The members of the Newsletter Committee thought it would be appropriate to begin with a history of Birchwood. We make no claim to be historians. Our purpose is to inform and entertain. Our source for the information in this month’s installment comes from Pauline Brodeur. This feature will continue in the following issues with more history. We welcome any further input from other members of the community.

Pauline moved into her home on September 9, 1989. At that time she tells us there were eleven houses on Allison Road, numbers seven through eleven. Two houses on Deacon Street, numbers 55 and 57. Four houses on Goodnow Circle numbers: 13,15,17 and 19. That fall number 5 Allison Road was erected, then 42 Deacon and finally number 14 Bryant Lane. At that point the project stagnated and remained so until Jim Haynes and Forward Financial took over in the spring of 1993. Below is a picture taken from Pauline’s deck. The scene is of Goodnow Circle. The roof in the foreground is 42 Deacon Street, the home of Doris and Bill McKenna. They were among the early arrivals also. The second picture is of the exit to East Main Street via Deacon Street. The lot to the left, looking at the picture, the site of 6 Deacon Street, the home now of Joyce and Ralph Brezniak. The third picture is a view from the corner of Bryant Lane and Allison Road. It shows two houses on Deacon Street, numbers 57 and 61. There are four houses on Goodnow Circle. That was pretty much the state of things in the fall of 1989. (Some of the numbers referenced above are to lot numbers and were later changed.)