Annual picnic at Harvard

Editor's note: This is the third in the series by Margery Carter, in which she endeavors to record the history of her family -- for ever and ever. While it is a personal story, it is both charming and enlightening of how life was -- in Melrose -- in the 1920s.

I was born in the Melrose Hospital in 1920 along with other babies named Marjorie that same year. I don't remember my beginnings or about the other Marjorie babies till we started school. That will come later when I am in the first grade.

Now my life from my first birthday till I was 17 years old can't be all from memory, like my first three years. True "hearsay" will play a part of my younger years.

Let us begin! I was the first grandchild to be born to the class of 1899 of Harvard University. The graduate was my grandfather, Alfonso Augustus Dority. The class had a reunion picnic every year in the spring, on the campus in Cambridge. I was carried around on the shoulders of the class president at the head of the parade. Now that is "true hearsay". But when I was about four years old, I do remember someone at the picnic asking me how I felt about being the first grandchild born to a member of the class of 1899.

I was very shy but I managed to say, it was fun. I wasn't sure what to say but no one looked cross eyed at me. Actually, I was pleased to find out that I wasn't the smartest one in the class to be the first grandchild born to a member in the class. I was getting older every year, so I at three held the president's hand and marched at the head of the parade with him. By the way, this wasn't a long parade. It was one big circle and then we ate. A lot of hugging was going on so I decided a good time was had by everyone.

One more item about the picnic; my brother Eddy was about two years old and had a new beige linen outfit to wear to the class picnic at Harvard the next day. My grandfather couldn't wait to show him off. He was so proud of him. Well, I had been playing outdoors when I heard all this crying, loud crying, loud loud crying. I must have been about six. Anyway I went in the house and poor Eddy was crying and my mother was crying and very upset. It just so happened that Eddy had been hiding in the bathroom, he quietly had cut all the buttons off his new outfit and had cut his hair also. My mother thought he was in his crib sleeping. When he came out of the bathroom, WHAT A SHOCK! They both started crying. I knew how to use the telephone and called my grandmother. She just lived up the street a bit. Anyway, over she came in her car and said they would go right back to the store and buy another outfit and get his haircut fixed up.

Mother was still mad and Eddy was still crying, but they came home in about two hours, all happy and ready for the next day. I had been left home with a sitter. They didn't want me along!.

Anyway we all took off for the class of 1899 annual picnic on Saturday.

THREE CHEERS!

You may read the previous articles by clicking here

April 4, 2003

Features Jan-June 2003

Annual picnic at Harvard