Jean, Cousin Diane, & Trudy @ Wedding/Jean with Baby Ottawa

My marriage to Drew a year ago was cause for celebration - a celebration that included a family reunion. Jean was my Matron of Honor and key in the planning and execution of a near flawless event. Many of the Arnold clan (Fran's side of the family) gathered here in South West Florida - some from as far away as New Hampshire, including our dear Aunt Helen. It was especially fun as many in attendance were cousins that Jean and I had not seen since our childhood summers at Grammy & Grampy's camp in Maine.

The next day, Jean hosted a brunch for the relatives - many stories, laughs, and Bloody Marys were shared. Jean did double duty that day as she was also babysitting our kids (quite spoiled ones) - Kevin & Shelly (Chihuahuas) and Ottawa (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) - while Drew and I spent a few days away. She was wise enough to wait until we got back (I checked on them several times by phone) to tell me that Kevin was nearly inconsolable at times, howling in the window thinking that his mama had left him. Ah, the duties of an aunt!!

The corner of Allen and Park Ave.

Yes, Jean and her family had a Park Avenue address! No, not NYC, welcome to Athol, Massachusetts! There are so many memories of Jean, Trudy and I hanging out together...a few that I would like to share.

I met Jean and Trudy a week before school started, mine and Trudy's freshman year. I had been away all summer at our house in New Hampshire, and didn't realize that a new pastor and his family had moved in. I was pleasantly surprised when I met Jean and Trudy, (girlfriends! Yeah!) because I had lived on Allen St. my whole life and the neighborhood was all boys. Because I had lived next door forever, I knew the inside of the house like the back of my hand. I used to sneak into the kitchen and slip up the back stairs to hang out, unbeknownst to Fran and Nit. (Nit, our nickname for Jack, I don't remember where or why??)

Fran and Nit endured hours and hours of us listening to the 8-track tape deck with Joe Walsh, Bad Finger, or Jethro Tull blaring. We spent many Sunday afternoons eating popcorn, drinking grape juice and listening to Deep Purple. Poor Christopher Robin, we teased him relentlessly. To this day, when I hear "Smoke on the Water", I'm back at Park Avenue with Jean and Trudy.

Jean's first crush??? Johnny P. We teased her relentlessly too!!

One winter, Trudy and I wore full length, wool Army coats and Jean wore a Navy one. It was all the rage in high school. We "borrowed" them from our dads or uncles, since most of them had been in WWII or the Korean War. I think they weighed about 100 lbs...they were very heavy! But, because they were cool, and lots of our friends were wearing them, we wore them!

Jean, Trudy and I had many, many teenage experiences together...some to share, some to keep private. I'll end here for now.

Jeanne
(or, as Fran used to say, "little Jeannie from next door"...get it? Jean and Jeanne - both pronounced the same. It was her way to refer to me.)

Collections

Jean and I have had many a laugh over the years at what Jean calls her best "Trudy Story", one she has shared with many. We go back to high school and Miss Brown's Biology class. Part of my obligation to fulfill course requirements was the assembling of various "collections" during the year. In Baker tradition, they became family projects. Those of you who knew Jack and Fran, know that we were not the outdoor type of family. Jean led the way through the woods in search of the right colors for the leaf collection, and was out in front of us with a jar and a butterfly net to get the specimens for the "bug" collection. The last collection of the year was one of fruit. Being a bit rebellious and very much over collections by that point, I assembled the final one myself.
Each time Jean told the story, she would laugh and laugh as she recounted my wiping off the heavy syrup from the pieces of fruit as I took them from the can to pin onto the styrofoam board. What put her on the floor every time was my placement of the final piece in the middle of the collection - a marachino cherry!!