Dan and Maxine and Families

     Dan's graduation picture.              Maxine, taken in 1980 after her stroke.

Charles and Catherine's 50th Anniversary, May 19, 1954.
Taken in Pepperell, MA.   Left to right: Charles Jr.,  Art,
Grandma, Grandpa, Dan with Ann and Mum in front.
Missing were Ruth and Doris.

Dan's grandkids from his daughter, Olive.  The one I
went to PA with.  Left to right: Craig, almost 5;
Randy 7 and Chuck 8. This was taken 
years ago as they are grown with families of their own.

This is Grandpa and Grandma Straitiff's home on River Road in Pepperell.  That entry way always held a beautiful bouquet of gladiolas as soon as Grandma's were in bloom.  The wooded area to the left held best ever blueberries and the back, small part of the house, at one time, held the "two holer" and Grandpa's egg candling room. There was a path in that wooded area with the blueberries, where you could walk to Uncle Art's and Auntie Doris home up on Hill Street.

I don't ever remember the railing over the entry way so it was gone by the time I came around.  The two down stairs corner windows was the parlor where a piano was kept,  Auntie Ruth's clarinet in the cupboard and the most beautiful black horse hair couch. Oh, how I lusted after that couch along with Grandpa's prism that was in the window by the chair that he sat in and smoked his pipe.  I remember the curved glass china cabinet in the dining room that held the prettiest salt cellars.  There was a pass through from the kitchen to the dining area that was a pantry and you just walked through it.

In the room where everyone used, just inside the entry way, was a couch that was along the staircase on the right. A big humongous stove for heat was on the wall across from the couch and grandpa's chair by the window. 

I can almost taste Grandma's toast as she cooked it in one of those toasters that sat on top of the fire in the stove and you had to put the sides down and it would flip the bread over.  Her hot chocolate makes my mouth want some!  She used the  cocoa powder,  added milk (of course milk straight from a cow), a pinch  of salt,  sugar and vanilla. Hmmmmmmm!

Her spaghetti sauce I have tried to duplicate and I can't, even though I know what she did.  She put sugar in it that made it so special for us kids but I can't seem to do it right.

Grandpa grew the tiniest white corn and I never have seen anything like it since we left in 1949.  I do know that my cousin Paul grew it for many, many years but something went wrong with the seeds one year and that ended it.  To the right of the house was the driveway, a lawn area, a wood dog house and then the garden area.  

Grandpa used to cut all of our hair just about every time we went up there, well, the boys at least.  I can see him now out in the egg room using his leather strop to sharpen his single edge razor.  And oh, how nice grandpa always smelled.  I would nuzzle up along side of his face and go nnuuuummm  and he would smile. Both Grandpa and Grandma always dressed really nice and always smelled wonderful.

There was a small music powder box in the upstairs bedroom that I always had my eyes on too......but I am glad that I can conjure up my favorite things with my memories.