Hillary Seeger: Remembering good times spent with childhood friends who have passed

To The Daily Sun,

We who as children lived on and around Pleasant Street in the 1970s grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting. Although Mr. Rockwell may not have approved of the acorns the Richer and Weeks boys pitched our way, our days were filled with joys that even those little bruises could not diminish.

As we grow older, we look back fondly on the friends and the places that shaped our lives. As they leave this world, we can close our eyes and relive some of those memories. Janet Clifford (Maxwell) used to invite us to her home. Her parents were the epitome of cool. They had a sunk-in living room with a disco ball and shag carpet. It was an amazing place to hang out and Janet, her brother Doug and their parents were always welcoming. We lost Janet a couple of weeks ago. Her joyful and free spirit will forever remain with us, though.

Barbara Frederick left us yesterday. Her home was a haven for all of us and generally the first place our parents would look if they couldn’t find us. In addition to a huge barn with a trapeze (that’s right, we were pre-litigious society), Barbara (then Reed) had a spigot in the kitchen that spewed water hot enough for instant cocoa. There was popcorn drying in the barn and bicycle repair “shop” run by her son John. Jen had a floor that we converted into a school or a theater, depending on our mood. 

Barbara and Janet will always live in our hearts along with those parents and friends the Pleasant Street gang has lost along the way. I do hope they will all be waiting for us when the street lights come on and it is our time to go home.

Hillary Seeger

Alexandria