The More Things Change

In left photo the Paul Bridges family poses in their front yard on North Main Street over half a century ago. Behind them, near the street, is a spindly water oak. The photo on the right shows the same locale, but now the tree is huge. — Then and Now

It’s amazing how things come together—or resolve themselves—or repeat themselves—as time goes by. The photo at left was taken on Easter Sunday, 1952. That’s Paul and Hazel Bridges and their little daughter Janice, posing in their yard at 29 North Main Street. Notice the sprig of a tree just beyond the fence, which Paul had planted a couple of years earlier. The house in the background with the red roof is at 32 North Main.

The photo on the right was taken in December 2005, over 53 years later. The little sapling is now a giant oak. That red roofed house in the first photo was torn down ages ago. Now, in its place, a new house is going up, bearing many of the characteristics of the old one. It’s being built by that little girl, Janice, and her husband, Marc Swing.

Photos courtesy Janice Bridges Swing