Letter to the Editor

A memorable trip to New England

Friday, July 3, 2020

Dear Editor,

The summer of 1953 was an exciting time for me. I was working for the National Girl Scouts at Pleasantville, N.Y. 40 miles outside of New York City.

Our plane was a United Airlines flight which took off at the old Stapleto Airport in Denver. A few minutes after 12 noon, our plane was over Cleveland, Ohio., when a tornado hit. It flipped the plane over. That was a frightening experience.

The training classes at Edith Macy were in session from June 1953-September 1953. Three-day breaks from classes were scheduled. A group of us traveled to Boston.

With a maiden name like Hancock, I explored Boston to discover what I could about my patriotic ancestors. Barbara Swift, a staff member and instructor, told me to check in Waterbury, Connecticut. It was her home. She knew facts about family.

Our group visited Boston’s historic spots, including the Old North Church and the Oyster House. I ate shrimp, not oysters.

I learned important facts about Plymouth, Mass., and the English Separatists, who established it. My ancestor, John Adams, arrived at Plymouth, Mass., Nov. 9, 1621 on the ship known as the Fortune.

Since that time, I have found facts that explain what was occurring during the settlement of Plymouth, Mass., Boston, Mass., and the Connecticut River Valley. Ninety percent of the Massachusetts Indians died from Smallpox brought to them by English sailors.

Metacom, nicknamed King Phillip because of his haughty manner, was the son of Chief Massasoit, who helped the Separatist Pilgrims survive their first winter, attacked settlers like the Puritans at Waterbury, Connecticut. My Hancocks were Puritans who came there from Boston., Mass. My Adams ancestors who went to Plymouth, Mass., from England were Separatists.

Prince Philip (Metacom) was shot and killed in a swamp in Rhode Island in 1676. By this time, Native Americans (Indians) had lost 3,000 men in battle and due to a pandemic caused by smallpox, many more. Coronavirus was not the only pandemic.