Written by Bill Muolo |
This article was published in The Wayland/Weston Town Crier on Thursday, October 22, 2009
COCHITUATE-
Mary Regan, formerly of Cochituate, MA celebrated her first Great-Great Grandchild’s birth. Jackson Lynch Nowland was born in Austin, TX on August 12, 2009. Jackson is the son of her first Great Grandchild, Jayme (Lynch) and Quentin Nowland.
Mary’s entire family celebrated her 95th birthday as they and friends gathered to honor her.
Mary & John F. Regan, Sr. (now deceased since 1975) have 16 children.
Her family was the entertainment. They performed skits that included bits and pieces of her rich life. Her family and her brothers’ families supplied pictures from Mary’s childhood. Memory scrapbooks, shoe boxes and digital cameras were researched for the affair. The photos were compiled into a show and projected onto a large movie screen.
Her son John played the accordion and cajoled all the party guests. Awards were given in the way of a blazing yellow ‘John Regan Septic Pumping’ T-shirt. John had his T-shirts created by Stoneham Sports Center, Stoneham, MA. His cousins Bill & Mike Muolo own the business. John played all the Italian songs that are dear to his mother, and more. An Irish Lullaby was played for Jackson Lynch Nowland to celebrate his birth.
All the food was prepared by Mary’s children and others. It was a feast similar to those meals she made as her family grew.
Locally, several of her children and grandchildren are self-employed. As a teenager, John took over his father’s business. Her son Phil and Grandson Dan Regan own Wayland Excavating. Her daughter Pamela Rose manages that business as well as oversees her brother and her nephew. Mary’s Grandchild Kelleigh and husband Michael own Lynch Tree Landscaping, Lynch Landscape and Lynch Nursery & Farm Stand. Grandson Kevin owns Washek Electric and Grandson Matt Washek owns a financial business, MW Bridge.
Mary was a stay-at-home mother. She trained her children to help one another. Her example was the better training tool. The radio was always playing softly in the background in her kitchen. Her husband would turn the radio dial to the Wayland-Weston annual Thanksgiving football game before he left for the field.
She would hit the floor in the wee hours of the morning and work nonstop until she sat down to ‘close her eyes’ at the end of the day. She would tell her children, “I was not sleeping. I heard everything that was going on. I just had my eyes closed.”
Some of you may recall the nursery rhyme, “This is the way we wash the clothes so early Monday morning…” The rhyme takes you through the week with only one chore accomplished each day. Mary squeezed all her chores into one day all the time. No easy feat.
Before the Regan Family had a washing machine, she washed and scoured using a scrub board, wrung out the clothes by hand and hung them outside on the line to dry. She did not have a Fairy Godmother or blue birds putting the clothes pins on the line , as Cinderella did. She took the dry clothes, folded, ironed and put them away. When the washing machine broke down, she did not waver, she went back to her basic plan.
On Saturdays the kitchen floor was scoured and waxed. After the floor was dried thoroughly, newspapers would be put down to save the floor for a sparkling Sunday morning. The newspapers would be rolled up early on Sunday. The Regan Family read ‘The Boston Globe’ and neighbors read another newspaper. After they read theirs they recycled for the girls to enjoy the paper dolls in the paper.
Also on Saturdays, she took out the starch for the clothes and made sure all shoes were polished. Lacings were also cleaned. This was in preparation for her family’s attendance at church on Sunday. Catechism lessons had been memorized by her kids. Altar boy garments had been washed and ironed. Mary attended mass every morning and said extra novenas during the sprawling teenage years of her growing family. Her rosary beads hung on the bed post for easy access every night.
She cooked all meals from scratch. Sunday, after mass, she served her family an Italian feast.
When a neighbor dropped by unexpectedly, on any given day, she would fill a plate with fresh cold cuts and cheeses and fruit. This was served with fresh perked coffee or hot tea. She graciously stopped her chores and served her neighbor. She did not ever gossip.
Four of her brothers lived in East Cambridge, MA and 2 owned a meat and produce market, on Warren Street. Each Saturday, at the close of the business day, her brothers would fill up cartons with food to have her take for her family. Post depression days were not hungry days for her family. All her brothers assisted at the store, including the ones who lived in Connecticut. When they came to visit, they worked. Although times were tough back then, they did not complain. They helped one another and all their neighbors. The Muolo Family had 6 boys and one girl. Two brothers resided in New Haven, CT. Sometimes her brothers would give her extra food. Mary would take a full box of cantaloupes, clean, slice and pile them on a large tray. She had her kids take the fruit outside and call out for the neighbor kids to enjoy. She did not waste.
When her youngest child entered school, she felt the pangs of empty nest syndrome. Mary’s husband encouraged her to get her driver’s license, a part-time job and join a local bowling club. She did. She won an award the first year she bowled. She joined the Wayland Police Department as a Crossing Guard for the schools. She has many fond memories of working on East Commonwealth Road to protect the kids during all kinds of weather. She has many friends on the force who are dear to her.
Several of her friends and Mary have a penny fund ministry for special needs children. Her family & friends save all their pennies (you may find her child walking with her/his head down scanning for pennies) for the WABAN Projects, Inc. Fund based in Sanford, ME. The Lindbohm Family, formerly of Cochituate, competes to see how many pennies they can save. When they are back home during the summer, they make sure Mrs. Regan gets the pennies. There is one family member who resides in her hometown and she is the coordinator for her sisters.
Mary attends bible study classes. She blesses her children, grand and great grand children when they are with her. Recently her Great Grandson Matt and Great Grand daughter Alexandra Washek attended a retreat with their teenage group. They had planned on going to this retreat before party plans were in effect. Great Grandson Matt said, “I know Gram would rather have me be at a spiritual retreat than at her party.” It turns out that Matt is correct!
She is not too busy to mail a birthday card for every single member of her huge family. She sews, knits, crochets, cooks, paints and gardens. She enjoys craft projects. Reading has become a wonderful way to relax since her kids are all grown. Playing cards & board games with her kids, grand and great grand children is a source of great pleasure.
Mary resides with her daughter Sheila and son-in-law ‘Red’ in Maine.
More than 300 family members and friends attended her party on Saturday, October 10, 2009 in Maine.
Written by Catherine Regan Washek