Driving 450 miles or so was out of the question, since Nan would have had to do it all. But we discovered that Southwest Airways has a flight from Baltimore to Manchester, NH, so it was just a matter of renting a car in Manchester. Our friend and neighbor Colleen McKay (the Hat Lady) made our arrangements, bless her heart.
John and Cathy Howlett hosted a Howlett Family Reunion July 3 at their home in Chichester, NH. Click here to see the attendance list. Eight people from Cathy’s family were there, the same ones as last year.
John is an RN at Health South Rehab Hospital in Concord, adjacent to the Concord Hospital. He said he works from 6:30 AM to 2 PM, which gives nice afternoon hours at home, and an early bedtime. Cathy is the office manager at Prototek, a sheet metal processing company. We gather that she manages not just the office, but to some extent the management.
Lori gave us an update on her family. Michael didn’t make it this year, as his car wasn’t ready for the trip from Norwood, Mass. He’s a mental health counselor at Newton-Wellesley hospital. Lori said she is starting a new job as an RN in the geriatric-psychiatric unit at Norwood Hospital -a five minute drive! She previously worked in Quincy.
Amanda is now a high school junior. In connection with one of her classes, she won awards for video and sound editing. Alyssa, an HS freshman, gets lots of duty as a baby sitter.
Patrick, a sixth grader, loves to be outdoors. We noticed that last year, when he identified a toad for us. Kayliegh is also in sixth grade. She does well in school, and is active in Girl Scouts. Nicolas turned 4 in August, and is a very active boy. He watched with great interest his uncle Sean’s fireworks exhibition.
During the picnic, Amanda found a little snake near the grill, and casually held it up for everyone to see. “Don’t bring it here,” said all the ladies. “Just put it in the garden,” said John.
Sean entertained us all with his pyrotechnic skills. He gave a good tutorial for the younger set, who went up close to watch the fireworks. Meanwhile, I chatted with Kris, who said she had been promoted to probation and parole officer in a regional office of the NH Dept. of Corrections, and enjoys her work. Sean is working full time at Staples, and we have observed that he is knowledgeable about their products, and helpful with the customers. Tommy, now two years old, is very energetic. We saw him racing around the lawn au naturel.
Sarah had to work, so she and Gary weren’t able to attend this year.
On the 5th of July, we visited with my sister Dotty Salminen, and - you guessed it - we played a couple of games of Scrabble. We concluded that Bob, Nan, and Dotty are equally talented, and each game depends on the breaks. While we were there, two of Dotty’s daughters came by: Viki, who brought sons Casey and Scott, and Penny. Penny works part time in a liquor store in Templeton, and is applying for work in personal care. She is engaged to a truck driver whom she has known for four years. He made deliveries to The Country Hen, where she worked.
Viki, already in personal care, said she drives twice a week to Boston Children’s Hospital, near Fenway Park. She has a new Toyota Corolla. And she’s also an Avon lady.
Casey, in 6th grade, loves rollerblading. In school, he played sax in the band.
Scott is a 4th grader who prefers skateboarding, and in the school band he plays the recorder.
We didn’t see Viki’s two older sons, but learned that Jake works at Home Depot, and is about to receive an associate degree in business. Shawn has been almost two years with Pepsi Cola, and has a girlfriend named Amanda Nadeau.
Teddie Doane told me on the phone that she will be driving a handicapped boy to a school in Worcester, and looks forward to it. Billy is still continuing with his fencing business (Doane Fence Me In). His work is much appreciated, so he gets repeat customers.
As for Randy and family, Dotty said that he returned to Xyplex and they were glad to have him back. Gloria works in the office of a Jewish home for the elderly, in Brighton, Mass. Chantal recently returned from a six month visit to her homeland, South Africa. She’s now attending an acting school in Boston.
Logan has a band and does local gigs. He and his girlfriend both attended “The Mount” community college. Dillon played in a regional baseball all-star game in Lunenburg, along with a Howlett (Nick Chapman) and a Charlton (Marcus Carlberg). Tucker excels in football and ice hockey.
While we were in Gardner, staying at the Super 8 Motel, we made a trip to Athol to visit my sister Lennie Schlicke. This was the third year in a row we had gone to see her at Quabbin Valley Health Care, in the Alzheimers section. Amazingly, she seemed better this year than last year! She hardly recognized us, but seemed content to sit with us and smiled a lot. Obviously, the Quabbin Valley staff takes good care of her - and we know that Lennie’s husband Bob does too. We also saw Joan (Lovewell) Freeman again, in another part of the hospital.
We didn’t have to go very far to catch up with Steve, Nancy’s brother, and Terry Howlett. On the phone they said, “Why don’t you meet us at Friendly’s Restaurant?” Well, that was thoughtful - it’s right in front of our motel! Steve told us proudly that he now has a John Deere ride-on power mower. Terry is the Bursar at MWCC (Mount Wachusett Community College).
Also at MWCC, Missi works in the Office of Lifelong Learning (see her article in this issue of the Muse), and Stephanie is a clerk in the Records office. Stephanie’s son, Mark Anthony Wiseman, almost 7, took up basketball and ice hockey this year. His dad, Marcus, coached basketball.
Gregg’s new house in Templeton is nearly finished. It’s not far from the camp.
Tim, who lives in Maryland’s Eastern Shore, reported that his house was damaged by Hurricane Isabella. But there was no damage to his laundromat business.
Denise’s son, Nick Chapman, played on the baseball all-star team. His brother Mike is also active in sports.
At the Hubbardston home of Tom (Nan’s brother) and Marcia Howlett, we learned that Keith, Tom’s son, and Maria were almost ready to move into their new house in Clinton, Mass. They have three children: Ryan, Troy, and Tessa. Keith and Maria both work at Bigelow Nurseries.
Eric Howlett, Tom’s son, is now the president of Rotary Loft in Madison, Indiana. His wife Meredith is an accomplished flutist who has played with a group that made two CD’s. They have two daughters in college. Ana is a junior at DePauw, but Lindsey chose a different college in Indiana.
Tom’s daughter Cheryl Aliquo and her husband Mark are both educators. Cheryl teaches fourth grade in St. Albans, VT, and Mark is the principal of vocational schools in Burlington. As for their children, Anthony is a high school senior. David plays piano, trumpet, and football. Heather has a new horse and loves it dearly.
Marcia’s son Eric Johnson is the executive director of Spring Brook Farm in Reading, VT. (Registered Jerseys) and the host of Farms for City Kids. (See their website at www.farmsforcitykids.org)
Granddaughter Sanghee Johnson graduated from Preston, a Catholic girl’s school in the Bronx, NY and planned to enter the Fashion Institute of NY, on lower Manhattan. She will specialize in CGA (Computer Generated Animation).