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Cotters celebrate 60-year marriage with family party

Part II of Series

By M.E. Jones
CORRESPONDENT

PEPPERELL - A decorative sign hanging on the wall by Frances and Frank Cotter's kitchen sink reads, "Tomorrow is not promised us/So let us take today and make the most of it."

That sums up her philosophy, said Frances. She and Frank survived a war together and endured the loss of a child. They've both had medical problems. But they are looking forward to celebrating 60 years together, actual anniversary date Aug. 31--and Frances's 80th birthday, which was Aug. 24--with a family party at home Sept. 8.

The event started shaping up last Christmas. Plans were to go out to dinner with the immediate family, a party of 20. Now the guest list has tripled, extending to first cousins--but not beyond. They're having the get-together at home so that Frances, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, can rest when she needs to. Daughters-in-law will do the work. "You don't need energy... just come, sit and look beautiful," they told her. A rare treat.

They have plenty of laurels between them, but resting doesn't come naturally to this active lady and her husband. Looking back over a long life together, they said it's been "wonderful." In the early years, Frank was in the Air Force, and Frances went where he was stationed--South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida. She'd find a place in town to live while working at the base, civil service jobs. Mostly, though, she worked in town, before the kids came along, and after.

Her rsum includes working for Bemis after she graduated from Pepperell High School in the school's last class. Later, she worked for Mrs. Amery's Kindergarten on Pleasant Street, for Sheldon's Express and for Attorney Ernie Sheldon. She worked at the Peter Fitzpatrick School for 10 years, starting in 1975 as a teacher's aide and going on to the school office.

"I loved being an aide, even lunch duty," Frances said. "But I couldn't pass up a promotion." The money helped put the kids through college. After that, she stayed home.

While their four kids were growing up, vacations were family affairs. The Cotters toured the country on yearly trips, mapping a historic itinerary based on Civil War sites, ranging from Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired, to Richmond, VA, where Lee surrendered. Since then, the couple has been to Ireland and Prince Edward Island, visiting relatives, and marked another family member's milestone with a trip to Hawaii. Two destinations never made it past the wish list, but they're not too disappointed about it. Frank had a yen to explore Alaska and Frances always wanted to see Jerusalem. But "I'm grateful for what we did," said Frances.

It's always been about family. Frances Cotten was one of a family of seven girls and one boy. One sister just turned 95. "Ten years ago, they were all still here," she said. Two years later, the Cotters' daughter Kate and three sisters from the Cotten family died in the same year. Today, the only siblings Frances has left are two sisters and a brother. They plan to come to the party, she said.

The family of her father--Henry Ward Beecher Cotten--with its nine siblings, came from Prince Edward Island, where he and his brothers worked a farm. Some of them "logged for wages" in winter and returned for spring planting. Those who stayed at home did crafts that also brought in money. The beautiful carved clock on the Cotters' mantle is a sample of the work they did. The clockworks were put in elsewhere, Frances said.

"My father wanted to see what was on the other side of the mountain," she said, tracing his migration to Littleton, where he came to work on somebody else's farm. He met his wife while delivering fresh produce daily to the Groton School, where Frances's mother Kathleen worked in the kitchen. The family history brings to mind how things used to be in Pepperell, when there was a "town club" that held a Christmas party every year, handing out a present to each child, plus candy and fresh oranges that were "quite a treat." Frances also remembers Maypole dances on the town field.

Asked if they've chronicled any of this genealogy, Frances said their interest in documenting it began with a grandson's school project. "We've started," she said, explaining how having a computer will help, once she gets things going. "I can record and sketch," she said.

Art is one of her many talents, sparked by a course she took in oil painting some years ago. Now her work adorns the walls in the Cotters' beautiful old house, along with other samples of her handiwork, including Victorian dolls, "Irish knit" sweaters and afghans created over the last 20 years or so. She's also made Christmas angels for the grandchildren. And Frank has his collections--stereopticons, antique toys and other nostalgic items.

Pepperell Postcards

Among the most interesting are his vintage postcards, some of which were purchased in bulk from the estate of Helen Hallbourg. "There's a lot of history in these books," Frank said, leafing through the albums. Some are souvenir prints, dating back a century or more, including joke cards popular in the period. Some highlight town landmarks such as the Prescott House Hotel, a fashionable "spa" in its day (people came to enjoy the benefits of Pepperell Springs water) and Pepperell High School. Frances recalls passing the hotel with her mother and seeing well-dressed ladies with fancy dresses and hats, waiting for the train.

One postcard shows a rare view of the Prudence Wright House, with carriage houses. Another shows "Jewett's Bridge" the original covered bridge, circa 1905. Also among the collection are pictures of a guest House on Oak Hill, the old "Villa Lorraine," which had teas" One picture shows a huge tree reputed to have housed raccoons, earning the area the tag, "Coon Tree Hill." It's still there, they say, on Heald Street, on the left, before the pond. One set of postmarked cards is particularly interesting, having been sent to a certain young lady in town. The script is spidery and smudged but the messages will be preserved--these cards are not made of paper, but leather.

Frank's father was an orphan. The family came from Charlestown. After settling in Pepperell, he worked at the local paper bag shop for 22 years, then he became a plumber. He and Frances built a good life together here.

The side yard is weedy because Frank doesn't mow the lawn as frequently as he used to. And Frances, who takes credit for landscaping that includes a "spy apple" tree and an herb garden that later became a "friendship garden," hasn't been able to tend her plants lately. But the house is in beautiful shape, inside and out, and they have it repaired and painted regularly.

"The house is so big...we fix up one part of it every two years or so," Frances said. "When we're through, it's time to start again." On the day this reporter interviewed the couple, workmen hammered on the other side of the wall, proving her point. Outside, the street has been dug up, preparatory to installing town sewer lines. Otherwise, things look peaceful.

"When we first went housekeeping, we took furniture people gave us," Frances said, explaining how they came by her mother's pine bureaus and other family hand-me-downs. Some of the antiques they've collected since include frosted glass light fixtures from a grand hotel in Gardner, salvaged when the building was torn down, decorative fireplace inserts and marble topped tables, bureaus and a vanity, all with intricately carved woodwork and all in superb shape.

Asked how they'd come by the lovely old house that makes such a perfect setting for their collections, Frances said, "I always wanted to live here." The story calls to mind the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life," in which Donna Reed's character targets the old house she wants to live in years before marrying her sweetheart, played by Jimmy Stewart. The Cotters, however, were already married when Frances chose her dream house.

In the post-war years, "everybody was building...little five-room ranches," she said. "I'd walk by and see this...house, and there'd be firelight dancing on the ceiling." They were living nearby with Frances's mother on the corner of Franklin Street when the house came up for sale. They bought it with a VA loan. "We brought Kate home to this house," said Frances. That was in May 1946. They've been here ever since.

Contrasting how they stayed put with how couples move today, she said, "People weren't as mobile then." So much was different in their day. Asked what they did for fun as single girls, for instance, Frances laughed. "Well, we'd dye our hair. You never knew what color it would be," she said.