Chris:
Today, Brian Duncan delivered to me two good pieces from the 1941 South Hadley High School student newspaper, “
The Spotlight”:
First, a page from the October 10 edition with a story titled “Ship Ahoy!” about your father and George Duncan. You can see it at http://southhadleyhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2009/06/g.html.
Second, a cartoon (“The Crystal Ball”) by Bob Sullivan (but who else?) “predicting” that your father would be the “Admiral of the U.S. Fleet,” that George Duncan (“Dunk”) would be an enlisted man, and that my uncle Martin Judge would be “The Mad Chemist.” My uncle became a good chemical engineer, who is still smart, but still not mad. You can see it at http://southhadleyhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2009/06/sullivan.html
Brian told me today that his brother was already seventeen years old, necessary to enlist, when they graduated from South Hadley High School in June of 1941. But your father would not turn 17 until July. Brian said that his brother waited until your father turned 17 in July, so they could enlist together on the same day, which they did, the day after your father’s birthday...
- Bob
From: Christine Winslow
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 9:58 AM
To: Bob Judge
Subject: RE: To Christine and Carolyn Winslow
...I do think often of all the lost connections through the years and am so glad that we stuck around for the Flag Day ceremony... We decided to take a quick drive through South Hadley and South Hadley Falls to show...the family haunts. We stopped at 52 No. Main and took a few pix and then headed to SH and a drive through Mount Holyoke. I remininsced at the Odyssey Bookstore and then we walked over to what used to be the Chanticleer to have a bite to eat before heading south. While there, we noticed people setting up for a concert....so we hung around to hear the music...!
Our great grandfather GHW (the first) died shortly before our parents were married in March 1949. Dad's parents Sumner and Ruth Winslow lived at 52 No. Main until their deaths in the late 1960s. We had moved to Newport with the Navy in 1964 and our parents (George II and Jeanne) retired there so it became home. Ruth's brother was Herb Webster. Marion Lippmann and Margaret Smiledge were Herb's daughters. Beth Deitz is Margaret's daughter and still lives on Bardwell St. Margaret died a few years ago (3?) and Marion died last year at the age of 98 I believe. Marion's daughter Lynne Wiesel...
Thanks so much for forwarding the emails.
More later.
Chris
Christine M. Winslow, CPA
________________________________________
From: Bob Judge [mailto:BobJudge@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 10:11 PM
To: Christine Winslow
Cc: Tony Judge; 'Robert Judge';
Subject: To Christine and Carolyn Winslow
Dear Chris and Caroline:
What a wonderful surprise to see you last Sunday!
I’ve been going through my records to find information about your father.
First, however, on March 8, 1910, when my great-grandfather was elected as a Selectman, George H. Winslow of 58 North Main Street was elected a Sewer Commissioner. Over the past few years, I have obtained from my uncle Martin some of his memories of South Hadley. According to Martin, “George H. Winslow was Winsy's grandfather and Herb Webster's father- in-law…”
Martin also wrote, “Donald "Groucho" Halket grew up in the first house on the left as you went down High Street from North Main. He, your father, Winslow, and I were the gang when we were in grade school.”
The South Hadley Historical Society has collected information about the reports in the Holyoke Transcript newspaper about those serving from South Hadley in World War II. There are references to your father on pages 7, 86, 131, 132, 243, 254, and 347. I can get those entries to you, if you would like.
Another record states that your father “Enlisted June 8, 1941 (Navy); Newport, RI, Norfolk; Alameda, CA; St. Mary’s College, CA; Mr./Mrs. Sumner P. – at San Francisco and was accepted as a naval aviator cadet and was to enter preflight school at St. Mary’s CA – enlisted in the Navy in July 1941 following his 17th b-day – graduated SHHS – training at Newport Naval training station and then was stationed at the Norfolk air station where he qualified as a first class seaman – in May he was transferred to the naval air station at Alameda CA where he was assigned to the station commanders office and served as a driver for Commander Guerney – interested in aviation machinery and passed examination for an aviation machinist’s rating – passed mental examination for enlisted men candidates for Annapolis but was rejected due to slight eye defect.”
My grandmother kept the letters that my father wrote to her when he was in the Navy. In July of 1944, when he was in Officer’s training at Williams College, my father wrote, “
I have a four-hour liberty starting at one o’clock this afternoon and I’m meeting George Winslow then. He came up last night and by great good luck bumped into me as soon as he “came aboard” (Ha). We figure to go swimming if it proves fair weather.”Responding to a book written by Bill Cary about growing up in S. Hadley, and commenting about the teachers your father and Martin had together at South Hadley High School together, Martin wrote, “
Among those praised, deservedly, for the excellent teaching at South Hadley High School…should have included Maybelle Pratt. She was a different sort of lady but, as George Winslow said at our 50th reunion, “"When we got to France, we found that we could speak the language."”...
When we were talking, you said your father was a good friend of George Duncan. His younger brother Brian is a good friend of mine, so I sent Brian an email, and you can see our exchange below:
...
From: bbridun@aol.com [mailto:bbridun@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 5:27 PM
To: BobJudge@comcast.net
Subject: Re: The daughters of George Winslow
Bob, yes I remember George Winslow very well. I believe the last time I remember seeing him was in the late 1960's or early '70's when he was up in South Hadley visiting a daughter at Mount Holyoke College. He stopped into The Halfway House Lounge on Newton Street for a "cocktail or two"! So of course, I joined him and we had a great time talking about the good old days, and Judge, Sullivan, Dunk, and Winslow! He and my brother enlisted together in the Navy and stayed in touch many years. I remember when they would all get together here over the Holidays and really "pitch a liberty"! I have a couple of items the daughters might be interested in if they don't have a copy of the 1941 yearbook. (A cartoon drawn by Bob Sullivan of the two Georges in the Navy) And a copy of an October "41 Spotlight along the same lines. I’ll drop these off to you and perhaps you could forward them. Thanks for the update. Let me know when they’re in town and maybe we could get together.
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Judge
To: Brian D. Duncan
Sent: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 8:30 pm
Subject: The daughters of George Winslow
Brian:
At the Flag Day Ceremony on the Common tonight, I read at a patriotic piece at the request of John O’Connor.
Afterwards, two women who I did not recognize approached me. Turns out they are the daughters of George Winslow, Christine and Carolyn... They had driven by 52 North Main Street, and then decided to see some of the Flag Day ceremony before leaving for Rhode Island where they live. A pleasant coincidence for me. I last saw George in 1988, before he died in 1993 (his wife Jean died in 2003). But I don’t remember seeing his daughters since I was young.
We caught up on our parents old times, and they said a couple of times that besides my father, their father’s best S. Hadley friends included your brother George...
I have some information about George (including the Transcript WW II entries) and a photo of him that I am going to send to Christine. You have told me before that you remember George Winslow. If there are any recollections you have of him that you could share, I would be happy to pass them onto his daughters, who I think might appreciate it.
- Bob
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