Sunday Lunch

By Dabney McCoy

standing from left: Bunny, Derry, Lisa, Helen, houseguest;  seated: Nancy Burkham Williams, Mason, Christy, Frances, Dabney

My great-grandmother Fanny Young Miller brought her daughter to Biddeford Pool in the early 1900’s. In 1909, the family rented the Flatiron, the little cottage on a triangular lot near the fire barn, and Granny bought it in 1952.

As the oldest of the grandchildren, I was lucky enough to visit my grandparents (Fanny and Carrington Williams, Sr., known to my siblings and myself as Granny and Garganny) every summer in Maine until I went to college in 1961. My grandparents’ cook, Hannah Moore, also came to Maine for the summer. Hannah and Granny fought like cats and dogs, but they actually were great friends.

During these idyllic summers, Sunday church attendance at St. Martin’s-in-the-Field was mandatory. Everyone wore their Sunday best. Often, all the girls were invited back to the Flatiron for Sunday lunch, prepared by Hannah while we were at church. The menu usually consisted of fried chicken and rice or roast beef and mashed potatoes, along with vegetables, rolls and dessert. We were often so full that a nap on the beach afterwards was a must!

Our group consisted of Lisa Barstow, Helen (Reilly) and Christy Bergland, Bunny Burkham (Borders), Derry McLernon, and Mary Lee Bryant.  Some Sundays, my sister Frances and my brother Mason were also there, and one of the girls might also bring a sibling or houseguest.

Lunches at The Store and ice cream across the street at Rosa and Carlos’s store were a treat after tennis or sailing. In those days, we had “group” nights at the Abenakee Club, consisting of supervised games such as Capture the Flag. Bingo nights and buffet dinners at The Inn also provided an excuse to show off our Sunday dresses. It was a sad summer when my husband and I drove up Mile Stretch and saw an empty field at the top of the hill where The Inn had been.

As we entered our teen years in the 50’s, when life was safer than it is now, we were given free reign of the Pool, hanging out with boys, and often playing Spin the Bottle in the Flatiron dining room. (The floor of that dining room is still slanted, and still generates lots of laughs when we gather there!) Helen and Lisa always had their pick of the boys!

                                                                                  jh photo

More mischief ensued when I spent the night at the Burkhams’ house. They always left a sign-in note on the stairs, which we dutifully checked off. Then we went upstairs, waited a while until Bunny’s parents were asleep, and then snuck back out.

During our later teens, we ventured further afar to Prout’s Neck or Kennebunkport. One summer, Christy and I dated two brothers who had Harleys, and my boyfriend Punch used to delight in revving his engine below Granny’s window! I cannot believe my grandmother allowed me to ride on a motorcycle from the Pool to the Port and back! Another summer, Helen and I had mad crushes on Bill Wakelin and Bordy Snow, and we spent hours listening to them play their guitars in the Wakelins’ garage apartment, which was located where the Hogans’ garage is today.

To this day, those of our group who still summer at the Pool howl with laughter as we reminisce about those summers. Our grandparents and parents were friends, we all remain friends, and our children and grandchildren have grown up together at the Pool. Though Sunday lunches are a thing of the past, Biddeford Pool continues to be our “slice of heaven” through five generations, no matter our age. How lucky are we that our grandparents discovered this special place!