Williamstown, Massachusetts, early 1960s
In Williamstown, Flo and John rented a house on Dan Galusha's dairy farm, a house usually occupied by a farm worker, across the driveway from a barn that served as the cows' winter home, more than half a mile from the nearest house, the home of the farm-working Adkins family, on Blair Road. The house adjoined corn fields and fruit trees. Most of the corn was grown for the cows, but several rows of sweet corn provided our family, along with the Adkins and Galusha families, with plenty of human-grade corn. Since the fruit trees near our house were old and not very productive, none of the farmers bothered with them, and Flo was welcome to harvest all the plums and pears she could use. Flo tapped the few sugar maples in our front yard, which she boiled down over an outdoor wood fire in a small vat, maybe two by three feet, which she fashioned from sheet aluminum.
The small pond nearest the house was mainly for the use of the cows, but also served as the family skating rink for a few winter months. A quarter mile distant were a small fishing pond and a larger swimming pond. David's playmates included John Adkins, slightly older than David, and Doug Adkins who was slightly younger. Adjoining the Galusha farm was the Leland Towne farm, and the younger Leland was another of David's playmates. Neil Megaw was a Williams College colleague of John's who was an avid swimmer. His wife, Ann, and two children, were regulars at the swimming pond, as were the Adkins. The kids were close in age to David — Peter slightly older and Maggie slightly younger.
Nancy Palmer Butler was born on Labor Day, September 5, 1960, near the Sunapee, New Hampshire, home of John's parents.
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Leland Towne and Daniel E. Galusha farms
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Bob Muir, David with Peter and Maggie Megaw
This photo appeared in a Sports Illustrated feature about Williams College's renowned swim coach, Bob Muir. Muir had been head coach of the U.S. swim team for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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David, Bob Muir, and Peter Megaw
This photo appeared in a Sports Illustrated feature about Williams College's renowned swim coach, Bob Muir. Muir had been head coach of the U.S. swim team for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. (click image for detail)
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David as the Statue of Liberty, Peter and Maggie Megaw as firecrackers, Halloween, 1960
Flo created this costume for David. Her creation for the previous Halloween was a pumpkin fashioned from chicken wire, with strips of orange crepe paper stuffed into the holes, and a green cardboard stem with eye-holes. It didn't hold up very well in the rain.
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David's second grade teacher
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