By Heather Wright
In this season of giving thanks, I am counting my blessings. Each year, two things on my list are my extended family and this community. I grew up in Greenwich and so did my mother. In fact, five generations of our family have called this town home. It is the place that gave me roots and confidence to live in many other places and then return home 20 years ago to work in nonprofits and church ministry.
I asked my Mom, Betsy Parkinson, to reflect on her memories of growing up here in the 1950’s.
Heather: Greenwich is a special community; how would you describe your experience of growing up here?
Betsy: It was a wonderful place to grow up, with a friendly small-town feel. There were many family-run stores, and you knew everyone. Greenwich Avenue was a 2-way street then, and you could always find a parking spot!
Volunteerism has always been a hallmark of Greenwich. Many services and organizations, started by creative and dedicated volunteers, have added to the quality of life here and are now an integral part of the town. Being a Candy Striper at Greenwich Hospital was a rite of passage for young girls and set us on the important path of volunteerism.
Just driving around, I come upon so many places in town that evoke memories of various family members past and present. Our first home in Greenwich was just off North Street. My grandfather loved working in our large vegetable and flower garden. I remember the day a workman at our house said in horror to my mother, “Your gardener just helped himself to a drink from your refrigerator and is watching television!”
My mother was the volunteer manager of the Gift Shop at Greenwich Hospital for many years. She delighted in finding new treasures for the shop, one being a collection of Santons from France. It’s not surprising that collecting Santons became an inter-generational family passion. While my mother was in the Gift Shop, my aunt was down the hall managing the hospital’s Service Shop. Who can forget those special brownies? Heather, I know you served there as a Candy Striper in junior high school as well.
When waiting to get out of our driveway, my dad often commented on the challenging North Street “parade”, which meant he had to wait for 3 cars to go by. We often say “what would he think of the North Street “parade” now!”
I attended North Street School and have fond memories of what was the most modern-looking school in town. Years later I was back there as a Brownie and Cub Scout leader for my children and their friends.
GCDS has been an important part of our Greenwich experience. When our 3 children were there, I often helped make costumes for the plays. Years later my daughter-in-law was doing the same thing when six of our grandchildren were in school there.
Two granddaughters went to Stanwich School, so we have many wonderful memories of being there with them and are awestruck now by the new GCDS high school in its place.
Greenwich High School brings to mind many hours spent there when you and your two siblings were student, and I served as President of the GHS PTA. We have spent time there again recently for events and graduations for grandchildren. Greenwich is so much a part of our family’s history that it is in every sense of the word, “home.”
Heather: This place is rich with memories of the past and we continue to build on them year after and year. The past is still in some ways present and gives us security about the future. I am so glad that my children have had their own experiences in places that mattered to us growing up.
As with any community there are challenges that come growing up in a successful, competitive suburb of NYC. Our lives are fast-paced and pressured. I am so grateful that you and Dad gave me the gift of faith, which, on my best days, keeps me grounded and rooted. You have taught me in word, deed and witness that faith in God, participating in our local church, serving those nearby and far away is part of our calling in life. It is our responsibility to give thanks at all times and circumstances to the Creator who set all this in motion and has a purpose for everything under heaven.
Where do you see the connection between faith and living in this community?
Betsy: There are many wonderful houses of worship in Greenwich. As teenagers, my friends and I loved going to the midnight Christmas Eve service at Christ Church. Through First Presbyterian, I went on many mission trips to rural Maine. I am glad that you and your siblings also had that same life-changing experience. I was fortunate to go to Rosemary Hall when it was in Greenwich on Lake Avenue, now the new Brunswick School’s Pre School campus. There we had chapel every morning in beautiful St. Bede’s. That had such an impact on me personally and on so many of my classmates. It is still mentioned as an important Rosemary memory at class reunions.
Stanwich Church has been foundational, instructive, and important for our whole family. There are many reasons we would not want to move from Greenwich, and Stanwich is one of them.
Sometimes during the magical spring or breathtaking fall, I take the long way around to get where I’m going, just so I can drink in the beauty that is Greenwich. The words of the Psalmist always come to mind: “…the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord…” (Psalm 16:6)
Heather: I agree with your reflection on the beauty of spring and fall in our town. For those of us who call this town “home,” our boundary lines truly have fallen in pleasant places. This Thanksgiving, we can give thanks for where God has placed us, the roots that form us and the faith that grounds us.
The Rev. Dr. Heather Wright is a Transitional Co-Lead Pastor at Stanwich Church. She is also a licensed therapist, board certified chaplain and author of four books. For more information, visit heatherpwright.com.
