31 High

Born in 1926, in Westfield, Massachusetts, author Clifton J. (Jerry) Noble lived in the house at 31 High Street with his parents, Clifton and Minnie Noble. Jerry’s many adventures in this small New England town offer an appealing overview of the simplicity of life during the 1920s and 1930s. Trolley cars and trains, both steam and electric, roll eastward to Boston and to the Massachusetts coast at Marblehead, where Noble learns the hard way about seventh waves and small boats. Initially home schooled by a wise and loving mother, young Noble revels in puppets and the theater-despite his father’s objections-and later prevails over problems with public school and a junior high school principal. Jerry’s escapades range from the impromptu bath he receives when his next door neighbor, Eulalie, pushes him into a park pond, to an encounter with the widow of famous American composer Edward MacDowell in a New Bedford hotel and an experience with zero gravity involving his uncle Sam’s1930s Buick and a mound-covered culvert. Delve into the vivid memories of the first thirteen years of Noble’s life in his delightful memoir, 31 High.