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A Winter Street story

Hi. I’m Dorothy.

Dorothy Norden baby

I live on Winter Street, way down where Peach Orchard ends. See that barn? It’s on Peach Orchard, near the bottom.

My house! 14 Winter Street.14 Winter Street

Like my high chair?

And my dogs?

And my horse?

And my snowsuit?

And my shovel?

Here are my grandparents, August and Emma Norden. They came from Sweden in 1906.

August and Emma Norden

They bought the farm in 1924. Fourteen acres from Winter Street to the Mill Pond. That’s my grandpa with a friend.

 

We grow lots of vegetables to sell in Quincy Market in Boston. We use that cart to move the vegetables. That’s my grandmother with Anna Larson.

And look at all those potatoes. Lots of work.

Sack of potatoes Burlington MA

Good thing we have Mr. Bowman. He lives with us and works on the farm. That’s me next to him.Mr. Bowman

Look at my friends being silly. Bobby and Julia Foley. They’re standing on Winter Street.

Bobby and Julia Foley

Bobby with Karen Swanson.

Oh boy, a parade! Mary Knight is the tall, older girl.

Kids in the neighborhood.

 

But times change. Things change. The family sold the farmland. Part of it is now Julia Connors Drive. She was the first school nurse in Burlington.

Julia Connors, mother of 10, and the town's first school nurse

And then the bulldozer came right past my house and made Maguire Way. That’s named after my husband. Here we are, when we graduated Burlington High School in 1949.

I loved the farm. It broke my heart when that bulldozer came through. But the house is still here, and so am I.

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14 thoughts on “A Winter Street story Leave a comment

  1. I went to school with your son, Johnny. He invited me to spend the day at your house one Saturday. You were so nice, making me feel so welcome. My mom was Jean Crawford, so you grew up as neighbors…sort of.🙂

  2. I also went to school with John from Memorial (I remember being in the minority with him of kids that didn’t go to “release time” CCD at St. Margarets Church) through high school… enjoyed reading your story of a quieter gentler time in Burlington…

  3. Great story and pictures! I had a close friend that lived on Peach Orchard.

  4. Love that story. I’d be surprised if they didn’t know my grandparents, Pete & Caroline Neilson. She was Swedish, he Danish. She was correspondent for Svea, a Swedish-American newspaper 1929-1955 and was all around the area. They first lived in Woburn, then Wilmington.

  5. I agree, Bari-Ann. Definitely a gentler, quieter time. If both Bari-Ann & Lee went to school w/John I must have too (I’ll have to take a peek at yearbook). I was in the majority of those that went to release time. (in fact, I went to CCD for 12 years, oh I used to pray my Mom would let me stop after Confirmation). My, those Nuns were frightful to me. Thanks for a sweet story! — Doris Osborne

  6. I believe the photo with Irene Brin was our aunt Irene Bryn. She just passed away last year at 98 years old.

    G. Bucknam

  7. I also went to high school with Doris, Bar-Ann, & Lee. Hi classmates. enjoyed the story. toad we didn’t have a 50th reunion

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