Preston Street cemetery

I visited the old cemetery on Preston Street on a lovely fall afternoon last month (October 13, 2023).  In the photo above you can see the cemetery entrance and beyond it, to the east, some of the condominium buildings that now stand where our old family "Pine Knoll" homestead stood for over 100 years (1861-1975).

I was a bit surprised that the old misshapen tree near the hilltop was still standing, looking much as it had in 2017, my previous visit.

The rhododendron bush by that tree has grown larger, now covering some family gravestones. I parted the leaves and leaned in to take the photo below: 

This gravestone is for Clara Louise Ballou (1869-1916), the first wife of Joshua Ward Nichols (1868-1928), whose gravestone is beside hers, only partly covered by rhododendron foliage: 

To the left of his stone is the gravestone for his second wife, Maud Kimball (1868-1945).

Joshua Ward Nichols was a brother of my grandfather (William Stanley Nichols).  A larger monument nearby lists them both, and all their siblings, and their parents and grandparents, with notes indicating other cemetery locations where some were buried.

[Click on photo to enlarge]

The 8 children listed above were all born (1862 to 1878) in the Nichols family home at Pine Knoll. That home had been built in 1861 by Andrew for his Salem bride "Lizzie". 

On the back of that large monument are the names of another generation, the children of the Andrew born in 1862:

[Click on photo to enlarge]

Ferncroft Pond

 

I re-visited Ferncroft Pond in Danvers this month. It looks very much the way I remember it from years ago.

So many memories!  My family liked to come here to skate in winter. This pond was larger than the little pond by our house, and easier skating than the Meadows (where my parents sometimes played ice hockey with their friends). 

I'm glad to see that the old Ice House foundation is still in place. We used to sit there as we put on our ice skates.

I'm delighted that this pond and the surrounding land is now protected as a conservation area, with trails. Here's a photo of the large Trail Map posted near the entrance.  

On a previous trip I had enjoyed walking those trails. This time my visit was brief, but a welcome respite after long days in a windowless Exhibit Hall at the MA Councils on Aging  Fall Conference (October 11-13, 2023) held at the big hotel at 50 Ferncroft Road, Danvers.

Historic note: I learned to skate BACKWARDS at this pond. When I wrote about that memory in 2007, my written piece unexpectedly launched two new projects: writing a monthly column for the Danvers Herald and learning to create this blog in support of that column. See my original piece:

  Skating Backwards

https://rememberingdanvers.blogspot.com/2007/03/skating-backwards.html

Brewster cousins!

 

Photo by Dave Brewster

I enjoyed a special luncheon gathering in May 2023 with my second cousin Stuart Brewster (left in photo above) and many of his Brewster relatives, including his niece Louise and his daughter Andrea (at right). 

Stuart had come east from his home in California and spent a week in Danvers, revisiting old places and reconnecting with family. Much of his childhood had been spent in Danvers, living at "Pine Knoll," the Nichols family home built in 1861 by our great-grandfather Andrew Nichols (1837-1921). 

From childhood I have many memories of Stuart and his older brothers, David and Dudley. They shared many interests and activities (e.g., skiing, sailing, square dancing) with my father, who – being a bit older – often referred to them as "the Brewster boys." 

Ah, how the years have passed!  At the May gathering I mingled with two younger generations of Brewsters, all descended from those three brothers. Some of the youngest had no idea who I was, since I'm not at Brewster descendant, but a cousin on another branch of the Nichols family tree.

My grandfather was the youngest son of that original Pine Knoll family, whereas Stuart's grandfather was the oldest son, a naturalist named Andrew. Annie Nichols, daughter of that Andrew, married a Brewster, and had three sons: David, Dudley and Stuart. I remember Annie very well. I had piano lessons with her for many years on an old upright piano at Pine Knoll.

I'm so glad that Stuart invited me to this family reunion. Here are a few of my photos taken May 27, 2023:  

I enjoyed the story-telling, especially when Stuart stood up to speak about the 1939 World's Fair. His great uncle John drove him there from Danvers to NYC. Two of the great aunts, May and Margaret, also came on that trip. I asked if they had used Aunt May's 1932 Ford (which she later gave to my parents, so I grew up with it in the 1940's and 50's -- even learning to drive on it in the 1960's). No, Uncle John drove his own car.  As Stuart spoke, many of the dozen or so younger relatives in the room lifted cell phones to record his stories. Memorable!