Good Shepherd, West Fitchburg
I moved from England to Massachusetts in 1976. I’d been ordained Deacon in Bristol (U.K.) Cathedral on 27th June, and the then Bishop of Western Massachusetts (Alexander Doig Stewart) had asked me to become Deacon-in-Charge (later Priest-in-Charge) of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Fitchburg, MA. I’d met Bishop Stewart the year before when I did a summer internship in western Massachusetts.
I came to Good Shepherd on a two year contract, which stretched into four years. Those four years morphed into thirty, and I have never served a parish in England.
It was clear from day one that Good Shepherd and I were a good match. It was a blue collar parish, established in west Fitchburg in 1901 by C.T. Crocker, the beloved and beautifully paternalistic owner of many local paper mills. He was a good employer, and our sub division of west Fitchburg had its own moniker “Crockerville”.
The people of Good Shepherd were loving and generous to a fault, and I bloomed under their care. I met folks whom I will never forget: Al and Doris Williams from Bristol, U.K.; “Red” and June Jess; the Aldrich brothers Leon and Wally with their wives, Mabel and Mary (?), and an Aldrich widow, Helen, (Mrs. Russell) who was a member of the John Birch Society.
There was Sam and Kitty Doak, folks whose wisdom changed my life for the better. I’ll write about them one day. And Thelma Osgood whose husband, Milton died just ten weeks after I arrived at Good Shepherd. She’s now been a widow for 32 years, and just a few of us remember her husband. Thelma did a funny comedy routine under the pseudonym of Katie O’Sullivan.
I cannot forget the wonderful Ruth Proctor, and my beloved Secretary, Ida Andrews.
Today I have been thinking about Annie and Jessie Speed. They were two sisters from South Molton, Devonshire, who had married two brothers. Both were widows when I arrived in 1976.
Annie was the more proper of the two. I visited her and her daughter Ruth (Card) many times. Annie would make tea, and Ruth and I would giggle at Annie’s ingrained habit of pouring a drop of tea into the sink before she filled our cups. Annie was a pillar of the Church, and in a real and important sense the Matriarch of Good Shepherd.
Her daughter Ruth now lives in Atlanta, GA, close to her only son Steve, his partner Rick, and Steve’s children and grandchildren from his married days
Jessie had a naughty and funny twist. She lived right next to her son “Bucky” (Gordon) Speed and his wife and five children. I could tease Jessie and get as good as I gave.
In 1979 I planned a trip to England to officiate at the wedding of my brother Martyn to his beloved Wendy. I asked Annie and Jessie if they wished to travel with me and go down to Devonshire to see the town and siblings they had last seen in about 1926.
Annie declined, but Jessie was game. We flew to England with my friend the Revd. Paul Goranson. We had side aisle seats, Paul and the window, Jessie in the middle, and I at the aisle. We slept for a few hours. When we awoke Jessie said “I am going to tell all my friends that I slept between two Priests”! She had a great family reunion in South Molton, and also spent some time with my family in Bristol.
Both Annie and Jessie were past masters at making Devonshire Clotted Cream.
Annie would make some, and I would tell her “your sister’s cream is not a patch on yours”.
Jessie would make cream and I would tell her “this is much better than Annie’s”.
They rumbled me so quickly.
I treasure my memories of Good Shepherd where I served from 1976 - 1980.
I came to Good Shepherd on a two year contract, which stretched into four years. Those four years morphed into thirty, and I have never served a parish in England.
It was clear from day one that Good Shepherd and I were a good match. It was a blue collar parish, established in west Fitchburg in 1901 by C.T. Crocker, the beloved and beautifully paternalistic owner of many local paper mills. He was a good employer, and our sub division of west Fitchburg had its own moniker “Crockerville”.
The people of Good Shepherd were loving and generous to a fault, and I bloomed under their care. I met folks whom I will never forget: Al and Doris Williams from Bristol, U.K.; “Red” and June Jess; the Aldrich brothers Leon and Wally with their wives, Mabel and Mary (?), and an Aldrich widow, Helen, (Mrs. Russell) who was a member of the John Birch Society.
There was Sam and Kitty Doak, folks whose wisdom changed my life for the better. I’ll write about them one day. And Thelma Osgood whose husband, Milton died just ten weeks after I arrived at Good Shepherd. She’s now been a widow for 32 years, and just a few of us remember her husband. Thelma did a funny comedy routine under the pseudonym of Katie O’Sullivan.
I cannot forget the wonderful Ruth Proctor, and my beloved Secretary, Ida Andrews.
Today I have been thinking about Annie and Jessie Speed. They were two sisters from South Molton, Devonshire, who had married two brothers. Both were widows when I arrived in 1976.
Annie was the more proper of the two. I visited her and her daughter Ruth (Card) many times. Annie would make tea, and Ruth and I would giggle at Annie’s ingrained habit of pouring a drop of tea into the sink before she filled our cups. Annie was a pillar of the Church, and in a real and important sense the Matriarch of Good Shepherd.
Her daughter Ruth now lives in Atlanta, GA, close to her only son Steve, his partner Rick, and Steve’s children and grandchildren from his married days
Jessie had a naughty and funny twist. She lived right next to her son “Bucky” (Gordon) Speed and his wife and five children. I could tease Jessie and get as good as I gave.
In 1979 I planned a trip to England to officiate at the wedding of my brother Martyn to his beloved Wendy. I asked Annie and Jessie if they wished to travel with me and go down to Devonshire to see the town and siblings they had last seen in about 1926.
Annie declined, but Jessie was game. We flew to England with my friend the Revd. Paul Goranson. We had side aisle seats, Paul and the window, Jessie in the middle, and I at the aisle. We slept for a few hours. When we awoke Jessie said “I am going to tell all my friends that I slept between two Priests”! She had a great family reunion in South Molton, and also spent some time with my family in Bristol.
Both Annie and Jessie were past masters at making Devonshire Clotted Cream.
Annie would make some, and I would tell her “your sister’s cream is not a patch on yours”.
Jessie would make cream and I would tell her “this is much better than Annie’s”.
They rumbled me so quickly.
I treasure my memories of Good Shepherd where I served from 1976 - 1980.
Oh, to have two friends competing to make me the better clotted cream... That's the good life.
ReplyDeleteMike, I can just hear Jessie and her stories about England. What a lovely lady she was. Thank you for your thoughts, they bring them back so clearly.
ReplyDeleteYou are special to me also, you were the first Episcopal priest I ever had contact with, you married Eddie and I 31 years ago and touched our hearts forever.
May God Bless all you do in life.
Dixie