Looking Back

By now the school year is in full swing. Students have decided if they like their classes and their teachers. Going to a Catholic school back in the 1950s meant having a teacher clothed in a black and white habit with only her face and hands showing. The teachers at Christ the King School in…

As sometimes happens when you are sitting next to a stranger for a period of time a conversation begins. Recently a woman asked me if I was from Rutland. I said that I was and then she told me that she had lived in Proctor all of her life. I followed by commenting that not…

If you have gardens you will probably agree that they are always a “work in progress.” Garden areas can consist of more than just flowers. Shrubs and flowering bushes also play a role in your home’s landscape. The time will come when you need to get rid of old overgrown shrubs and start over. If…

When you live in Rutland City with houses very close to one another you don’t expect to see animals and critters that are prevalent in rural areas. But that hasn’t stopped these “visitors” from checking out our urban setting. Back in the ‘50s when I was a small child I remember playing in the sandbox…

There are certain aromas that bring back memories of people and places from long ago. I remember my father sitting on our porch and saying he could smell the rain. Since I was just a little kid it was a mystery to me how he could do that. I told him I wanted to learn…

I often see a “Student Driver” car going by our house. There was no such vehicle back in the ‘60s because Mt. St Joseph Academy, where I was a student, didn’t have a driving instructor. During that era girls didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry to get their license. Boys were more eager…

Many of the things that were part of our lives back in the ‘‘‘50s are so different today. Let’s take a look at some of them. When you wanted to reach someone by phone you picked up the receiver of your desk-top or wall phone, dialed the number and if the line was busy you…

Summer is all about outdoor events! In Rutland we have had the opportunity to enjoy band concerts in Main Street Park for about 100 years. There is not much around today that existed before “my time” but this event did! When I was a child back in the ‘50s I remember sitting on our back…

Whether it’s 2024 or 1954 kids share the enthusiasm that comes from being on school vacation during the summer months. However, the way that their free time is spent has few similarities. As often happens when my weekly breakfast group gets together we take a “look back” at various things and recently we recalled what…

Rutland City back in the ‘50s had three stores that could be considered “variety stores.” They were well known “chain stores” namely F. W. Woolworth, M.H. Fishman and SS Kresge. They were located just doors away from one another on Merchants Row. Of the three variety stores F.W. Woolworth was my mother’s favorite. We often…

When I saw the obituary for Lucian Wiskoski back in March I realized that he was the last of Rutland’s downtown pharmacists whom I had the pleasure of knowing from childhood into adulthood. Back in the ‘50s five pharmacies were located in downtown Rutland. They were: Shangraw’s, Carpenter’s, Carroll Cut Rate, McClallen’s, and Beauchamp &…

Spring and summer are seasonal reminders to me of those who have contributed to my perennial gardens. As their gifts to me come into bloom I remember the person who gave the plants to me and their kindness in doing so. This year in particular I will be remembering our neighbor, Eleanor DiSabito, who sadly…

“Old age comes at a bad time!” – Sam Banducci I think retirees will agree with that statement. We work all our lives and once we retire we finally have time to do all the things we dreamed of doing. But after awhile bad knees, backs and feet may put some restrictions on activities such…

A common question that children are asked is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Odds are that their answer will not be the future profession they choose after graduation. I read a survey that was given to children in the U.S. whose ages ranged from 8-12. The child who said he…

Chatting with friends during our weekly breakfast often results in a few “looking back” thoughts for my column. After all, looking back is what our age group does best! One subject we reminisced about was old TV shows. Back in the 1950s, there were not a lot of channels available, which meant very limited viewing…