It all started in 1954 when I turned 12. Hurricane Carol hit us in Massachusetts and Boston weatherman Don Kent made is debut. The intrigue of high winds and pelting rains introduced me to meteorology.
In 1955 flood waters gouged Bates Street. I walked down with my dad to see the damage. In 1956 we had a three-pronged blizzard on St. Patrick's Day. It was awesome. Fullam Hill Road, NB, had drifts so high I could reach up and touch the telephones line. The town need a bulldozer to make a path!
That year Mr. Anne Murphy and I first met. Dad had been doing some renovation at her home on Summer St. "And what do you want to be when you grow up, Bobby?" "A METEOROLOGIST! My statement blew her away!!
From season to season my family delighted in foul weather. The Hurricane of 1938 left its mark in The Brookfields.
As I grew up the study of weather revealed it was a discipline of mathematics. NOT FOR ME!I began keeping records of major winter storms back then. Today I share some of my handwritten notes:
- In 1958 I recorded observations from Oct 27, 1957.Snow flurries then 4" of snow. then a 15 inch Nor'easter on January 7th. At that time my family was enjoying watching the needle bounce as the winds gusted. My $50 investment in a Cape Cod wind indicator rang my chimes!
Dick Johnson and I began a friendship in chatting about meteorology. Today we still do. How nice.
My narratives over the nest 10 years recount below-zero readings and wind gusts. Meteorology became more fun. I even dubbed my reposts as NB. BROOKFIELD WEATHER BUREAU.I even have a handwritten observation made in dad's handwriting!
It is quite obvious meteorology and Don Kent went hand in hand with this fledging "weather boy." In 1959 with Paul Kizzle and Paul LeDoux and I actually met Don Kent at the 'BZ studio. My hero!
As a weather buff it is all about OBSERVATION. My notes are truly weather history at its best. As I matured and grew up in adulthood My passions grew. The "peak gust" occurred in the 1990s when I lived in my Dream home atop Birch Hill, WB. It was a fantastic location for observations. Now I was in the big leagues. Winds gusted above 70 mph. I was in my glory (Glory!)
For a while I was a weather-watcher for Evan Rubin at WWLP Springfield. Sons Ben and Josh delighted in seeing dad "self-actualizing!"
All of my notes are for posterity. Hopefully my grandkids, too, will be weather enthusiasts. They have a new weather station which should inculcate their meteorological interests. As in all hobbies, weather watching, to me, couldn't be better. It keeps me young!
ROBERT LOUIS POTVIN
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