Pamela Weeks Looks Back and Also Offers Lessons to Today's Teens

By Patrick Hurley

In a recent interview, Pamela Weeks’ past seemed to flash before her eyes as she recalled events from her past.  

Pam was born in Hooksett, New Hampshire, in 1944, to a Polish family.  She was one of three sisters, the middle child.  Her parents worked hard in the local factories in Manchester, as well as kept up a large garden, chickens and a couple of cows, which required a lot of work.  She attended a small two-room school house.  She had many chores around the small farm, was very studious and a gifted and talented pianist who later went to college to study music. 

As a child, she played many games with her friends, such as Chinese Checkers, tag, dodgeball, softball, card games, hopscotch, jump-rope, red rover and her favorite, Monopoly. 

She remembers people listening to Elvis Presley, Rock and Roll and the Everly Brothers.  By the end of high school and into college, Pam said that folk music started to rise in popularity.

One of Pam’s earliest memories is of little packages that had yellow dots in the middle.  You would squish it until it was yellow and then use it in place of butter.  She also remembers her house being kept warm with coal.  One of her favorite earliest memories is of her uncle, whom she later grew to adore, coming home from World War II. 

Pam has witnessed two disasters, in particular, that have left a lasting impression on her.  She watched the Challenger take off in 1986 and then explode.  She was shocked and kept thinking that maybe one of the pieces was safe with the astronauts inside.

What was unique about this shuttle mission was that it was the first to have a teacher fly in space.  It was a big deal. Thousands of teachers had applied but only one was chosen.  People from around the country, as well as the family and students of this teacher, were watching as it exploded, killing all astronauts on the shuttle. 

The other disaster was the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City on 9/11.  Pam was driving to work when she first heard something was happening.   She worked at a psychiatric hospital and when she arrived everyone was running around frantic.  They all watched the plane crash into the building on television.  They had to call a special meeting with the psychiatrist to talk about it. 

Pam’s favorite 20^th century memory was of President Kennedy getting elected.  She was excited about his candidacy and had always loved politics.  She was in her junior year in high school and had been taking a course on problems in democracy that she really loved.  She decided to get in touch with the JFK headquarters to volunteer.  She was inspired by the way Kennedy presented ideas and it motivated her to think that everyone working together could make a difference.  The 1952 campaign was when she first saw Kennedy as a potential important future leader. 

When Kennedy announced his candidacy in 1960, she was very excited.  Pam was in Manchester at campaign headquarters on the night of election, 1961, and stayed up all night to find out who won.  It was a very exciting and happy night for Pam.

It has been amazing for Pam to watch the changes in the world over her lifetime so far, especially in terms of instant communication and information.  “Now you can look up almost any information you want!” she exclaimed.  “Gossip can zip around the world very quickly.”  People used to be able to put anything in the newspaper and that was the information people had.  Now you can look up to verify anything.

Pam Weeks has some great lessons for teenagers today.  She said that we should always be aware of the people of the world and the people in it, and to remember we can learn from each other about the world and ourself.  And this is just one of her great many lessons. She continued to urge teenagers to be aware of what they are drawn to, to be curious, to be curious about people they meet but not follow along blindly.  Pam advised, “Hold on to integrity while still keeping other people in mind.” 

“Enjoy being alive!”

Even after the interview was finished, Pam was still in the past.  The look in her eyes was one not to be forgotten, and it makes one want to look back and think about their past, too.  

Woburn Patch will run the top six feature stories from the Joyce Middle School English and history project in the order that Joyce English teacher Kathryn Materazzo, who started the project last year, provided them to us.

Download the movie