Natick, MA on Rutledge Road

Our new home has 3 bedrooms , a bath, parlor, a kitchen, dining room, family room with bar, and laundry room, a back yard with patio, and garden next to fence.

At one end of Rutledge Road was an elementary school Ben Hem, and up at other end was Wilson Jr. High School.  We lived at
inter-section of Route 27 and Route 9 in Natick ! We had Building 19 store and the Stop & Shop, then up Route 9 we were sort  of close to malls.

We had a weeping willow tree at end of yard and a swing set for the kids. Penny Jean and Lisa Lee made friends quickly on the surrounding streets and schools. Both girls had paper routes in our neighborhood and learned about money and saving.

The schools had regular programs for students and family to attend. Each girl took music lessons too.  Then for the body, they had Ballet and gymnastics,  Penny Jean won awards for the flute and Lisa Lee won a drawing contest two years in a row.

Once Lisa Lee was in First grade,I started as Lunch Room monitor.  Oh those kids loved to spray soda when you walked bye.  Also if there was corn and peas served for lunch, the kids would shoot them all over.  A few times the boys got into fights and ended up on the stage rolling around.

It was in Ben Hem that someone or something started drugs at school like little tiny self rolled cigarettes, to me that was horrifying.

Bob and I both felt that camping once a month with the Good Sam club was healthy, when weather was warm.  So we made a lot of friends from all over, and the girls made life long friends that way.

Penny Jean won a special award from Europe School of Ballet which she attended at Walnut Hill School of Ballet.  We always got scholarship's from the school.  Penny Jean and Lisa Lee also did Baton Twirling from a home town teacher named Nancy.

I took lessons at Keefe Tech in Framingham, MA .  To start it was Certified Nursing Assistant, and also got GED certificate. Then I took other college courses from different colleges at MASS BAY Community, Mount Ida Jr. College , Toast Masters course at Natick Public High School, And Breaking Barriers Through Speech.  Basic Computer classes, then advanced Computer at Mass Bay.

The girls also went through Brownies and Girl Scouts and won many badges.  They both always won prizes for selling most Girl Scout Cookies, and they got scholars ships for camp down the cape run by the Nuns.

We belonged to the Forest Fraternal Order for families in insurance. Bob and I always were officers at all levels.  We always enjoyed this for us and the kids well fare.  We had many close friends from this order.

After the lunch room monitor job I started the EMT-A course at Leonard Morse Hospital. This training just built upon all the basic first aid I had taken for years, back then it was just rescue breathing, and I have kept all my certificates.  I did graduate from EMT-A course and then took the exam to be an EMT-A in the hallways of the hospital.Of course we were required to keep up our continued education courses and credits.  One of my favorite  courses were at the Civil Defense Training Academy with going down towers on ropes, and rescue helicopters.

Penny Jean entered the Jr. High School up the other end of Rutledge Road.Once there she some how ran with those who smoked and so forth. She kept running away too. Many times we had searches for her when she would run away. Smoking and so much more.  The Search and Rescue team I belonged to always searched for her when she would disappear.

One time the phone rang late and Framingham Police said Penny Jean had been picked up for fighting in the middle of the road.  At this time every other week one of her friends would try to kill them selves and end up in Phyc Units for a few weeks. Penny Jean had disappeared for a whole week one time. We had posters created, and put them up/And the phone rang and Penny Jean's friend mother called and asked if we knew Penny Jean was at there house living. We said no.

So we had Sgt. Horning from Natick Police go and pick her up, and he brought her home.   We started up the walk and Penny Jean said as soon as he is out of sight I am running away again, so I yelled for Sgt. Horning to come and take her to jail because she was going to run away again.  So over night she was in jail.

Things went from bad to worse with her.  Nothing we said or did made any difference with her.  One evening a friend of hers said she was at a flop house in Framing ham.  So I went to the Framing ham Police and they sent two officers with me to the house.  They walked in and I was behind them.  They asked the mother is Penny Jean Wilson here and the Mom said  she had not seen Penny Jean for weeks.

So one officer said then you won't mind if I look up stairs and Mom said no.  They found Penny Jean hiding under the bed.  They really talked to her and said don't you know people are dieing in this house with disease.  She said she did not care, and would go back there. All of this was killing me to see what she was doing to her life.

Then Penny Jean disappeared again, so I was looking for her at a girl friends house. I said is Penny Jean  here she said no. So I said I will call police and they will look upstairs for her. At that point she came downstairs and got into car but was mad.

Then she saw her girlfriend moving truck and Penny Jean tried to jump out the moving car so she could go live with her.  At that point I grabbed her arm and would not let go and kept ramming a stop sign, Penny Jean and I were both screaming at each other, and everyone was gathering watching us.  Finally Police came and said I had to let go of her arm.  I said if I do she will run away.

The officer finally said you let go of her arm or I will arrest you.  I knew better and said I want to go to hospital and have a phyc evaluation done. Then he said ok. Ambulance came and brought me to hospital and I sat in ER and waited for 3 hours for evaluation to happen. After 4 hours they did evaluation and said I failed the evaluation and was not crazy.  So they left me go and Bob came and picked me up.

Our house was quiet for a few weeks. No one helped me at all with house work, and I worked 40 hours a week, and so Bob said so do I and I am tired and he would not help.  Then the girls would not help so I started to plan a strike at home. I made 4 posters saying; " Wife and Mother on Strike till further notice, and planted the signs on each side of the front lawn.  Bob was not happy with me nor the kids. I had reached my limits with no help.

So I called the news paper and they sent a reporter to interview me. He showed up laughing and said you are joking aren't you?  I said I am dead serious.   So we sat in rocking chairs on the front porch and he talked to me for about 45 minutes.  So he wrote story and submitted it to the media worldwide.

Then tv cameras showed up and kept wanting interviews. Woman's World magazine came to house and did a story and made 3 page spread out of it. And the whole family acted like all was fine and they took pictures like family had made up.  But we had not.  Bob finally went  to talk to priest at church. We got interviewed by radio and everyone  was supporting me. And truckers called in and said if there are dust bunnies on the floor ,Bob should bend over and pick them up.  But he never did. The girls and Bob did get a little better.

In August I felt the need to go camping all by myself.  So I planned a trip to the island of North Haven, ME at a wilderness campground. I made resevation on the North Haven Ferry.  I left house and camped at a small lake near Rockland till the date of Ferry ride.  Well I got my camp site set up, and low and behold that night a tornado came through the lake campground, and turned my tent inside out and soaked everything. Needless to say I stayed in the car during the time the tornado blew through, and was safe.

Next morning at day light I got out of car and started cleaning the mess up.  Mostly had to  dry things out and fix it all.Two days later I packed the car and headed to Rockland and Ferry terminal. I got in line so car could go onto ferry. That went well, but the trip to the island was very rough and raining and blowing very hard.

I stood on the deck and watched the boat head toward North Haven.  A nice couple started talking to me, and were so nice.  They were a Christian couple named Linda and Joel Worster. They invited me to visit them sometime in Palmyra, ME and stay for awhile.  I thanked them.  Well the ferry docked in North Haven port and everyone got off.
Linda and Joel said bye and told me they would be visiting Joel's parents home on the Island.

Next day was beautiful, and I chose my camp site  over looking the cove below.Set up my tent and everything. It was so peaceful and calm at the wilderness camp ground, I enjoyed it.  Next day it rained for about two days.  I had my rain gear on and took a walk around the wilderness campground.  On the way back to my tent I ran into Linda and Joel, they had come looking for me because they were worried  about me.  They made me go stay with them at his mom and dads till the rain stopped. It was welcomed for they all treated me like a queen, and cooked old fashioned meals.  A few days later I went back to the camp ground and relaxed.




















































Next morning as I sat and ate looking out at cove a sail boat started to enter cove taking soundings. They turned boat around and put down anchor. It was interesting watching them on sail boat all day. Next morning to my surprised to see them set the dingy in water and 4 people got in dingy and they came on the island because they knew there was an out house there.

They were surprised when they got to the top of trail. It was two couples and we all chatted for a bit.  Then they used out house and went back on boat in dingy. To my surprise early next morning the dingy came ashore and the Captain and mate invited me to go aboard for breakfast with them, I accepted.  Wow what a breakfast they cooked and shared with me. They gave me a tour of the boat, it was large enough to carry 3 couples, and the Captain and mate.They slept in hammocks.  The captain and mate were a brother and sister team.  Late in day before it got dark they rode me ashore in the dingy.

Next morning when I awoke and sat and watched the sea a very large sailboat started to come into view.  They had to anchor further out for they had six sails, it was the boat Victory Chimes.  They all proceeded to set up on beach for a huge clam bake.  The captain of small sail boat told I was up there by myself and they invited me to the clam bake that day.  How wonderful. The next morning when I woke up both sail boats were gone.

The day came for me to pack up for I had paid for two weeks.  We had had a lot of rain, and consequently I could not drive my Honda civic up the hill.  I was so worried.  All of a sudden this lobster boat pulled up to Island and he let off about twenty people with bikes off.  So the minute that crowd came up to where I was, I asked if they could help me. There were maybe 10 boys and ten gals. They had a quick talk and next thing I know all twenty walked to my car picked it up all together and carried it up the hill to where I could drive it.  I cried and thanked them all and they were gone on their bikes to tour the island.  Such a miracle God had done for me, Amen.

But I started to plan on how to leave with all the info I needed. Finally in January 1987 I went to lawyer and got case ready. When lawyer was ready he told me so I packed car with my stuff, I had a Honda Civic Hatch back.  A family in Palmyra, ME let me live with them. They were the family I had met on the North Haven Ferry ride to the campground.

So that night he and kids saw I had moved out and he got served with papers. So our divorce was started.

Justin, I will try to do more tomorrow, take care now son. Sorry you are having to read all this bad stuff.  LOVE MOM