By Craig Donaldson, Lincoln Historical Society
(Editor’s note: this piece was first published in LincolnTalk in December 2020 and is republished here as part of the “Lincoln’s History” series.)
Did you know there’s a Lincoln neighborhood known as “Fertile Valley”?
You won’t find Fertile Valley marked on a map, but you can walk its borders on a pleasant afternoon and smile at a bit of Lincoln history. From the Five Corners watering trough, it extends north on Bedford Road to Bemis Hall, northeast along Old Lexington Road and Lexington Road to the Flint farm, east along Trapelo Road to the DeNormandie farm, and down Weston Road to the Pierce House.
Fertile Valley was the site of two dairy farms and productive backyard gardens, but it earned its reputation (with a wink and a smirk) in the late 1940s and 1950s for its crop of kids.
After World War II, many young families moved to the Valley to raise children, joining the older Lincoln families in long-established houses of the Historic District. The Paul Norton family topped the list with seven children, and the families of Jim DeNormandie, Fred Taylor, and Gordon Donaldson had five apiece. Every household had at least one youngster.
A Fourth of July parade entrant from the “Fertile Valley” era. The truck is an old Chevy from Glendale Farm, the dairy that R.D. Donaldson had on Weston Road until the late 1940s. The driver, dressed up to look like a woman, is Ken Bergen. The kids in the back include Nat Taylor (in the corner facing forward with toes hanging out), Nat’s brother Tim Taylor (still in Lincoln), and Doug MacLean (with the red hair), town historian Jack MacLean’s recently deceased older brother. The others almost certainly include a few Nortons and Bergens, plus a Flint and a DeNormandie or two. (Click image to enlarge)
Typical of American neighborhoods in the post-war era, kids of all ages were raised together by parents in cahoots. Mothers were at home, volunteering their talents to town, school, and church, while their husbands commuted to jobs outside of Lincoln. School was an easy walk or bike ride, first to the Center School (now the Town Office Building) and as the kids grew older, to the new Smith School. Every season in Fertile Valley was tailored to family activities—tobogganing and skating, horse riding, Sunday baseball in the back field, and July 4th parades.
The entire Valley was open to free range kids. They romped through fields and over fences, teaching one another how to ride bikes, ski and sled, blow bubble gum, and catch pollywogs. Parents were confident that the big kids would keep the little kids out of trouble and that, sooner or later, everyone would re-emerge for meals, as indeed they did!
Lifelong friendships, values, and lessons endured as Valley kids went forth into the wider world.
Times have changed, and the Valley is now home to only a few children. Yet some of the old gang still live in the Valley, a few in the houses where they grew up — two each of DeNormandies, Donaldsons, and Flints, plus a Bergen, a Browne, a Jevon, and a MacLean.
And of course, with each springtime, there are still pollywogs to be caught.
Do you have stories and photos to share about your neighborhood, or do you know more about the people in this photo? Email lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com and join us in exploring the histories of Lincoln’s neighborhoods.