At some point Linda, Jim and I slept in the attic room on Bly Street. I remember waking up and coughing. I could smell something burning. I turned on the light and our attic room was filled with smoke. I ran downstairs and woke mom and dad up. Dad told us to open all the windows and he went down to the furnace room. There was no fire, but I believe there was something wrong with the belt in the furnace and it was spewing out smoke. I know dad was able to take care of it and he repaired it the next day. Scary! I don’t know if Linda and Jim remember that incident.
Category: Terri
Thanks for the name
Joe was the first one to call me Terri. Actually, he used to say, “Terry and the Pirates.” I liked that name and I decided that I would use it. The nuns and the kids at school called me Teresa. My family called me Sis or Sissy. Once I went to Meyrels Meat Market (not sure of the spelling) to shop for mom. The guy behind the counter said, “What’ll you have, Sis” and I thought he knew my name.! 😂
When someone calls me Teresa, I know it is someone from my grade school years.
Hardwood Floors on Merwood
My memory of why the hardwood floors were carpeted is as follows. In the 60’s most adults did not wear tennis shoes or sneakers or the casual soft soles people wear today. Women and men wore shoes with hard soles and heels. Men especially wore those black dress shoes which left black heel marks on the light-colored hardwood. It needed constant upkeep. Linda and I were enlisted to keep the floors looking good. It was a pain! Today people cover hardwood floors with polyurethane or buy floors already treated. Also, people might take off their shoes today. Believe me, in the 60’s, people would have been highly insulted if you asked them to remove their shoes! How times have changed. 😊
Mary and Ozzie’s House Catches Fire
Last updated March 4, 2020
Terri had the basement bedroom in the Merwood St house. One night she was awakened by a pounding on the front door. She went to wake up Mom, but Mom was sleeping so soundly that she couldn’t be aroused. Because the pounding at the door wouldn’t stop, she went to the door and found Ozzie and Mary. When she opened the door, they told her that their house had burned down She let them in and they tried to wake Mom, no luck!
Terri made the coffee and calmed them down. After they finally calmed down, they tried again to wake Mom. Mary and Ozzie bunked down in the living room.
Come morning, Mom woke up, went into the living room and was surprised to see them and asked what they were doing there.
Posts about Terri
Last updated April 29, 2020
We could use a few short posts about Terri. If you have information I can use, but don’t want to post it yourself, use the contact form and I’ll post it.
School. Like those of us who came before her, Terri walked by herself to kindergarten at East Street School. To get there she had to go down the hil to Royal Street, at the bottom she turned left and walked directly to the school located at 1612 East Street. The total distance was about a half a mile. (The building no longer exists). Also like the rest of the siblings she went to St. Boniface Parochial School, right down the hill from 30 Bly Street. She also got to walk from Merwood Drive when she attended St. Benedict’s Academy, about a mile and a quarter.
Church. Like all of her siblings, Terri went to at St. Boniface but after the move to Merwood Drive she had to change. She remembers going to Nativity on Franklin Road. She could walk there. (Left on Connie Drive, then left onto Bascom Ave. up to Route 19. The church is on the corner but the address is Franklin Rd.) That church is now called Incarnation Catholic Church.
Open the Door. Terri had the basement bedroom in the Merwood St house. She recalls that when Jim, a teenager at the time, came home late he would tap on her window, which was just above ground, to let him in. Apparently Jim did not have a key.
Sister Teresa. Terri and Linda went to high school at St. Benedict’s Academy. Most of the staff and teachers were Benedictine nuns. I heard the story that once when Terri’s class was in line for something, one of the nuns appeared to be recruiting new postulates for the convent. Terri kept saying to herself “DON’T PICK ME”. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.