More Charming Tales From Susan

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are”

e.e. cummings  

            Susan was born to tell her stories. If you recall, a few weeks ago I told you the romantic tale of Susan’s parents, Charlotte and Edward. It is only fitting that now you should hear the next installment of Susan’s story. The twists and turns in her life led her to become exactly who she was meant to be; a fascinating woman whose love of knowledge, family, and adventure fills her memories and teaches those who hear her story the beauty in the ordinary… and the extraordinary.

            “My name is Susan and I grew up in a little… well, a town, called Needham Massachusetts, where the train used to come from Boston every day, doesn’t anymore… We lived on a dead end street called Garfield Street, named after the president,” she began the very first time I interviewed her. She moved to Needham when she was four and a half years old, spending the earlier part of her childhood in the next town over, Roslindale.

She was very nearly born on a sidewalk in Roslindale. You see; Susan was a Placenta Prevea, born seven weeks early. Her mother felt she was going into labor and hurried up the street to where Susan’s aunts lived. She was rushed to St. Elizabeth’s hospital, since at the time only two hospitals in Boston had incubators and St. Elizabeth’s was the closest. The doctor who delivered Susan was Dr. Heffernan; he is the doctor who would later deliver the Kennedy’s babies. Susan was only four pounds when she was born. Her father used to say he could hold her in the palm of his hand, she was so small.

Susan was a Girl Scout right up until High School. She and her troop would go to Camp Four Winds in the National Forest in Plymouth on Long Pond. She loved being a Girl Scout, and one time all thirty girls in her troops went to Canada for a couple weeks during the summer and camped out overnight at Niagara Falls.

            As a child, Susan also loved reading. “I grew up reading books…I used to ride my bike a lot to the library.” In school she always loved reading best, but never cared for math. Later in life she volunteered at the Boston Public Library. Even today Susan’s love of reading has followed her; every time I see her she updates me on what new books she has read.

            Perhaps it was Susan’s love of learning new things that led her to teaching. After High School she went to Fitchburg State College and graduated in 1968 with a degree in education. At the time, Fitchburg only had programs in nursing, teaching, and industrial arts (my, how things have changed!) Susan taught at a parochial school in South Boston for a little while. A Polish parochial school. As much as she loved teaching her class of forty third graders, it proved quite the challenge, since most of the children only knew how to speak Polish. All-American Susan could not speak Polish.

            But when one door closes, another opens. Susan went to secretarial school and learned how to type and began working at the Veteran’s Administration. She spent thirty years working in government in the US Customs Service, Social Security Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, and as secretary to the Labor Relations Officer. For a while she worked for Charles Sweeney, the man who dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.  

            Susan’s story continues far beyond her work in the US government. She spent years travelling whenever she could, following where wind blew her next. But that, my friends, is a story for another day.

My name is Jillian DiPersio and I am a sophomore at Windham High School. After learning the stories of my own grandparents, I have been interviewing the elderly. Through my research and interviews I have been able to dig up some incredible bits of history from the lives of local residents, as well as learn about people who are the products of a different generation. If you or someone you know would like to share your stories, please contact me at jillian@dipersio.com.