George H. Walker, Jr.
Dover in the Twenties
A Young Man's Diary
George H. Walker, Jr. |
Dover in the TwentiesA Young Man's Diary
by George H. Walker, Jr. |
This is the story of a boy coming of age in the quiet little town of Dover
in the 1920's.
George Walker was thirteen when he started his diary on New Year's Day 1923 and for the next four and a half years he faithfully recorded details of his daily life.
In his brief entries we meet his friends and follow the trials and tribulations of his young life. As the years pass we see George grow from boyhood concerns about bicycle repairs and rats in the hen house to his discovery of radio, automobiles and girls.
We also see Dover as it was in the 1920's - the schools, sports, scouts, bean suppers, and movies at the town hall.
It was a simpler time when families, friends and neighbors were close.
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The Walker family lived at #45 Centre Street. George, Jr. was the oldest of Harold and Lillian Walker's five boys. He was born in 1909. Beany (John) was the next oldest and the younger brothers were Bill, Ted and Bob (nicknamed the 'old Man') who had not arrived when this family picture was taken. |
In July 1999 George's daughters, Deborah Walker and Wendy Walker L'Herault, came to Dover to research their family and called to say they they had discovered a diary. Their father was in a nursing home and his memory was failing, but he had kept a diary as a Dover teenager for four and a half years, from 1923 to 1927. They were transcribing it for their own family history and would be happy to share it with anyone who might be interested.
Frequent entries about the town of Dover were mixed in with weather reports and their father's day to day routine and they wondered if the diary might be of interest as local history. Maybe it could be edited to describe Dover in the twenties as seen by a young man growing up when radio was hi-tech, before TV, video, computers and all the glitz and confusion that young people find in today's world.
I assured them their father's diary would be an important addition to Dover history so they emailed it to me as they finished transcribing it. As installments arrived it was obvious that this young man's account of life in Dover 75 years ago was not only fascinating and enlightening but also an important historical record for the Town.
Young George was bright, busy, energetic and observant, but as in any life some days are interesting while others are boring. Detailed weather reports, nomatter how accurate, are often repetitive, so I have taken the liberty of omitting some such entries. With permission from Debbie and Wendy I have focused on Dover and added illustrations where I could.
George passed away on July 26, 2000, but not before Debbie and Wendy were able to tell him about their visit to Dover to meet his high school English teacher, Helen McGill, and see where he and Chick and Issy and other friends lived.
RHV
4/21/03
Dover in the Twenties |
Photos and IllustrationsDebbie and Wendy provided the family photo and pictures of early football teams along with a few pictures copied from news clippings pasted in the diary. Other images here are from the Dover Historical Society, Louise Emmons album, Edna Hart Vara postcards and others.
John Jenkins of Woodinville, WA provided vintage 1920's radio illustrations
via the internet
Needham Theater ads and new Needham Paramount illustrations are from the
Needham Historical Society collection of
Map by RHV |