Reset Password
Reset Link Sent
| Blogs > tickles4us > tickles |
The Road to Grandma's house
|
The Road to Grandma's house It was Easter weekend many years ago. We were getting ready for the regular trip to Grandma’s house for the weekend. Mom had made the orange rolls early that morning and there were pies and other goodies all ready and packed in the cars. This time was a little different in that a family friend was going over with us so we had two cars instead of the one little ’72 two door Toyota Corolla coupe to fit four , Mom and all the goodies in. The trip to Littleton New Hampshire, one we had made many times over the years, was around 60 miles from Morrisville, Vermont and usually took around one and a half hours, as long as it wasn’t snowing anyways. This was back before the newer roads when it was all the state and town highways. You know the ones that run through the middle of every town along the way and were usually in bad repair and quite bumpy. So we often ended up holding some of the goodies in our laps. My younger Brother had to sit in the front seat as he got car sick if he sat in the back seat or so he claimed anyways. Of course there was that time when he was sitting next to me in the back seat and he started looking funny and the next thing you know…. Well I guess he wasn’t faking it and the car couldn’t stop fast enough, so I had to change my pants… yuck. That was going up the hill into Danville just before the school. The drive wasn’t too bad in the colder months before the road construction started. It seemed the roads were always being repaired, improved or rerouted. Which is a good thing I guess as some of those turns were pretty sharp and the hills they were on were pretty steep. The bridges back then were a lot narrower and often seemed to be very high but things seemed higher and trips took longer back then as a . Though as I have travelled the route in recent years you can see where they have changed the landscape grading to even out, level and or straighten out the roads as they do when making improvements. I do remember places where I would look out at the view and the trees tops were down lower than the bridge and that always impressed me as I know how high trees get as I had spent plenty of times climbing as high as the branches would support me. It didn’t help none to go over a high narrow bridge and the next place you see is a graveyard. The things that go through a imagination… especially when the roads are snowy or icy. The old train track overpasses are all gone from the trip route now but I remember one that was on a stretch of road that was in a high elevation area that always had snow and ice and the overpass was narrow and you had to slow down because you couldn’t see around the corner far enough to slow down if a car was coming at the speed limit of 50 mph. I will put some pictures in and one of such a location that is still there near home. One year there was a car that had been through there sometime before we were and they were upside down on the side of the road. That was a little before we got to Joe’s Pond. Joe’s Pond has been doing a contest thing “The Joe’s Pond Ice Out” every spring since the late eighties where they put a cinder block out on the ice and take bets on when it will drop through. I wonder how many cinder blocks have piled up down there or if they remove them… There used to be a round what looked to be concrete island traffic thing in the middle of the road at the bottom of Eastern Ave in Saint Johnsbury. It was always a fun item to navigate around especially if it was snowy roads, in fact that Avenue runs up/down hill and while it isn’t really all that steep it could sometimes get interesting in the winter. The island thing must have been an issue or something as sometimes it wasn’t there. There was and still is a Dunkin Donuts just before you get on the big bridge in Saint Johnsbury and we often stopped there, though it was usually on the way home. The Passumpsic River in Saint Johnsbury where we crossed was a new bridge stacked over the old bridge which I suppose they actually replaced the old bridge at the same time or shortly after they built the new one in the 1940’s. We only went the under route once that I can recall. It always seemed so high up in the air. You could look down on top of the buildings and the railroad tracks and trains and even look down at the tops of the telephone poles. The top of the railroad bridge was below the road. The railroad tracks ran along parallel with the road through a good deal of this section of the trip. It ran right up close to the buildings and I always wondered what that was like when the train was running by. I remember seeing, hearing and feeling the train as we travelled through when it just happened to be going through at the same time. We had to wait for it to cross the road at one place in town not far from the bridge. There was a store that we sometimes stopped at where the tracks crossed the road by the Moose River. The store sign is still there but painted over and very faded and the place isn’t a department store anymore. The train tracks are still there in the road but I don’t think they have been used in a long time now. The brush and trees have taken over the tracks even though the rails are still there. Then we went by the Maple Grove Farms of Vermont. They make Maple sugar products there. I often thought about how much maple candy they must have inside there. Then down the road a ways is the Fairbanks Scales Company. They have been in Saint Johnsbury since the early 1800’s when Thaddeus Fairbanks established his business and was soon joined by his brother Erastus. Thaddeus was a wagon maker with ideas. He started with a foundry that he built in 1823 and made cast iron plows and stoves then designed a better more accurate and convenient way to weigh things. His patent for the platform scale made him famous and comfortable. From there the company grew and was soon famous world wide. Thaddeus made a deal selling manufacturing rights to an English company in the 1830’s and was becoming well known in Europe. They were selling scales to China back in 1846 and worldwide by 1860. The building we drive by was built in 1966 and replaced the numerous old buildings from around the town. The company has changed hands over the years many times but is still well known. Thaddeus Fairbanks made many contributions to the town of Saint Johnsbury. Then just down and across the road is the Farmers . A gift shop where you can get creamies and maple sugar products and I remember the deerskin gloves and moccasins sign from way back when I was a . But mostly I remember the sign because of the image of the farmers with her wind blown dress exposing her undies. They are still there but the owners have changed. From there it was on by the Moose River Campground and up a long grade with a retaining wall alongside the road holding back the bank. On from there and around Stiles Pond. Another place to think about what could happen as the road runs right along the bank and back then it was the old wooden post and cable guard rails with frequent places where the cables ended to anchor into the ground then begin again. Now there is an interstate interchange between the two so you don’t even see the pond if you take that route. Then we soon come to the Connecticut River which is the border between Vermont and New Hampshire. But not before going by the Rabbit Hill Inn, another landmark that means we’re getting close. The details on Moore Dam are from Wikipedia. The Moore Dam/reservoir is the next landmark and it’s a big one. Moore Dam is a composite earthen and concrete dam located 283 miles upstream from where the Connecticut River meets the Atlantic. The dam is 178 feet tall and 2,920 feet long, with a 373-foot central concrete section flanked by 2,547 feet of embankments. The spillway is located on the concrete section. Before damming, the "Fifteen Miles Falls" was a fast flowing whitewater section of the Connecticut River, where it dropped 350 feet over the course of 15 miles, making it the longest single stretch of whitewater in the northeastern US. The steep grade and heavy flow also made it ideal for the construction of water mills. Site preparations for Moore Reservoir commenced in the mid-1930s, with the clearing of over 3,000 acres of farmland and forest to allow for future flooding. The towns of Upper Waterford, Vermont and Pattenville, New Hampshire were demolished; however, with the onset of the Great Depression preliminary work on Moore Dam was halted. Construction was not resumed until 1954, and was completed in 1956, at a cost of $41 million. The dam was dedicated, and power generation begun, on June 20, 1957. What I remember most about the Moore Dam/reservoir were the speed boat races and fishing tournaments that were often going on when we drove by in the summer. I took a walk out on the dam with my wife many years ago. It’s quite a ways down when you are looking from the top. The next significant landmark would be the cemetery as you enter Littleton. My Grandma is buried there, It’s been many years now. Grandpa passed a few years later. As we continue into Littleton we go by the turn that used to lead up to the hospital where I was born. The new hospital is actually halfway between the Moore reservoir and the cemetery. I’m not sure why they moved it way out there. Cheaper property prices maybe or maybe they are planning on expansion of the town. A few more miles to drive in an emergency from the old center of town location. Then we drive by the Beacon Street bridge over the Ammonoosuc river. It used to go out to the old shoe factories, the Henschel Shoe Company and Connors and Hoffman, where my grandparents worked years ago. They have long since gone out of business and is now the Hitchiner Manufacturing company. They do castings. They were talking about closing the plant in Littleton a couple years ago but I think they are still open. There are many unique stores along the way that are familiar just from having rode by them in the car so many times over the years. We go by the old turn off to where Grandma used to live down by the river and continue down the road for a little ways, then turn up into the drive for the apartment where they live now. We find parking spots and then everybody gets out and starts loading up with stuff to carry in. My two younger Uncles come out to help carry stuff in after greeting everyone with smiles and hello’s. One uncle is a year older and one is a year younger than me. I was a bit unexpected and came along early in my Mothers life. She was the third and my Grandmother had ten spaced apart so that’s how you get uncles that are younger then yourself. So we get all the stuff inside then us go to the living room and start hanging out and catching up while devouring some of Grandma’s homemade donuts. Grandpa is up in his bedroom where he usually is. You see Grandpa has a drinking problem. He usually only comes down to get more beer or to eat dinner. You can often hear him calling out to Grandma when he wants something. It goes something like this, Lorain… followed by a pause for several seconds then Lorain… and repeats until she answers him. Uncle Rex is setting in the rocking chair and telling about things that have happened since we were last together. Funny stories about the neighbor lady and other things. Well Rex suddenly says “you will never believe what happened the other day.” Now Rex is one of those people who has to act out things in voices and actions when he’s telling these stories. So he starts telling about how his father had been drinking as usual and came into the living room and went to sit in the rocking chair. Now Roland his dad is a big guy standing well over six feet tall as does Rex. Roland has a good sized belly on him but not huge. So Rex tells how Roland goes to sit in the rocking chair and it tips over backward and he lands on his back in the chair holding his beer, looking up at the ceiling. Of course Rex is telling how he was trying to stifle the laughter when this happened. Then Roland who had been laying there for a minute not even trying to get up calls out to his wife.. Lorain…… then there is a pause for several seconds and he calls out again Lorain….. Now Grandma is a little Irish woman about maybe 4 and a half feet tall or so and not very heavy at all. So she comes into the living room and there’s Roland sitting in the rocking chair on his back on the floor calling out Lorain… and Rex is sitting there on the couch cracking up silently. Well you know how they say laughter is contagious so Grandma caught the bug and broke out laughing at him also. Well they helped him up by rolling him out of the chair and he went back up to his bedroom. So as I said Rex likes to act things out so he tips the chair over and lays there calling out Lorain…. Lorain…. Lorain. Well Grandma comes in thinking it’s Grandpa calling and see’s Rex laying there in the chair and breaks out laughing and calling Rex a damn fool. Of course that brought Mom and the family friend Rhoda in and they get to hear the story about what happened and get a good laugh also. Rhoda is a character like Rex also and is calling out Lorain… Well the next day was Easter so Rhoda and Mom went about hiding eggs early that morning. When us got up we went about finding the eggs and then rehiding them on each other and finding them again and seeing who could find the best places to hide them. Well sometime along Grandpa Roland came down and was getting dressed to go to the store for more beer. He went to put his<b> boots </font></b>on and found one of the eggs that hadn’t been found that morning. So he was bitching and then laughing just a little bit… a very little bit, about crushing an egg in his boot. So after he had left Rhoda came in and tipped the chair back over and laid in it calling out Lorain…. Lorain in a low voice and got everybody laughing again. So after that anytime Roland called out to Lorain everybody would chuckle. All of Grandma’s that weren’t gone out of state somewhere and Doughy who had gotten run over and killed by a drunk driver back when he was little, showed up with their families for Easter and we had dinner and lots of laughs as usual. It gets a bit crowded at times but I was always glad to be there. We usually went over for all the major holidays and for some vacation time also. Since Grandma died we don’t get together much anymore. Of course the family has grown a bit too. Now we are talking four generations with the oldest being a family of nine brothers and one sister. They all but one had anywhere from two to five each. Hope you had a good Easter. The pictures aren't in any order but are from the route.           Vive La Difference |
||||
|
Great post, Tickles! This is a lot of fun to read. And I love the pictures. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
| |||
|
Lovely trip down memory lane! Very detailed. TY.
| |||
|
oh my, that was just splendid. rich and full and tasty. aren't families just so much themselves? so trustworthy in their unique oneness? the little repeated things that become the warp and weave of our lives. I reread this for the gentle flow of it... thank you tickles, for this very special blog.  You cannot conceive the many without the one.
| |||
|
Those are priceless memories. Reminds me of how I saw things when I was little, and how they have really changed over the years. Road trips are different now., but also still the same. 
| |||
|
Wonderful Story with some great pictures too tickle.. mmmm maple syrup. Yummy.. ty for sharing and Happy Easter as well hugssssssssssssss V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
| |||
|
When I first saw this I thought "Damn!" , as I'm in a hurry and this was so long. . But I'm glad I read it all! What a great story ! . I wish I had family ties and memories like that! Does The Farmer's Daughter sell cream pies...  . I bet everyone has funny thoughts when they see that sign.  I love the way you described the trip. . Almost felt I was there! . And the pics were nice to see, too.  Great post!
| |||
|
A great read. Happy Easter!  
| |||
|
nice
| |||
|
The retaining wall isn't in so good a shape after 40-50 years that I can remember it being there. The train track under pass is from a local one the one on the road to Grandma's was wider. The last picture is Stiles pond with the newer steel guard rails. That old concrete railed bridge sure looks like the same one that was there when I was a kid. Vive La Difference
|
The old road we used to travel has been usurped by a parallel road built to modern standards for a good part of the trip and in other areas they did a lot to improve the road, bringing it up to today's standards. But I still like to go the old way where the roads haven't been updated sometimes like that curved bridge. 
Become a member to create a blog
