Week 39 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge is Road Trip. Back in 1931 when my Grampy Phil and his cousin, Wilfred Barr, were seven and eight years old, they spent most of one summer together. First Wilfred spent a month with my grandfather in Westbrook, Maine, and then my grandfather spent a month with him in Staten Island, New York. I’m not sure what the boys did in New York, but I have pictures of the two of them in Maine. In some of the pictures, my grandfather labeled young Wilfred as “Sonny,” which must have been a nickname to differentiate him from his father, who was also named Wilfred.
1931 was the first time Sonny’s father, Wilfred, had returned to Maine in 16 years. Wilfred’s reasons for leaving Maine and moving to New York have been lost to time, but the great affection all the Barrs had for one another is evident in the pictures, and later the home movies taken on subsequent visits to Maine in the 1940s. That first trip home must have been quite the family reunion! It wasn’t the first time Sonny and Phil met though. There are photos of a 1929 trip to New York that show the cousins, then five, together.
I wonder if in part, Sonny’s trip to Maine and my grandfather’s trip to Staten Island were meant as a distraction for the New York Barrs. Earlier that year, Wilfred and his wife Ellen lost their eldest daughter, Bernadette (probably named after Wilfred’s sister who was my great-grandmother). Sonny and Bernadette were close in age, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he struggled with the loss. It also wouldn’t be surprising if his mom, Ellen, needed time to focus on her two younger children, Marie and Bobby, and coupled with the grief, having a rambunctious eight-year-old under foot was too much for her frazzled nerves and aching heart.
The boys seemed to have a fun summer together. It’s one my grandfather remembered fondly. While they were together, the boys pretended they were cowboys or wild west sheriffs. Maybe their cute costumes were a gift from their grandparents.
The home of his Aunt Bernadette and Uncle Willy may have seemed quiet to Sonny; Phil didn’t have any siblings yet. Maybe the boys were having too much fun making noise together to notice. In the month he was in Maine, the boys likely ran wild on the hill that comprised Chestnut Street and Mitchell Street. Phil probably introduced Sonny to the neighborhood gang, who were mostly Phil’s second cousins through his father, the Lavignes and Gouzies. I’m sure the boys also spent plenty of time with their grandfather, Charlie Barr, at his little farm, and were also spoiled by their Aunt Alice. Aunt Alice and Phil shared a special bond. I bet she loved spending time getting to know one of her New York nephews. The boys may have picked wild berries and gone fishing on quieter days. They spent some hot summer days swimming at Sebago Lake where Willy and Bernadette owned a piece of land on Harmon's Beach.
Phil and Sonny remained in touch through the years, at least to the extent where their wives exchanged Christmas cards and the occasional letter. There were promises of visits as adults so their kids – second cousins – could meet and play together, but with their busy lives and the distance, it never happened. These pictures from their one, fun-filled summer are among the few of the two boys together.
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