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Nicholas Gama, a member of the after-school Discovery Club at Golden Hill School, had a burning question for Dianne Moonoogian, a resident of Bethany Communities’ Phoenix Row in downtown Haverhill.
“Why,” the third grader politely inquired, “did you move here?” Moonoogian wasn’t annoyed by the inquiry and, in fact, relished giving her answer.
“I knew that as I got older, I needed a smaller place, an apartment by myself, and that I needed neighbors,” Moonoogian explained. “And I just love living here. Everyone is so friendly.”
Gama and 19 classmates were on a field trip last Thursday to hear about the seniors’ lifestyles and their former careers as part of a unit on Haverhill history called “The Heart and Sole of Haverhill.” They came with prepared questions and spent an hour interviewing eight residents at Phoenix Row. To get ready for their visit, the students explored Haverhill’s industrial history as a shoemaking capital and learned when the shoe industry declined, many of Haverhill’s old mills, like Phoenix Row, were converted to residences.
Classmate Kyle Pichardo-Suero thought about Moonoogian’s answer for a minute and countered, “Is it lonely living by yourself?”
“No,” Moonoogian, answered without pause. “There is so much to do here. There isn’t time to be lonely.”
Resident Roger Lemire seconded that sentiment. “I was the very first maintenance man when Phoenix Row opened as apartments in 1978. I liked it so much, I moved in here.”
The students learned the building, which now houses 96 elder apartments, was once home to Kimball Bros, a manufacturer of fine women’s kid dress shoes and slippers in the late 19th and 20th centuries.
They also discovered a remnant of that shoe history, the wooden shoe lasts or forms used in the manufacturing process, work pretty well as a canvas for artistic creations. Several dozen lasts were abandoned in the Phoenix Row basement. The club took another field trip to look at several of Team Haverhill’s Sole of Haverhill statutes and benches installed in parks around the city for inspiration. Next week, an exhibit of the shoe lasts the students have painted will be on display in the storefront at 90 Washington St.
“A key focus of their work is how diverse cultures have shaped and continue to define our city,” said Krista Lamontagne, director of out of school time programming for Haverhill Public Schools. “It’s particularly relevant because so many of the students in Discovery Club are first-and second-generation immigrants.”
Before they asked their questions, each student introduced themselves by saving hello in another language they spoke. Portuguese, Spanish and Haitian Creole were well represented. The residents shared a bit about their own heritages as well responding with hello in their native tongues.
As the hour wound down Moonoogian had a question for the students. “Do any of you still play jump rope or hopscotch like we did when we were your age?” she asked.
“Yes!” was the resounding answer from several students, who added they like soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, gymnastics and hockey too.