Chapter Three: Indian Hill

 Indian Hill was a terrific neighborhood. Most moms were home. Most dads went to work. Most houses were filled with children or elderly relatives, and almost every child attended Indian Hill School. We all walked to and from school and after school we'd get together with friends to explore and play games. There were neighborhood traditions that we all looked forward to such as Halloween, St. George's Church Bayberry Fair, the school Christmas Show, Valentine's Day, and, of course, school winter and spring vacations. 

Halloween found us dressing up for the Indian Hill Halloween Parade which we all loved. Afterwards we had parties in the classroom, and then trick-or-treated at night all over the neighborhood. The Bayberry Fair had all kinds of booths and a raffle at the end. We spent the day shopping at the booths our mothers and fathers manned buying used toys, knitted mittens, baked goods and candy. Everyone dressed up for the school Christmas show and most of us saw each other at church each Sunday. 

There was a sense of warmth and care in the neighborhood in the early days, but as time went on, there was a bit more strife due to the influx of drugs. Perhaps, an early foreshadowing of that strife, was the very sad fire in our neighborhood when I was a little girl. Teenagers, brothers and sisters of my classmates, built a fort in the woods. They were hanging out one night when the fort blew up in flames. Five teens were killed just before Christmas. The whole neighborhood mourned the losses. I remember looking out the window of my house at all the cars parked for the service and the people headed down to the church. 

In the later years, a drug culture entered our neighborhood and many neighborhood kids got involved. That spelled more tragedy with lost lives and lives of struggle due to drug abuse. I learned later that a few dads in the neighborhood were actually selling the drugs and we all knew siblings and friends who were involved. 

It wasn't all struggle though as there were many good times visiting the Brattle Street Market to buy a treat, walking and riding our bikes to local shops such as McDonald's or Pinecroft Dairy. Exploring nearby woods and sharing stories of our varied family lives typically stories of big families getting together for holidays or other special events. 

We knew almost everyone in our neighborhood, and despite the problems that did occur, there was a sense of camaraderie and warmth--one that still exists today even though our neighbors are spread out far and wide.