Wapack Lodge 1924
New Ipswich Historical Society
Wapack Lodge 1924
Marion Buck and WF Robbins
HILMA STARK REMINISCES:
LEMPI & ”MARIA” - born Sep. 8, 1915
Maria was the “tomboy” of the girls. She was real strong and when we got into a tangle, I always got the worst of it. She and I were left at home after Lydia and Sylvia went to work in Worcester as maids for Jewish families. Soon Maria also left after finishing the required eight grades of school. Maria, Gertrude and I used to roam the countryside. We were often unwelcome guests of the Aho family when their grownup daughters and families came to visit. Gertrude was the ringleader and we were always happy to follow. When Walter left home, we learned to ride his bicycle which was way off the ground for us, and was really a difficult maneuver. I remember the time Maria and I went to reclaim the bicycle from a neighbor’s house that their visiting boy from New York City had borrowed and not returned. We got the bike and wheeled it to the top of a
big hill to return home. Prepared to ride down the hill. I was on the seat, my feet on the pedals, and Maria was sitting on the handlebars. We didn’t even get started when over goes the bike, and Maria was thrown to the hard surface of the road and received some painful bruises. The bicycle was ruined for life and never used again. Luckily, we were picked up by the “blueberry truck” and given a ride all the way home. We never would have made it otherwise. How much better it would have been to leave it for the boy’s transportation and how sad he was to learn of the bike’s fate!
Reminisces from Hilma Stark (b. 1917) who grew up in New Ipswich. She was sister to the late Elmer Stark who lived at the family place on Fox Farm Road (uncle of Sharon Anderson Rosenfelder). (probably recorded in the late 1970’s)
James Roger diary entry
23rd June 1912
Fair and warm; wind westerly. Professor Lange of Cushing Academy from text “Roll Away the Stone”—a good sermon and good attendance. S.S. after. 4 Juniors; 11 Seniors. Collection: 34 cents. Evening Service; fair attendance. Mr. Lord presided. Subject: The Power of God’s Word. Knowlton girls’ song (?) was introduced today by Miss Barr to a Mr. Granger whose people came from Glasgow..
From Drovers to Trail Blazers
The Story of the Creation of the Wapack Trail
Presenter Larry Anderson
Saturday, June 24, 2023 - 1:30 p.m.
New Ipswich Congregational Church
(156 Main Street)
If I Iived closer to New Ipswich I'd be at the Wapack lecture tomorrow. The trail was important to me, the lodge however was for out-of-towners. The bike story in Hilma's piece reminds me of a bike accident I had on the GW bridge on July 3, 1976, 9PM. I was heading home back to NJ on the sidewalk with cars headlights impairing my vision when I struck a chainlink gate in the middle of the bridge. It was not there the day before, but temporarily installed to keep people off the bridge for the July 4 tall ships event on the Hudson. I went over the handle bars, bounced off the gate, landed on the sidewalk (and not the Hudson River!). The front wheel severely bent. The gate was padlocked so I "opened" the gate by undoing the hinges and walked my wobbly bike to my VW parked in Fort Lee.