Remembrances: Alice Marie Healey

Alice at Balance Rock

I vaguely remember my grandmother Harriette working with Aunt Julia to collect stories from various family members.  Perhaps the cousins can shed more light, but it appears that Julia may have been the one collecting them all as I seem to have come across quite a collection at the farm.  Here is Alice's.

I, Alice, Marie Healey Sertic, was born March 16, 1912 qt Balance Rock Farm, Bungay Road, Seymour. I'm the oldest of four sisters and a brother.

I think often of those days growing up on the farm.  "I remember it well."  It was a happy place.  My father was a gentle, kind man, and Mother was so well organized she seemed to be able to do any household task about the farm as well as the farm chores.

I spent many many days with father doing the routine farm work.  Before I started school, I could harness a pair of horses for work, ride horseback to gather the cows for milking, and also would roam the backroads on horseback.  The countryside had all dairy farms.  Everyone knew everyone, and the neighborhood was very friendly and showed kindly interest to all.

I went to a one room school house though eighth grade.  It was like a big family.  There was a lot of feeling of respect and affection for everyone.

Bungay School

There was no electricity around Bungay until about 1926.  It took about three months to wire the farm house.  That sure ended the job of cleaning and filling the kerosene lamps and lanterns, and made other chores easy too.

Family members and I belonged to the Grange which is one of the lodges of a national fraternal association of farmers.  It was an informal social gathering involving special activities and interests.  The ladies put on great suppers, ran dances, and visited neighboring granges.

I belonged to the 4-H club which means Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.  It was a program to instruct rural young people.  Our club was to learn cooking and sewing.  In 1929, I was appointed one of four outstanding boys and girls from Connecticut to attend the national 4-H Club encampment in Washington, D.C. My Feelings ranged from nervousness to wonderment as it was my first train trip and chance to eat in a restaurant.  It was a great experience to see the sights, tour the city, visit the White House, and the Capitol, and to meet President and Mrs. Hoover.

After high school, I enrolled as a student at Wilfred Beauty Academy in New York City.  Later I married and had twin sons, John and Frank.

Frankie and Johnnie

Looking back, somehow I can't help feeling that it was just a grand time to grow up as I remember all the past events.

Alice and Frank 1997