And the Last of the Laggards

In the forefront: Phil Sousa and Jeff Gibeley. In the background (if I can make them out): Pabst, Molsen...er...I mean Emily Sousa, Kim White Sousa, Karen Graham, and Ruth Sousa.

#4 Photo Discovery

That's me conversing with Sam Ward on the left and Rob Graham on the right. Music fanatics all, I'm thinking. I remember Rob was heavy into Blondie during their first coupla albums. Still well before the compact disc...never mind illegal downloading...Sam?

Late Arrival #3

No, Mark Beauregard did not live on the Hill. He did, however, spend countless hours hanging around in the Brettler garage, tinkering with Steve over who knows what. That somehow made him an honorary Lord's Hillian. It didn't hurt that he was a very able body when it came to putting up the canopy. Is that errant hand trying to pat him on the back or smack him? We may never know.

Tardy Roll Photo #2

Robin MacLeod Goodridge and one of her two daughters. Robin tagged me on Tag Day in Junior High. I had to carry her books all day. Here's hoping I took such a sinister show of "affection" with good grace.

Photos Discovered on a Roll 8 Months After the Event

Sam, Terrie, and Jim Ward. Young Sam rocks out on drums in a punk band called Mission For a Minor. Hey Mom and Dad...remember Keith Moon? Be very very afraid.

Who is that dashing to put herself at as much distance as she can from this crowd?

Rabbit ears really aren't THAT funny. Jenny Beauregard, married to Honorary Lord's Hillian Mark, victorious.

Lotsa Zimbles (Patti, Ken, Shari, Lisa), plus some Herricks and Sousas peering out from the back rows.

Here are a few more photos I just discovered had been taken on me wife Danyelle's digicam. A little Dubrow-centric, so apologies for that, but there are other familiar faces in the mix...the Kelleys, Kim Brettler, Ruth Ward, etc.

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.

An additional mention

The pertinent (to us) piece of this editorial:

"A week earlier, scores of people gathered in the yard of Ipswich resident Bob Dubrow for a most unlikely reunion--that of former neighbors from the old Lord's Hill development in Wenham. Despite the passage of a half-century, plenty of people considered the prospect of seeing their old neighbors worth the trip from as far away as Taiwan. Taiwan.

So thanks for the reminder, Caroline and Pat and Gwen and Bob. Despite marketing strategists' best efforts to seduce us into thinking we are what we own, true wealth is not built on foundations of concrete or stone, but with the mortar of kindness of word and deed that secure our status as a community."

Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle July 21, 2005

Click on these images, they should pop up in a larger, almost readable size...but I've also requested the word document from Bill Woolley of the Chronicle, so hopefully the written copy of this article will be forthcoming.

Want to be counted? Marry a Lord Hillian.

Pam Graham Foley, John Dubrow, and welcome interloper Evan Dunsky, Lisa Zimble's guy

(Lisa Zimble Photo Archives)

Where did you say those years went?

Phil and Zetta Herrick, Ken and Patti Zimble, and Sally Dubrow...with Jerry, the other half of what was formerly known as "The Fun Couple," peering out from behind her.

(Lisa Zimble Photo Archives)

Communing with Birds

Based on the available evidence, the lonely "Shed" in the background got used a total of three times. But Lord Hillians plan ahead for all emergencies.

(Lisa Zimble Photo Archives)

Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle Group Photo

July 14, 2005 Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle: "Name that neighborhood: Five decades ago, almost everyone in this picture lived in the same neighborhood in Hamilton or Wenham. They have since moved far afield, but on Sunday afternoon they reunited at the Ipswich home of the fellow sitting in the front, holding a drink. Check out next week's Chronicle for the whole story."

LET THE HORROR BEGIN

Dubrowmania!

It's wonderful to be here/it's certainly a thrill/we'd like to take you home with us/we'd love to take you home!

Left to right: Jane, Bob, Jerry, Carrie, John, Sally...and little Eleyna (spawn o' Bob)

(Lisa Zimble photo archives)

Welcome to Your Virtual Old Neighborhood

Here it is. This is the blog devoted to news, reminisces, and photographic evidence that the people who lived on Lord's Hill back in the day still rule! With equanimity, of course.

Photos and fun stuff sure to come. This is just the rudimentary beginnings. If you are here now chances are you have been invited to contribute to this by signing in. Hope you choose to!

Later!

--Bob