights…,” she added. “The whole neighborhood was like a playground. I think that was just a part of what things were like in the ’60s.”
In a post-party reflection, Dubrow noted, “The Hill was something special for many of us back in the ’60s and ’70s. It was a place and a time to grow and learn about ourselves and others, no matter our age.
“Hopefully, we’re still learning and growing, and are able to build on the sense of security and love that comes from having lived in a neighborhood populated by people like the ones who attended the reunion.”
CAPTION TO THE PHOTOS READS: Former neighbors from the Lord’s Hill section of Wenham, above, gather for a reunion at the Ipswich home of Bob Dubrow. At right, Pat Graham, seated, enjoys sharing a scrapbook with, from left, Barbara Sousa, Sara Bird and Ruth Sousa.
posted by Bob D @ 12:27 PM
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