|
•
<br /> x X:.
<br /> -
<br /> Vi i.'_ e1 e - a N7 • �, � •.
<br /> 1.. c
<br /> 3 . - . ~ 4..� r 5 ., r e _,-t , -..
<br /> _.
<br /> f ,r FRO :..: ,.
<br /> .<.; ;. SPENCER BROOK A ND POPE ROADS
<br /> {'' CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS
<br /> „ o p
<br /> t , "No Room in the Inn" . . . the children's annual re- enactment of the
<br /> ti Nativity will have a new setting this Christmas. After seven happy years at the '-.
<br /> a ,-•: 'i � x 1756 Inn in Billerica, we have moved on to a Concord stable, where Cecilia, fulfilling
<br /> ` her turn as Mary, will place the Christ Child m a "real' manger come Christmas Eve, 1964. sq -
<br /> f . Lest you think we now inhabit a barn, we hasten to add, "It only seems that way ... it's truly a A
<br /> 17th Century prefab." During 1964 we have rebuilt, beam by beam, board by board, brick by
<br /> -, . &
<br /> .',h brick, a new house 284 years old.
<br /> The 1680 Clark - Mansfield House, destined to fall in the path of a Route 1 -128 cloverleaf was •
<br /> dismantled and stored in a barn by adventuresome friends. But the tale of "All the King's
<br /> Horses and All the King's Men" must have deterred them and we undertook the task of putting
<br /> it back together again. In usual Kelley fashion, the project took us nine months.
<br /> • In February, we bought several acres of land in Concord with a gardener's cottage thereon. On r
<br /> ' ^ the 19th of April Concord resounded with cries of "We're being invaded again," as we broke
<br /> ground to reconstruct the 1680 house adjacent to the cottage. Each weekend since we have
<br /> conducted informal tours for interested onlookers. One friend commented, "Will you have some-
<br /> thing to write in your Christmas letter this year!" So, appreciate please, the lengths to which
<br /> we will go to amuse you. But now, what do we do for next year?
<br /> Copies of our four previous Christmas letters, along with other mementos of 1964 were sealed , -
<br /> Y up in the chimney (only seven fireplaces here). Teddy suggested we put in a lock of the builders
<br /> .k hair ... grey ones we gave him, but we stopped short of scalping him, too!
<br /> Is it any wonder Cecilia, at four, is a whiz at jigsaw puzzles after observing several thousand
<br /> not - always - interlocking house parts go back together. Many laughs, 16,000 bricks, and not a
<br /> r , few tears have gone into it. We won't soon forget . . . how we wound up with enough left-
<br /> over gs and beams for Bill to start another house . . . when the brick oven arch had to be
<br /> oe -
<br /> �` . ' torn out and redone in Mary's version of 1680 kitchen planning ...paint manufacturers said `
<br /> the pumpkin color was impossible to reproduce (P. S. — we did) . . . when the foundation
<br /> was poured six inches too big for the beams . let some 2364 A. D. restoration architect
<br /> = ponder that one! But next year we'll laugh and in 1984 we'll be downright joyful.
<br /> We wish Rosanne, Maretta and Clarellen had done as much paint scraping as all those witty
<br /> compositions written for school would imply. Kevin and Teddy think the arrangement is heavenly
<br /> which placed their bedroom just one step from both the kitchen and TV room.
<br /> a , As th> "•early Pilgrims, we settled in just before Thanksgiving and for so many blessings we 1 x •
<br /> f ,` = are indeed thankful. Whether from the hearths of an Inn in Billerica, or a stable in Concord,
<br /> the message of our hearts remains constant . . . May the Saviour, born this Day, bring
<br /> •yf .
<br /> ,.. Peace, Joy, Love unto Eternity. _
<br /> THE LLEYS.
<br /> 1
<br /> ...ell
<br /> } a. = ` s'ti - u:, a,_ �,_, a ,a-' �' 7 ,fir, t 'tea•
<br />
|