My father related to me when the roads were finally paved in New Ipswich which I’m guessing was in the latter 1920’s. Unfortunately he said, they basically paved over the old gravel roads without much prep work hence the same frost heaves and chuck holes keep reappearing that were there when he was a teenager in the 1930’s. New Ipswich also had its share of reckless driving teenagers too in those days. He was a passenger in a hot rodding teenager’s car that crashed into the Souhegan River on the cutoff near Warwick Mill in 1937 and the driver died. When he finally did get home he got no sympathy from his elderly brothers who threatened to beat him and told him that they wished he had died too!
When we lived in a house near Highbridge (it was next to Duval's store) we heard a crash in the middle of the night. A pickup truck went off Highbridge into the Souhegan. The driver survived but his passenger died. As a kid I would sled down what is now called Ypya Rd and end up in Basil Mason's yard. One time I lost control and hit the stone on the left side of his driveway which kept me from going into the Souhegan.
My father related to me when the roads were finally paved in New Ipswich which I’m guessing was in the latter 1920’s. Unfortunately he said, they basically paved over the old gravel roads without much prep work hence the same frost heaves and chuck holes keep reappearing that were there when he was a teenager in the 1930’s. New Ipswich also had its share of reckless driving teenagers too in those days. He was a passenger in a hot rodding teenager’s car that crashed into the Souhegan River on the cutoff near Warwick Mill in 1937 and the driver died. When he finally did get home he got no sympathy from his elderly brothers who threatened to beat him and told him that they wished he had died too!
When we lived in a house near Highbridge (it was next to Duval's store) we heard a crash in the middle of the night. A pickup truck went off Highbridge into the Souhegan. The driver survived but his passenger died. As a kid I would sled down what is now called Ypya Rd and end up in Basil Mason's yard. One time I lost control and hit the stone on the left side of his driveway which kept me from going into the Souhegan.
We liked the pizzas that were made in Duval's store.
It was Duval's store in my time but may have been Barry's in your time.
The stone wall prevented a mighty steep drop!
Yeah, but I had a gash in my forehead and most likely a concussion.
In James' diary what does '71 pen' mean?
I'm guessing he got a 71% in penmanship. However I don't know which "he" is being referenced. Probably his son David.
River Rd and Niemi Rd were not paved either in the 50s. They were what we called 'washboard' roads.