My grandparents and great grandparents were in this generation. My grandmother (my mom's mom) told me about taking "The Narrow Gauge" - Boston Revere Beach and Lynn railroad and then a street car up to Salem and Marblehead. The whole trip, including the trolley from Lynn up to Marblehead cost about 35-cents. She also took the trolley up from Cambridge to Canobie Lake in Salem, New Hampshire. This line ran straight up what is now Route 28. Canobie Lake Park still exists with its wooden roller coaster and is one of the few remaining trolley parks left at least in my area as Nantasket Beach and Whalem Park are gone. She had other stories about taking a trains to New York City on the New Haven to visit an aunt.
About 15 years ago, I was in Marblehead to visit the family graves. We decided to take a trip downtown for some unknown reason, and poking through one of the streets was some old trolley tracks. This was the same line my grandmother used to ride on and then walk up the hill to the house. A little more recently, Lawrence, MA had some repaving being done on Route 28. The double-track of the Eastern Mass Street Railway were clearly visible as was the cobblestone pavement around them. It must've been quite exciting to see in its heyday with the active mills being switched along Canal Street and the trolleys active on Broadway.
I studied piano with a woman, who is now 95, that grew up where I live now. Her dad worked for the Boston and Maine as a freight agent and had free passes to travel on the system. When she was young, her dad would take the family to Hoosic (Zoar, MA) to visit his sister. Occasionally her brothers would join her and would be excited as they would continue on through the Hoosic Tunnel to North Adams. She was about 8 or 10 and didn't realize the significance of this tunnel and trip! This is the same route Steamboateng and I were working on together!
One thing she did mention was buying candy and snacks from vendors who would board the train at one station and get off a few miles and return on an eastbound train. The vendors were mostly young boys, about 12 or 13, that sold popcorn, candy bars, an other similar snacks. Her parents would buy her a bag of penny candy as a treat during the trip.
These are railroad related things these people remember from their childhood, but there are many other significant things that they witnessed. My dad's grandparents came over from Russia and Ukraine during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. My dad's mom grew up in Brooklyn and had stories about the horse drawn fire engines and cobblestone streets! Her uncle and his partner were developers that sold off land when the Brooklyn Bridge was built. They were quite wealthy. When her dad passed away, due to consumption, she lived with her uncle, which wasn't a nice childhood. My dad's grandmother, (his father's mother) grew up outside of what is today Minsk. She came over in 1898 and settled initially in Boston then moved to New York City, out to Omaha, Nebraska, then back to New York. My mom's family are part of early American History, and related to the Sons of Liberty. Yes, this the Sullivan brothers from Berwick Me, that went on to be statesmen, generals, Supreme Court Justices, and governors.
I agree. Get the stories written down or recorded before it's too late. We were lucky that they lived long enough to capture some of their stories which my father had written down, or they had written down and he has put together a family album for all the future generations to enjoy and hopefully add to.
John
