Martha Kennard-Atherton-Fleetwood

beginning of a long list of part-time employment over the course of the next couple of years.

I made dog tags for Dow Manufacturing Co, played hostess for Howard Johnson, assisted with Dartmouth’s five year directory, performed “Girl Friday” duties for Mary Hitchcock Hospital and dabbled in selling Ad time and programming for our local TV Station. Some of these jobs were for the love of the work and some for the money. And I did get my very own checkbook!! This was perhaps all accomplished within two years. Oh but what it did for my self-esteem!

The airport was fast becoming the Hub for the Upper Valley, Lebanon, Hanover Woodstock, Vt. Celebrities passed through our gates most every day. And what an experience to sit and talk with Eleanor Roosevelt, Danny Kay, President Eisenhower (thousands jammed the airport that day), Happy and Nelson Rockefeller. Winter carnival at Dartmouth brought in beautiful dates for the college boys from various colleges. Not so beautiful after a weekend of endless partying, however.

Meanwhile back in the big house there are four great kids. Ours! With some remodeling of the five rooms downstairs (Jerry and Irene lived upstairs) it served its purpose. This was either 1951 or 52 (You can’t expect me to keep all 93 years straight!). We had not had a vacation with the family due to Coonie having to spend two weeks a year at Quonset Point to keep his status with the Navy Reserves. He was also required to spend a week-end a month in Quincy, Mass. But with some prodding from the kids and me we happily spent a wondrous few days at Niagara Falls and a visit to my Mother in Warren, Pa. John was nearing 12; Jean was 9, Mary 6. It was the school’s good fortune to have these three intelligent and handsome children with their own creative behavior. And then there was our redhead; four years of age. Home alone with no siblings to annoy I took the brunt, kidding just kidding.

He was a good little boy. Around the mid 1950s we sold Dad’s property and bought a four bedroom two bath beautiful home on Seminary Hill, Whitcomb Ave. We had just gotten nicely settled when I was called to Warren, Pa. My mother was ill.

A call came one afternoon from Coonie. In those days you did not make a social call in the daytime. I thought the worst. This was our conversation.

Me: “Is anything wrong?”

Coonie: “Well we had a little fire in the house”.

Me: “Are the children alright?”

Coonie: “Oh yes but we lost the dog”.

Me: “Can we stay in the house?”

Coonie: “Well I don’t think so.”

Another bit of chit-chat and I was packing. I can’t describe my emotions at the sight of what was left of our brand new home. This was certainly not a “little fire”! Our saving grace was good insurance.

We rented a cabin on Lake Mascoma for three months while our home was rebuilt. A Happy thought: I had no spring cleaning to do!

Our crowd was quite a party crew. When Coonie had a charter to Maine he would return with lobster and clams and it might be midnight. Jennie Wells would gather salad material from her garden with the aid of a flashlight and the crew would be called for a lobster and steamed clam party at the airport.

There were moments of sweet, family fun; picnics at the lake, cooking hamburgers on a makeshift rock by the side of babbling Trues Brook, a night at the outdoor movie, but these precious moments were few and far between and I ached for more of these happy family times. Oh Yes, I knew Coonie