Look What I'm Up To Now!: For My Cousins

Cousins Tour Ware, MA

It was at least a year and a half ago when I suggested to my cousins Carole and Claire that I would love to take a tour of the Ware, MA of my childhood. It wasn’t until this summer when cousin Art, and his wife Mary Lou, came up from Florida that the tour actually happened. I have to credit Art for making it happen. All of my efforts were for naught.Thursday, August 15^th, was cousin Claire’s birthday and it was chosen as the day three of cousins would join Claire and her sister, Shirley, tour the Ware, MA of our childhood.

Our parents were all born and brought up in Ware as were cousins Claire and Shirley. The rest of us, Art, his sister Carole, and I, spent a lot of time visiting as children. Art’s wife, ML, came along for the ride and she was a good sport, since all the places we visited and the stories we told were foreign to her.

At the end of the tour, we dined at Theresa’s Restaurant capped off with the most delicious cake with fruit filling for Claire’s birthday.

I had hoped to post before and after pictures for several of the sites, but I cannot find the “before” picture of Mt. Carmel church. I tore this place apart looking for them. Nothing. I’m really heart broken about that. It was such a beautiful church.

Speaking of churches, Mt. Carmel was the French church. All Saints was (and still is) the Irish church. There is a Polish church (St. Mary). As a kid I always thought it was strange that Ware had a church for each language speaking parts of its population. My rural, farming town (in CT) didn’t even have one church until 1941 and everyone who was Catholic went to it.

Missing picture aside, for me, it was the most wonderful day, to be with my cousins sharing stories of our childhood. As with most families, we had some colorful characters, and some not so colorful. That’s family, and I love them all!

Following are the best of the pictures I took that day with narrative. The date on the photos is off by one day…it should be 08/15/13.

The top photo is Sherwin St. today. Claire and Shirley used to live here. The bottom photo was taken in probably 1940 or '41. It shows my family car, my mother, my brother Paul, Claire, Shirley and me.

The front of the house on Dale Street where Clare and Shirley lived on the second floor and my cousins Gloria and Yvette lived on the third. This is the house I remember most.

This doesn't look like a store any more. It was just down the hill from the house on Dale St. where we would be sent for milk, bread and candy (if we had been good).

This empty lot is where Mt. Carmel (French Church) used to be. How sad that it had to be torn down.

A movie theater, the Casino, used to be in this space. We saw a few movies here. We could walk to the theater from Dale St.

This parking lot is where our Grandfather owned the Royal Hotel and Cafe. The Cafe was originally down on Main St. and he moved it to a hotel on Parker St (that he bought) and the two became one. The Phoenix Cafe took over the spot on Main St., but that had nothing to do with Pepere (pronounced Pepay).

This the Hotel Royal and Cafe after a snow storm.

The Royal Cafe parade float.

The alter at All Saints church (the Irish church)

The windows above the alter at All Saints are by Tiffany.

Quabin Res. This is the water supply for Boston. Claire and Shirley's father (my Uncle Jeff) and his brother, my Uncle Kaiser both worked on this. The 5 MA towns of Enfield, Dana, North Dana, Greenwich, and Prescott had to be abandoned to accommodate the water.

I don't remember this bridge, but Claire wanted to show it to us. It was recently rebuilt and it spans the Ware River. The Gilbertville Covered Bridge, built in 1887, carries Bridge Street over the Ware River between the Towns of Hardwick and Ware. Hardwick is in Worcester County and Ware is in Hampshire County. The bridge you see has been recently rebuilt. It only took eight years to make the new bridge happen.

The actual origin of the name, Ware, is thought to be derived from a translation of the Native American word "Nenameseck," meaning fishing weir (pronounced Ware). The weirs were used to capture salmon that were once abundant in New England waterways.

Starting with the picture above, was the most emotional for me. This is what my grandparent's house looks like now. Claire arranged for us to tour the home and when I went upstairs, I was upset because I couldn't find the room I had slept in as a small child. The upstairs has been changed quite a bit.