Hope your summer is off to a good start. We've had so much rain the gardens are way behind schedule - except for the awesome abundance of weeds. So, now that the sun is out it's time for me to slather on the sunscreen and repellant and go do fierce battle with the greenery that has chosen to invade the pea patch. Need to do a toad count, too; the snake family in the terrace garden has been doing its job keeping little rodents out of the strawberries and lavender, but I have the feeling our small hop-hop friends may have vacated the front yard. You guys take care; we'll see you on the 23rd.
Photo from Rickey and Deanna
With Bob’s coaching, I made this dish to take to the Passover meal at the home of our friends Kathy and Joe, as mentioned in the May-June issue. Our grandson Nic (Rickey) asked for the recipe, so we decided to write it down and share it. This has been updated from the recipe in the “Murdock Muse Cookbook.”
8 med. potatoes, cut into 3/4" cubes and steamed for 10 minutes.
1 large onion, diced.
6 med. mushrooms, sliced.
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper.
2 Tbsp. olive oil.
1 c. each of shredded cheddar and shredded Monterey Jack (or mozzarella) cheese.
Grated Parmesan cheese.
Black pepper.
Parsley flakes.
Saute the onion, mushrooms, and red bell pepper together in the olive oil. Butter a large casserole dish. Put in ½ the potato, then ½ the sauteed vegetables, then ½ the shredded cheeses. Sprinkle with a little pepper. Layer the rest of the potato, the vegetables, and the two shredded cheeses. Sprinkle with a little more pepper, some grated parmesan cheese, and a few parsley flakes (“enough to make it look pretty”). I may have stirred the items a little bit together, but Bob doesn’t recommend that. Cover and microwave 10 min. until the cheese is melted and all the items are hot. If no microwave, add ½ c. of milk, cover, and bake at 350 degrees for ½ hr., until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are hot.
Bob Schlicke looked great. He’s almost my age, for goodness’ sake! We learned that he enjoys having breakfast or brunch with friends on a set schedule.
Don Schlicke said that he enjoys his job as General Manager at IPB (Interface Precision Benchworks) in Orange, MA. They are a manufacturer of custom interconnective assemblies (cable, harness, coax, etc.) What he likes about IPB is its compassionate mission: to provide a community based employment opportunity to severely handicapped individuals. “That’s what drew me to the company,” he said.
Cindy Coppolino looks trim and charming. You would never guess that she’s the mother of four and a busy accountant. She and husband Nick are the proprietors of The Barre Mill where we all dined.
Tidbits from Tom and Marcia Howlett:
Granddaughter Sanghee Johnson is spending six weeks in Florence, Italy, studying art. Her mom, Eunie, now remarried, is in real estate.
Anthony Aliquo, Sheryl and Mark’s elder son, will start this fall at St. Michael’s College , near Burlington, VT.
Amanda, Eric Johnson’s daughter, will be going to Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY.
Ana, whose parents are Eric and Meredith Howlett, is engaged to Matthew O’Brien.
Her sister Lindsey, after visiting a school friend in Turkey, will work this summer as an intern in Manhattan.
Jane and Ken McCauley live in a totally natural setting. You see birdhouses as you drive up. They have lived at “Serenity Hill” since 1988, after Ken did research to find a suitable hilltop location.
Last June, Jane flew to Minneapolis to attend a Norberg family reunion. It was her first flight ever, and the captain invited her to see the cockpit. Then he announced the event of her maiden voyage to the passengers!
When Wheeler’s Store was auctioned, Jane was right there, collecting material for her impressive Wheeler scrapbook. “I did some bidding, too,” she said. One of the items in the scrapbook is a great article from the Barre Gazette that she wrote.
Ken went to work as a pipe-fitter for Heald Machinery in Worcester, and stayed with them 35 years. Then he was with Harrington and Richardson in Gardner until retirement.
In collaboration with Elaine (Edwards) Rodecki, Jane wrote an awesome illustrated article for the March 17, 2005 Barre Gazette, “Remembering the Morgan Farm.” Elaine lived there, and provided lots of remembrances. Dotty Salminen sent us the clipping, and I’m hoping to provide excerpts in an upcoming Muse.
Steve and Terry Howlett informed us they now have four great-grandchildren, all girls!
The newest is Gianna Howlett, son of Robbie and Sarah. Robbie's first daughter is Desiree. The proud grandma is Michelle Boudreau, who has one other granddaughter, Saraiah Patria, whose mom is Heidi. To round out the lot, Brielle Howlett is the daughter of Adam, whose parents are Gregg and Carla. "It's getting hard to keep track of everybody," said Terry.
Penny Salminen is working at the Dunkin’ Donuts location inside Stop and Shop. “It’s a sweet job,” she said. I patronized Dunkin while in the store, and found that Penny gives sweet service, too. She would like to get a job in people care, maybe at the hospital.
Mary Reese now owns the bridal business where she was working, “Hillary’s Bridal.” Her customers like the store because she treats them so well.
Husband Michael works for Comcast, which recently acquired Adelphia.
Nicholas, 17, works at Exxon, and enjoys playing the guitar. “I think he likes it better than school,” said Mary.
Kristen, 15, is a waitress in a Senior Center dining room. At school she’s an honor student, but is counting the days until she can get her driver’s license.
Viki Blakley has been with Home Depot in Leominster, MA since last September. "It’s about a half hour drive," she said. She’s in Appliances.
Jake is with a Home Depot distribution center in Westfield, MA and is buying a house there.
Shawn and Amanda are buying a condo in Templeton. He is still with Pepsi in Holden, MA.
Casey, 12 in July, helps an antique dealer in Hubbardston - building birdhouses, for one thing. He will be in 7th grade at Quabbin in the fall.
Scott, 10, is an avid skateboarder. He will be going into 5th grade.
Viki has sold her house and moved across the street.
Florence Murdock made 200 visor hats this past winter! She does afghans, too. Her camping friend Theresa does some selling for her.
I asked Flo about her outdoor experiences with Aunt Helen. One time at the foot of Mt. Katadin, they were admiring a cow moose across the pond. Suddenly a whirlwind came up sucking water maybe 50 feet into the air, then raining it down onto the shore. Fortunately they weren’t affected. “Oh, that happens frequently here,” said a ranger.
Another time, on Blueberry Knoll, the two of them were looking for black bears. They were about 50 feet apart when Flo saw Helen do a strange, frantic dance. “She’s flipped!” Turns out a bee had gone up Helen’s pants leg.
Randy Salminen is a Technical Support Engineer for MRV Communications, a networking company in Littleton, MA. He had worked there previously, and they were glad to see him again. In the past year, his job took him to Kansas, Florida, and California.
Gloria is in her sixth year with JCHE, Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly in Brighton, MA. It’s a well respected nonprofit agency, and she’s the accounting manager.
Chantal is office manager for a real estate company in downtown Boston. But she’s an aspiring actress-model, who has taken dance lessons since age 4.
Logan, 21, is in college at Montachusett, and works part time at Cumberland Farms, Westminster. Music may be his career. He has a band that does gigs.
Dillon, 13, plays street hockey and basketball. His BB team won a championship recently. He will be an eighth grader in the fall.
Tucker, 10, plays street hockey and Little League. He’s going into 6th grade, and made the honor roll the last two semesters.
“Bear,” age one, is half Springer Spaniel and half Labrador Retriever. He mostly stays in the house - thinks he’s human.
The family lives in Jalonen’s former home, near the Lyon house. Lots of gardens, bushes, and shrubs; and the gardener is Dotty Salminen, who loves puttering there. There’s a big field out back, then woods and lots of trails. Deer eat apples off the trees. A moose was seen next door, at Benny Meagher’s.
Art Murdock is sales manager for Wachusett Precast. Business is good, with the building market flourishing. Art travels about 200 miles per day, in MA, CT, and RI.
He will be on the 2nd annual walk for breast cancer, July 8-10 - this time from Nashua, NH to Boston!
Lorraine is enjoying retirement and spending lots of time with grandkids. Flower gardens keep her busy. Grandson Larry (6) had a heart transplant April 23, and is doing amazingly well. Two weeks after surgery he was home. His parents are Lawrence and Mercedes Skamarycz.
Kimberly is engaged; no date set for wedding. She lives in Plymouth, MA and does purchasing for Sager Electronics. Kim is doing well in her job, and is well liked by management.
Click here for Part 3 of the July-August 2005 Muse.
