Claire with garden in background.
Summers on Windmill Hill were full of gardens, kittens, dress up and many, many hours enjoying being outdoors. I think any day it was sunny, we were outside, reading, cooking out, wading in the brook, riding bikes, playing catch, exploring the woods,… the list goes on and on. We were fortunate to have both Mom and Dad home during the summer since, as teachers, they had summers off. I think I was in Junior High before I realized not everyone had parents that could be home ready with popsicles all summer. – Alice io
For more images of summer, see below.
Claire and Alice, June 1964.
My parents moved to Vermont in 1960. Dad built a log cabin using timber from the Windmill Hill land. (During construction they lived in a tar paper shack.) I was born in February 1964 and Molly Callisto in October 1965.
The cabin served as a favorite play space after we moved into the frame house Dad built behind the cabin.
– Alice io
For images from those early years, please see the Photo Galleries page.
Claire, Mac, Alice and Molly in front of Nova Scotia house. (September 1971)
In the early 1970s we spent summers in Nova Scotia, along the Bay of Fundy, Canada. It is a beautiful and rugged place with spectacular rocky beaches.
Novia Scotia beach. Foreground, Molly and Claire - background, Anne and Alice. (July 1972)
The sound when the tide came in was amazing as all those rocks were rolled around. I don’t recall doing much swimming, as the water was cold and rough, but I do remember hours upon hours of seeing what creatures lived in the tidal pools. – Alice
I attended the Westminster West School for three years, with my mom, Claire, as my teacher. During those years I would spend the days being a student, and then the evenings being a daughter – easy enough to separate. I apparently had separated things to the point that upon arriving home each day, I would give my mom a play-by-play of all that had happened at school that day. I don’t think Molly had that same compulsion, so mom didn’t have to do six years twice every day.
There are a few images from the Westminster West School on the Photo Galleries page, but with over 30 years of teaching… well, we are working on getting more images online. Please check back. – Alice
- Working on Math problems at the Westminster West School. (December 1970) From left to right: Jenny Collins, Teja (Dorothy) Anderson standing, Mike Wright and Alice io.
