Life in Mansfield
In 1985 our family moved to Norfolk, MA from Teaneck, NJ as I took on a new position at Boston University. The job was quite intense the first year and, really never let up for the next 20 years. The pressure and commitment to Boston University didn't help my marriage and I found myself on the short end of the string in 1992, divorced and on my own, with visitation rights.
The next ten years proved to be even more difficult, as being a single parent (so to speak), created lots of tension, pressure, but also some enjoyable moments. Trips to California with my daughter where she and I went from the heat of Sacramento to the snowy scene of Lake Tahoe, traveling to Arizona and Southern California, visiting Marineland and getting a private back stage tour were some of the highlights of those years.
In 1998, my father and his companion, Edith came to visit me while I was living in Foxboro. The apartment was in an old house with the ceilings so low, I could bump my head going up the stairs to the bedrooms. If you wanted to look out of the bedroom windows, you had to lie on the floor, as the windows were very small and narrow, lengthwise.
My father decided to do some research on houses and with a realtor being right across the street, he took it upon himself to go visit and do some "home hunting."
When I came home, he was pretty excited, as he found a home in Mansfield that had an in-law set up. Prior to this, I had been looking at homes with extra bedrooms or the basement built out, with the idea being that my dad would live with me during the summers, with Edith coming over for a few months as well.
The Mansfield house was huge. It had four bedrooms on one side and 2 bedrooms on the inlaw side, with two baths for each unit. The owners were quite weird, as the mother lived in the inlaw side and her son (the owner), and his wife and son, lived in the main home. The son was quite strange, following us around as we looked at the home, carrying a baseball bat in his hand. He had a huge German shepherd dog that was nasty, to say the least. The mother on the other side had a small mixed breed that just barked and barked all the time we were there.
Despite feeling uncomfortable and frustrated by this family, I went about putting down an offer in anticipation of buying the home. My dad was going to provide $100,000 for his side of the house and I was putting to pay the rest ($150,000).
Trouble continued as we came closer and closer to the deadline of the sale. It seemed the two families did not get along very well and finding a new home was more difficult than they anticipated. From what I gathered they didn't start looking until accepting my offer.
My dad and Edith went back to Leipzig, convinced the sale would not go through, but I stuck with it, as I discovered both realators were pulling for me, as neither cared for the owners and their attitude.
The home served its purpose, providing us a safe and secure 20 years with little issues other than water in the basement and the usual repairs along the way. Nancy came into my life in 2000 and after a whirlwind romance, we got married on the property in 2002. My dad and Edith lived next door for 7 more years until traveling from Germany to Mansfield became too difficult for my dad. He and Edith enjoyed the summers with us, spending many hours and days gardening and relaxing by the pool.
After my dad left, Nancy bought his part out and we became 50-50 partners in the house. As Nancy was having medical issues we used the in-law living room as our first floor bedroom so Nancy didn't have to walk up and down the stairs.
My mother came to live with us in 2007 and spent the last 5 years of her life with us, having the master bedroom as her private room. Se installed a lift for her so she could get up and down the stairs. We all got along well and my mom loved to walk around the neighborhood and do what she could to help out around the house.
After the passing of my dad in 2009 and my mom in 2012, Tabitha moved next door with her new husband, Derek, and then our grandson Jack was born. The next five or so years were lots of fun as Jack would come over often (we had a door that was always open between the two units). By that time I had stopped working at Boston University and helped coach the track team at Mansfield High School.
Those were good years, rewarding and happy. As usual life throws some hurdles in along the way, as Tabitha ended up getting divorced and Nancy ran into more and more medical issues. For the most part, Mansfield was a good run for us. I lived there for 20 years, longer than anywhere else in my life.
In 1985 our family moved to Norfolk, MA from Teaneck, NJ as I took on a new position at Boston University. The job was quite intense the first year and, really never let up for the next 20 years. The pressure and commitment to Boston University didn't help my marriage and I found myself on the short end of the string in 1992, divorced and on my own, with visitation rights.
The next ten years proved to be even more difficult, as being a single parent (so to speak), created lots of tension, pressure, but also some enjoyable moments. Trips to California with my daughter where she and I went from the heat of Sacramento to the snowy scene of Lake Tahoe, traveling to Arizona and Southern California, visiting Marineland and getting a private back stage tour were some of the highlights of those years.
In 1998, my father and his companion, Edith came to visit me while I was living in Foxboro. The apartment was in an old house with the ceilings so low, I could bump my head going up the stairs to the bedrooms. If you wanted to look out of the bedroom windows, you had to lie on the floor, as the windows were very small and narrow, lengthwise.
My father decided to do some research on houses and with a realtor being right across the street, he took it upon himself to go visit and do some "home hunting."
When I came home, he was pretty excited, as he found a home in Mansfield that had an in-law set up. Prior to this, I had been looking at homes with extra bedrooms or the basement built out, with the idea being that my dad would live with me during the summers, with Edith coming over for a few months as well.
The Mansfield house was huge. It had four bedrooms on one side and 2 bedrooms on the inlaw side, with two baths for each unit. The owners were quite weird, as the mother lived in the inlaw side and her son (the owner), and his wife and son, lived in the main home. The son was quite strange, following us around as we looked at the home, carrying a baseball bat in his hand. He had a huge German shepherd dog that was nasty, to say the least. The mother on the other side had a small mixed breed that just barked and barked all the time we were there.
Despite feeling uncomfortable and frustrated by this family, I went about putting down an offer in anticipation of buying the home. My dad was going to provide $100,000 for his side of the house and I was putting to pay the rest ($150,000).
Trouble continued as we came closer and closer to the deadline of the sale. It seemed the two families did not get along very well and finding a new home was more difficult than they anticipated. From what I gathered they didn't start looking until accepting my offer.
My dad and Edith went back to Leipzig, convinced the sale would not go through, but I stuck with it, as I discovered both realators were pulling for me, as neither cared for the owners and their attitude.
The home served its purpose, providing us a safe and secure 20 years with little issues other than water in the basement and the usual repairs along the way. Nancy came into my life in 2000 and after a whirlwind romance, we got married on the property in 2002. My dad and Edith lived next door for 7 more years until traveling from Germany to Mansfield became too difficult for my dad. He and Edith enjoyed the summers with us, spending many hours and days gardening and relaxing by the pool.
After my dad left, Nancy bought his part out and we became 50-50 partners in the house. As Nancy was having medical issues we used the in-law living room as our first floor bedroom so Nancy didn't have to walk up and down the stairs.
My mother came to live with us in 2007 and spent the last 5 years of her life with us, having the master bedroom as her private room. Se installed a lift for her so she could get up and down the stairs. We all got along well and my mom loved to walk around the neighborhood and do what she could to help out around the house.
After the passing of my dad in 2009 and my mom in 2012, Tabitha moved next door with her new husband, Derek, and then our grandson Jack was born. The next five or so years were lots of fun as Jack would come over often (we had a door that was always open between the two units). By that time I had stopped working at Boston University and helped coach the track team at Mansfield High School.
Those were good years, rewarding and happy. As usual life throws some hurdles in along the way, as Tabitha ended up getting divorced and Nancy ran into more and more medical issues. For the most part, Mansfield was a good run for us. I lived there for 20 years, longer than anywhere else in my life.
The 4x400 has always been a fun event for me, both as a runner and as a coach. Having the experience of winning or running a very fast time and then sharing it with your three other teammates, beats most other racing accomplishments.
Mansfield girls have a strong history of performing well in the 4x400 relay event. The team of Katie Jenkins, Emily Broyles, Erika Unger and Michelle Jenssen had set the Mansfield record winning the 2009 New England Championship in 3:50.04. That records stood until a young group of determined athletes took it on themselves to set new goals.
The team of Maddie (Bball) Oldow, Rachel (Hammer) Stier, Lindsay (Goulet) Goulet, and Mikaela (Auntie Mae) Amerantes built a team that had chemistry, work ethic, enthusiasm, and focus. It was a two year project that culminated in a school record, state record, 2nd best time ever in New England and a 7th place finish at the High School National Championships in Charlotte, NC. The splits were: Oldow (58.6), Stier (57.4), Goulet (57.2) and Amerantes (54.5).
This was an exceptional performance by an exceptional group of young ladies…..and was it fun going along for the ride…
The 2009 Mansfield 4x400 team hit new highs never seen before in the Mansfield girl's track community. The team of Katie Jenkins, Emily Broyles, Erika Unger and Michelle Jenssen outdoors and Meaghen Ferrera in place of Unger indoors set new school records throughout the season and then went on and won both the State Meet and the New England meet. Jenssen was also honored with Athlete of the Year by the Boston Globe, as she won the 400 Intermediate hurdles at the State Meet.
Julie Collins - Super Coach
Nominated by fellow Hall of Fame member and Hockomock League coaching rival, Dwight Estey, Julie Collins has an unparalleled record at Mansfield
Her career actually started at Seekonk High School in 1986 as a colleague to MSTCA Executive Director, Frank Mooney. She then moved on to Wheaton College and, finally, to Mansfield High School in 2002.
Coach Collins has an amazing 200-9 record as head coach and has never lost a Cross Country Meet at Mansfield! Her "big meet" resume is equally impressive with 27 Hockomock League crowns in three sports, along with 5 Eastern Mass Divisional titles. Most improve, however, is the 2 all-State crown in Cross Country, 3 championships in Winter Track and 2 All-State Titles in Spring Track. Julie's success is not confined just to her elite athletes. She spends the same amount of time with the JV's as the stars and her compassion and dedication has become legendary.
Pete Schuder, the former Columbia University and Boston University head coach, who joined the Mansfield staff as girls head indoor coach in 2006, states, "Working for and with Julie has been the most enjoyable coaching experience of my entire career."
Julie is totally dedicated to her team, school and the town of Mansfield and wishes to thank all the other coaches she has been "blessed" to have worked with, as well as all the athletes she has trained. Lastly she is greatly appreciative of her husband Wally, the former Foxboro great distance runner, for his unending support and "always listening".
Mansfield girls have a strong history of performing well in the 4x400 relay event. The team of Katie Jenkins, Emily Broyles, Erika Unger and Michelle Jenssen had set the Mansfield record winning the 2009 New England Championship in 3:50.04. That records stood until a young group of determined athletes took it on themselves to set new goals.
The team of Maddie (Bball) Oldow, Rachel (Hammer) Stier, Lindsay (Goulet) Goulet, and Mikaela (Auntie Mae) Amerantes built a team that had chemistry, work ethic, enthusiasm, and focus. It was a two year project that culminated in a school record, state record, 2nd best time ever in New England and a 7th place finish at the High School National Championships in Charlotte, NC. The splits were: Oldow (58.6), Stier (57.4), Goulet (57.2) and Amerantes (54.5).
This was an exceptional performance by an exceptional group of young ladies…..and was it fun going along for the ride…
The 2009 Mansfield 4x400 team hit new highs never seen before in the Mansfield girl's track community. The team of Katie Jenkins, Emily Broyles, Erika Unger and Michelle Jenssen outdoors and Meaghen Ferrera in place of Unger indoors set new school records throughout the season and then went on and won both the State Meet and the New England meet. Jenssen was also honored with Athlete of the Year by the Boston Globe, as she won the 400 Intermediate hurdles at the State Meet.
Julie Collins - Super Coach
Nominated by fellow Hall of Fame member and Hockomock League coaching rival, Dwight Estey, Julie Collins has an unparalleled record at Mansfield
Her career actually started at Seekonk High School in 1986 as a colleague to MSTCA Executive Director, Frank Mooney. She then moved on to Wheaton College and, finally, to Mansfield High School in 2002.
Coach Collins has an amazing 200-9 record as head coach and has never lost a Cross Country Meet at Mansfield! Her "big meet" resume is equally impressive with 27 Hockomock League crowns in three sports, along with 5 Eastern Mass Divisional titles. Most improve, however, is the 2 all-State crown in Cross Country, 3 championships in Winter Track and 2 All-State Titles in Spring Track. Julie's success is not confined just to her elite athletes. She spends the same amount of time with the JV's as the stars and her compassion and dedication has become legendary.
Pete Schuder, the former Columbia University and Boston University head coach, who joined the Mansfield staff as girls head indoor coach in 2006, states, "Working for and with Julie has been the most enjoyable coaching experience of my entire career."
Julie is totally dedicated to her team, school and the town of Mansfield and wishes to thank all the other coaches she has been "blessed" to have worked with, as well as all the athletes she has trained. Lastly she is greatly appreciative of her husband Wally, the former Foxboro great distance runner, for his unending support and "always listening".
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