 |
 |
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Recent
stories
from friends of the site... |
|
|
The
local gals who met in Branson... April 2005..[ from left
] Marion [ Saddington ] Fish.. Raunds... Anne [ Manning ] Riffe.. Wellingborough.. Doreen [ Mustoe ] MacGowen.. Wellingborough.. Jill [ Beetson ] Kaufman.. Wellingborough... Joyce [ Smith ] O'Conner.. Rushden.. Phyllis [ Taylor ] Scheffel.. Raunds.. -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Branson, Mo.,.. 2005.. by Gary Fish... |
|
During
the week of April 11th - April 18th... eight former
Chelveston Airmen / Sgts.. and their wives... converged on Branson Missouri for a mini reunion... Stories were told.. [ sometimes more than once ].. lots of food was consumed... a little wine and some beer was drank... shows were seen... and a whole new sense of "comradeship" was restored... It just seemed like most of our aches and pains were gone..[ or just forgotten ]... any problems that we might have had back home.. were not thought of... and once again we were back... in our early 20's... Now.. back home.. the reality of it.. all we have are our memories and photo's... and to be sure they will last forever.. If and When.. we ever do this again, we will be open to more participants... Be sure to join us... you will never regret it....... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
|
The
whole group... James and Ethel Jacobs... Gary and Marion Fish.. James and Doreen MacGowen.. George and Joyce O'Conner.. Ron and Jill Kaufman.. William and Phyllis Scheffel.. Bill and Linda Fagan.. Jack and Anne Riffe... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| My friend Sylvia.. by Shirley [Thacker ] Bounds... |
|
|
Hello
everyone... I meant to write and tell you about our trip to the uk in July / August... but time got away from me.. and I never did get around to it But.. I have something to say that you might find very interesting.. anyone who went to North End school 1949 - 1952... might remember Sylvia Postle.. she left in April 1952 same time as I did... Well, she has been a child minder in Wellingborough for a good 30 years... she was.. and still is much sought after because the care she gives the children is wonderful.. 3 or 4 of the mothers of children she had looked after over the years... got together and nominated her for an MBE... she was approved and on October 12th 2004.. she went to Buckingham Palace and The Queen presented her with her medal.. When I write to her now and put Sylvia Postle MBE on the envelope I feel good for her... she is deserving of it.. I thought it was a piece of news worth sharing... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
From
Scaldwell to Sambo's.. via Dover.. a Journey recalled... Graham Joyce.. gtjoyce@tiscali.co.uk |
|
| Yvonne.. Joyce.. Graham and Jack... 2004 |
|
This
journey started about two years ago.. when retirement
and genealogy became intertwined in my life.. A year or so before, my cousin and I decided to look into our family history.. and quickly found out that we knew little of the recent past, and absolutely nothing of more distant events.. We learned a valuable lesson.. ask your parents about your family.. because it's more difficult to proceed without some input from them.. Anyway, we hailed from Irchester originally.. although I was born and raised in Rushden.. and my co-conspirator.. was born and raised in Wellingborough. I don't really want to go into the techniques and strategies for finding information on ancestors as it is of interest mainly to fellow family history searchers .. One spin off from the activity.. is a tendency to recall your own early history and, as you get older.. you may find that, although you cannot remember the name of someone you met five minutes ago.. you have almost total recall of names and faces from fifty years ago.... Another benefit of age is that you are more prepared to let the world know if something is annoying you and you also have a tendency to flit about from topic to topic in conversation.. as you feel that the time remaining has become limited... This brings me to Scaldwell.... This has nothing to do with eliminating a nest of flying ants.... Scaldwell... I now know, is a delightful old, ironstone village... close to the shore of Pitsford reservoir on the Brixworth side.. It first came to my notice when I found out that one of my Irchester ancestors married a Caroline Warner.. from Scaldwell... in 1834 in Irchester.. The witnesses were a Joseph and Hannah Denton.. who were grocers in Wollaston and Hannah was also born in Scaldwell.. How does this Irchester - Scaldwell liaison come about?.. I suspect that the bright lights of Wellingborough.. may have played a part... As time passed, I became aware of a website for people researching... Northamptonshire surnames... and I put a few names of interest on the site. One of the early contacts was from our webmistress.... and, as the dialogue unfolded..a Scaldwell connection began to emerge... as Joyce, was descended from some Warner's of Scaldwell.. A bit of delving at Wooton Hall soon filled out the details.. and Joyce and I are both descended from the same family in Scaldwell.. So we are some sort of cousins.. possibly several times removed.. Since that time we have communicated regularly with lots of genealogical stuff.. and lots of " did you know so and so?" It has been very rewarding and I can see that the website is very useful to many people.. with Rushden area connections..Long may it continue to thrive... Last Tuesday.. Yvonne and I met up with Joyce and Jack in Dover.. We were on holiday in Maryland so it was just a case of popping round to the other side of Chesapeake bay.. Well.. it was about an 80 minute trip along the road.. but that counts as popping round in the USA.. We had a lovely day with them.. and nattered away about all sorts of things and people.. This brings me to... 'Sambo's at Lipstick'... Well, actually it is a superb little restaurant/ bar/ crab shack.. on the edge of the water at ' Leipsic'...somewhere in Delaware... Anyway we had an unforgettably great lunch of clams and crabs.. On the walls of the place were a number of maps of the world... into which.. people had stuck pins with attached labels giving their home addresses... We even found labels.. from Rushden people there... It's a small world... ent it me duck?.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A reunion with Harvey... by.. Hank Howard..... |
|
It
was a nice reunion... and the wrap up of two old
Chelveston buddies getting together on the internet.. I found Harvey by remembering that he had lived in Wilmington De., prior to coming to Chelveston.. We ran together.. and had many interesting times at the Globe and West End... I remember in his early days he was quite a feisty dude.. there were times it took four of us to carry him outside the pub.. as the A.P.'s were entering the front door.. looking for the yank!.. who had "got in a battle!!".. They would ask " what's wrong with him".. we would say "he's sick".. as we shoved him into Sandy Storey's cab.. or my British ford.. and headed back to the base... We traveled together quite a bit.. I was scoutmaster of Troop 217.. for the base kids.. We went to Wales.. Stonehenge.. and Lord Baden Powell's camp.. [ Gilwell park}.. these trips will always stand out in my mind.. Harvey was a big help.. After I found Harvey.. early in 2002.. we talked about he and his wife Diane coming for a visit to California... We, my wife Carol and I.. met them at Oakland airport on May 3rd.. We had a little trouble finding them.. how does someone look after 40 years... Harvey said.. "Hank we are traveling with black luggage.. I am balding.. and we are wearing Levi's".. We told them the colour of our car.. and that was what did it... We took them on a grand tour of San Francisco.. and the area of California around Vallejo.. They went to the Golden Gate bridge.. walked! half way across it... [ I kidded Harvey about being a lightweight and only going half the distance ] they also went to.. Fisherman's wharf.. Lombard street.. Chinatown... Travis A.F.B.. and a trip to Alcatraz Island... and rode the cable cars... So they had a couple of good 50 cent tours.. only kidding.. They had a great time.. Diane had her digital camera and took many photo's... I took them to the next - door town.. of Benicia, Ca., where I was fire chief for over 9 years.. Harvey retired from the Wilmington, DE., F.D. [ 29 yrs as an engineer ].. and now works for a hospital.. It was great.. reminiscing about the "good ole days"... Then they were off in a rental car headed for Lake Tahoe and Reno... So that's a wrap up.. on the Breeding's visit to California.. I hope someday we can repeat it.. before we all forget one another... It was great to see someone you were close to over 40 years ago.. and boy! does time do things to your.. body.. mind.. and memories... Thanks pal... Carol and I really enjoyed it.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| My visit home... by Gill [ Enfield] Neilson.... |
|
I
spent a month in England in Oct / Nov and have to
admit.. the weather isn't what it used to be 40 years
ago... In fact the last few trips I've made.. it's been good... I stayed with my sister and brother - in law.. Les and Roy Smith, in Kettering. They live opposite Wicksteed park in Windmill Ave.... The park has really changed since we were kids.. The play area has been upgraded.. the ground is padded now in case of falls.. but, unfortunately.. parts of it are now fenced in and locked at night.. because of vandals.. It doesn't look as much fun to me now.. Anyone remember riding the jazz and the tipper ? what a great time.. Kettering has changed a lot, with a lot of one way streets.. to the point where I daren't drive because I can't figure out how to get anywhere.. Another daft thing is the police station.. it actually closes at night.. like a store.. If a bobby is needed they have to come from Wellingborough or Rushden.. or another of the towns around about... One night we watched a police helicopter looking for someone.. They found him on a rooftop and hovered with him in their spotlight until a police car could get there.. My sisters, brother and I.. did a lot of sitting around just talking.. which was fun.. We laughed over the things we used to get up to.. Reminisced a lot about Chelveston.. and the fun we had at the dances.. Roy and his band " The Senators" played there a lot.. We spent one day in London.. which was a moving time for us.. as it was right after Memorial day.. The grounds around Westminster Abbey were covered with thousands of small crosses with poppies.. We found my brother Tibby's unit The Chindits - India division.. and placed a cross in his memory.. he was killed in Burma in 1945.. There were so many.. and we never found our brother.. Gordon's unit.. he was with the Gordon Highlanders.. He was the youngest in our family and he died in France.. a month after Tibby.. Anyway, I had a great time going around the villages.. stopping at pubs for a shandy.. Wish we had pubs in the States.. like they are in England.. We had plenty of fish and chips.. and chocolate .. and of course my favourite stew and dumplings.. nothing like it in the world.. Too bad things have to change isn't it.. We had a lot less back then.. but we sure knew how to have a good time.. didn't we ?..... ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Trip to England... by M/Sgt Robert J. DeCesare... Ret., |
|
I
just got back from England this June... Went up to the
base to visit some old friends... Before the trip I told my wife, she 's from Italy.. how bad the weather is in England.. Well... the whole time we were in England the weather was outstanding.. Cathy, my wife told me that I must not be telling the truth about the fine English weather... On the day we departed... the weather.. was the weather I remember, cold!, rainy! and miserable!.. See Cathy.. this is the weather I remembered... I had four years at RAFC and loved every minute.. Thanks for the site.. Oh yes I was an Air Policeman... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Our holiday... by Shirley [ Thacker ] Bounds... |
|
Hello everyone, Jeff and I had a wonderful holiday in
Yorkshire in June.. and I thought I would share
some highlights with
you... It was the first time I had been
there.. but hope not the last.. |
|
|
About Us I Leave A Message I Other Links I Our Stories I Photos I Home |