The Cousin Carousel

Yay! New England in August

On a one-week jaunt through New England, I saw a total of 33 cousins, including spouses and children, in three states, and four different settings. 

There was a Clark family reunion in New Hampshire; a Cohn family reunion in Vermont and Boston; and a first time meeting with “new cousins,” in Hull, Mass. I am so glad that this collective of cousins resides in New England, a perfect excuse for swampy, soupy Washington DC. 

We woke up to the news that our flight to Manchester, NH was cancelled. Fortunately, an hour later we got a flight to Boston. Close enough. We took an Uber from Boston to Manchester, the normal drive of an hour plus took twice as long because of a van fire, and a preponderance of Friday traffic. As we approached Manchester we heard a radio commercial advertising a “colossal lobster roll.” Our ears perked up, or is it pricked up?  The 99 restaurant was only 7 minutes away. You can guess what happened next. 

New Hampshire 

Family reunion, New Boston

New Hampshire is a sweet little bite-sized state in the heart of New England. Once you get accustomed to the jarring “Live Free or Die” license plates, you can enjoy all that the state has to offer. Mountains, beaches, streams, lakes, lush greenery, gardens, and farmland. 

New Boston, happy hour under the oak

The reunion was held at a house on 200 acres of unfarmed farmland in New Boston. The enormous family home (constructed in the 1700’s, expanded in the 1930’s) was purchased by my great aunt Lois Warren and her husband Winfield Shaw in 1916, and has remained in the family. I asked what time we should be there on Friday night and my cousin replied by text that dinner would be at 6:30 p.m. or 7:00, but first they were all going to Happy Hour at The Oak. I thought The Oak was a bar. But it’s the enormous oak tree in the front yard that Cousin Rhoda (who lived to age 99) planted when she was 16. There were 20 people at the reunion ranging in age from 91 to 18 months. 

Touring the house with Elizabeth

The cousins took us on a tour of the house with detailed descriptions of the architecture, art work, and furniture. It turns out that these cousins are just as interested as I am in preserving and archiving family photos, letters, and other memorabilia. As one cousin said, “You’d think we were related or something.” 

Reviewing the photos with Heather, Elizabeth, and Arden

The next day we had brunch at our hotel The Grand at Bedford Village with second cousins I was meeting for the first time, Alison and her husband Hank who live in Portsmouth. Alison is also very interested in the family history and is applying for entry to the Mayflower Society, based on our lineage. 

Alison and Hank

Vermont 

Touring the grounds

I have long eschewed this nice little green state because it lacks what I consider the best part of New England, the ocean. But it has what my cousins consider the best part of New England—mountains and  skiing. And it’s just beautiful in the summer. My cousins Bill and Sue moved to Northfield, Vermont from Boston about a year ago. They have an enormous property, a four-story house, a wrap-around porch, an art studio, a garage, a greenhouse, an orchard, a pond, and vegetable gardens. 

Bill, Charlotte and Sue

Max, Ben, and Bill

As Sue said, “we didn’t do a very good job of downsizing,” the usual path for retirees, but they love it. Their favorite ski area is only half an hour away.  Sue and Bill are both artists and her artwork fills the house, while his ceramic sculptures dot the property. Daughter Charlotte was there visiting from New York City, and they invited the rest of the next-gen younger cousins to dinner: Ben and Max and his bride Britt, who have also moved to Vermont. 

The next day we went to Bartlett Falls, a waterfall that cascades into a large natural pool of fresh water. When I was looking through the crystal-clear water, and up at the boulders that shaped this perfect swimming hole, I described it as a “Vermont concentrate” experience.

Bristol, Main Street

 

We had lunch at Snaps in Bristol, a classic small town that looks like a movie set.

We stopped at Canteen Creemee, where I had a "maple creemee,” a soft serve ice cream unique to Vermont. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. 

That night we ate at a Thai restaurant in Randolph called Saap. It was delicious, but we were somewhat distracted by the fact that a man at another table fell to the floor after his chair broke. He was a 20-something, so he bounced up like a rubber ball. 

Bartlett Falls

Massachusetts 

Eric and Julia

On the road from Vermont to Massachusetts, we had the “best meal at a rest stop,” at the Common Man Roadside Market and Deli in Hooksett NH, (93 South). Not only did I have the grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough toast of my dreams, but the accompanying fries were outstanding. I’m somewhat of a French fry connoisseur, if those words can go together, and these were perfect-- hot, well-salted, and crunchy. 

Young Julia

We made a special trip to Newton to have dinner with my cousin Julia and her fiancé Eric at Mida. We were there to celebrate Julia’s birthday, but just a day before they had announced their engagement. So it was a double-double celebration. 

JFK Memorial Library

We had time to kill before our fourth and final cousin encounter, so we went to the fabulous John F Kennedy Memorial Library, which was designed by IM Pei, a magnificent glass building with a view of the water from every direction. 

Next we drove to The Parrot, in Hull, Massachusetts to meet some first cousins for the first time. It’s a long story, but in brief, after both of my parents died, I discovered that my mother, Lynn Warren, was not my birthmother. My father once had a liaison with Peggy Foley from Portland, Maine. And I was the result.  

Two years ago I met Peggy’s niece Kathy, whom I’ve dubbed Saint Kathleen because she was the first person who could tell me about Peggy.  This trip to Hull was to meet Kathy’s brothers (Peggy’s nephews, James and Michael). When I told them about all of the cousin visits over the past week  said “They’re all second cousins I don’t have any first cousins.” 

James corrected me and said, “Well you do now!” They welcomed me like a family member, pointed out some resemblances, and were a delight.

James, Mike, Kathy 

JFK Memorial Library