Looking back ...
ANITA ( BINETTE ) COLPITTS ' 53
What is your fondest memory of your time at Thornton Academy ?
I liked everything about Thornton . I enjoyed my friends , teachers , classes , and the activities I was in . Classes were smaller ( 104 graduates in 1953 ) and you knew everyone . We used to walk to the skating rink in Biddeford on Pool Street on Sundays – there would be 20 of us . I just had a great time at Thornton and the friends and classmates I see say the same thing . I was sorry to see it end .
Is there a memory that stands out ?
There were so many . Our Washington trip . We went to New York and then to Washington by train and saw all kinds of places . Lots of sightseeing , but I got sick with strep throat which put a damper on the second half of the trip . There was also a big snowball fight on the front lawn my junior year . I also remember playing hockey in October in the snow . We were wearing skirts .
The 1953 yearbook lists your interests as “ Sports , driving , Jackie .” Who is Jackie ?
My husband , John . Everyone in school called him Jackie . Teachers called him John . We were in the same group – we did a lot of things as a group – and somewhere in there started going out our Junior year . I got my license at 16 and my father let me use his car once in a while . Jack didn ’ t have a license , so I would pick him up and bring him home . We went to the movies a lot , we hit every dance and every football game . We ’ ve been married 63 years .
And your children are TA grads ?
Yes . Lynn ’ 78 , Julie ’ 80 , John ’ 81 , and Carol ’ 86 . We have eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren .
You were , and still are , a big football fan ?
I love football . Every football game , my father let me load the car with as many girls as I could fit . We never missed a game . Jack played . He was number 15 and scored a few touchdowns .
What was your favorite class and why ?
Accounting . I still keep a ledger on my own accounting . When I came home from college , Saco and Biddeford Savings offered me a job . I stayed 6 years then left to raise my kids . I came back and stayed another 30 years .
Anita ( Binette ) Colpitts
Jack Colpitts
" We hit every dance and every football game . We ' ve been married 63 years ."
ANITA COLPITTS
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