When you remember there were three grammer schools, Great Neck, OLP, and Lordship School. There was a Lordship Center with Gabe & Tony's Market with a real butcher, Marino's Variety Store, Hiemes Hardware Store, Biebel Cleaners, and the Barber shop on the corner, and across the street there was a real Drug Store with penny candy, a childrens dress store, Penquin Deli. At the Sea Wall ,Pizza or the best Cheesburgers from Skippers, then there was Pop's...and ofcourse Marnicks! When Short Beach was where the cottages were. The dump was burning every night. Aherns rides behind the Hot Dog Stand, the Merry Go Round, Trampolines, and then there was Prussians, the Cricket and Roses Pizza. If you missed the bus it took forever for your Mom to get past all the Avco traffic at 3PM to come and get you from Johnson. We didn't lock our doors and you always knew that the guys were playing flag football at Great Neck on Sundays!
The Great Lordship Novel was written in 1983 and it's called Flights by Jim Shepard. It is about a boy growing up in Lordship, fascinated by the airport and who one day borrows a plane and flies it across the Sound. Jim Shepard is a professor at Williams College. The book is available at Amazon.com and for anyone who grew up in Lordship or would like to know what it was like growing up out here, it is a must read.
 Flights |
 Flights review |
 Jim Shepard |
 1938 Hurricane |
 1938 Hurricane |
 1938 Hurricane |
 Lordship Seawall |
 1962 storm |
 1962 storm |
 Airport expansion 1962 |
 Lordship snow |
 Lordship snow |
 Jefferson and Beach Dr |
 Skateland fire |
 Deed |
 Deed |
 Deed |
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 LCC story1 |
 LCC story2 |
 LCC story3 |
 LCC story4 |
 LCC story5 |
 LCC story6 |
 LCC story7 |
 LCC story8 |
 LCC story9 |
 OLP 1940 story |
 OLP history |
 OLP Memorial 1940-60 |
 OLP Memorial 1961-68 |
 OLP Memorial 1969-76 |
 OLP Memorial 1977-87 |
 Old Lordship |
 Old Lordship |
 OLP 40th |
 OLP 1941 officers |
 OLP 1978 |
 OLP 1978 |
 OLP 1978 |
 OLP 1978 |
 OLP 1st Communion |
 Lighthouse 1990 |
 OLP 1940 cardparty |
 Phones 1906 |
 SB golf |
 SB golf |
The following were people I knew when I lived in Lordship. Al Tiburzi, owned the grocery store. Gerstl owned the Pharmacy and they had a real soda fountain and candy. There was a small deli next to it. The Trumbulls owned the Gas station. At Lordship School Gene Ferrio, Harold Connelly Jr, Sally Foley, James McMellon, Sandy Sargeant, Martha Sammis, Ruthie Zar, John Straton who had a famous relative "Tom Thumb" of circus fame, were students with me. Dr. Harold Connelly was our dentist. Fred Biebel Oil Company. Art Henderson was the builder of my fathers house 175 Washington Pkwy. John Fitzgerald lived at the end of Ocean Drive, which was the end of Lordship toward Bridgeport with his brothers. Don't know if any of them are still around or would remember me but, that is part of my growing up in Lordship. Lordship school had four rooms with 2 grades in each. It was one of the first to build a Kindergarten room as an addition around 1942. Two of the teachers were Miss Kovacheck and Miss Adamcheck. Charles Lindstrom whose son is listed in the war section, was the owner of the paper routes. I delivered 150 papers for $1.75 per week. John Hughes had the other half of the route. At that time at low tide we could walk to Pleasure Beach. This was the Walt Disney World of that time. They had a roller coaster and bumper cars. I remember about Lordship is the fight over the "Bluffs". They eventually did tear them down. And then there is the Airport and the extension of the runway. We had F-4U corsairs thundering over our house all the time in the war. We lost Chance Vaught because of the runway was too short. I think Russian Beach was named because there were a lot of Russian men that came over with Igor Sikorsky who lived in that area.
 Wash Pkwy garden late 1940's |
 Helm home Wash Pkwy |
 Wash Pkwy foundation 1947 |
 Johnson Family |
 Johnson house |
 Crown Street |
 Crown Street |
 Lordship School 1948 |
 The Corner |
 1952 Hurricane |
 Clamming |
 Crabbing |
 Back Then |
 Lordship |
 Jack Palance |
 Skating Fire |
 Raymond Doyle |
 Good old Lordship |
 LFC Lordship |
August 8, 1963: LORDSHIP TROUBLE BY AVRIL WESTMORELAND: Dear Mrs. Westmoreland, in regards to your article in the August 1st edition of the Stratford News, the Lordship teenagers would like to express their views on the situation. Here are just a few of our complaints:
I would like to devote this weeks entire column to discussion and possible solution of the problems contained in the above letter which I received last week at my home. First of all, let me clear up a couple of things; 1) I myself did not make these complaints; various readers have called me to do so. Why I do not know, except that they feel that this is a good way to voice their feelings. 2) These complaints are not aimed exclusively at teenagers; one caller spoke of eight to ten year olds roaming the streets of her neighborhood at 10 and 11 pm. Now in answer to or as discussion of the above, let us look at the items listed in the letter. 1) Obviously the Police have reason to prohibit large numbers of fellow traveling around in groups at night. One is the fact that this is summer time and everyone has their windows open and the loud noises coming from groups traveling together is very disturbing, especially to people with youngsters who are sleeping. As for the rest of 1); have any inquiries been made requesting permission for the use of various meeting places in the area? More about this below. 2) Perhaps this problem could be cleared up with the help of our teenage residents if they themselves reported these noisy parties to the Police when they know of them. Helping the Police clear up this situation would surely help the local teenage cause. Perhaps a meeting with the Lordship Improvement Association to secure evening use of the beach would be in order. After obtaining this permission, the Police could be consulted and notified that teenagers will be using the beach, providing they assume the responsibility of keeping the noise down and the area cleaned up after use. This will let police know that teenagers can accept this and other responsibilities. 3) In regard to these record hops, could not some arrangements be made with the sponsors of these affairs, asking them to limit these record hops to Lordship teenagers if not at all times, at least on specific evenings. I would further suggest that the various meeting places in Lordship might be available without charge or at a nominal fee if the proper people are approached. For instance, the basement hall of the Community Church, whose minister is Reverend Alan Mather and whose chairman of the Board of Trustees is Henry Volgmuth, Washington Parkway. There is also the hall over the Lordship Market, which I believe may be obtained through the Lordship Fathers Club, Mr. Henry Halverson is president. Other meeting places in the area are Our Lady of Peace Church Hall, the number for which is listed in the local telephone directory or can be reached by calling the rectory on Maple Street; and the new Community Hall behind the fire house. The situation may be discussed with Fred Marino or Al Woolard. Also close by is the Red Mens Hall.