Making the Dean’s List, a party to be remembered!

Some guys get born with a silver spoon in their mouth and never amount to much, others excel against all odds.

Just last year, on February 22, 2009, the Perry residence on 127 Monson Road in Wales was destroyed by fire. Herbert J. Perry Sr. was not the only one who ended up without shelter, his son Herbert J. Perry Jr. (Herb) and his daughter Briget were living with their father under the same roof.
At the time 23 year old Herb was asleep in his bedroom when the fire ignited the house. Trapped smoke inside an unoccupied upstairs bedroom failed to trigger smoke detectors in the hallway to alarm sleeping Herb and his 22 year old sister Briget.

His father, a mason employed by Joseph Gnazzo Company Inc., was away doing work at the Fort Jefferson National Park on the Dry Tortugas off the coast of Florida. Fortunately, Herb’s sister Briget arose at 5:00 am to go to work and was able to wake up Herb and save his live. Both made it out of the burning house just in time.

Even today, Herb has nightmares about the fire when he smells smoke..

Builder Bill Cantell from Brimfield was hired to build the new house while Herb, his sister Briget, and their father, lived in a temporary housing trailer placed on the property.

Herb, or Herbert James Perry Jr. is the forth generation of Herbert Perry’s from Wales; his father is Herbert J. Perry Sr., and his grand father Herbert S. Perry, known as “Stu.” Stu’s father also Herb’s great grandfather was Herbert D. Perry.

Pictured below:
Three generations of Perrys’ (Sorry Jim, I was too slow taking the picture!):

Herb and his sister Briget grew up for the most part without their mother.

Despite the turmoil and against the odds, Herb, now 24, made the Dean’s List for the spring 2010 semester at ITT Technical Institute in Norwood, south of Boston. Furthermore, Herb was also awarded a Certificate of Achievement for obtaining the highest honors in the computer drafting and designing program at ITT.

Pictured to the right:
Herb horseshoe pitching with his friends.

The Perrys’ also know how to throw a party; plenty of food, horseshoe pitching, country music, and lots of friends and relatives spending an afternoon to be remembered on the extensive lawn that borders scenic marshland behind the newly built residence on 127 Monson Road. The Herbert Perry property is surrounded by land belonging to the Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary.
Pictured below:
Six siblings representing the second generation of the Herbert Perrys’. The lady in the yellow shirt is not one of the siblings but the wife of one; note the scenic marshlands in the background:

Stu’s wife Patty informed everyone from the deck about the news coverage of Herb’s achievemnts published in several area newspapers on Friday.

Pictured to the left:
Patty Lawrence-Perry, wife of Stu and Worcester Telegram News Correspondent, holding various newspapers while on the deck behind the new house:
The Perrys’ have a big family and lots of friends; pictured below:
Everybody posed for a group picture at yesterday’s party:
Herb treated Douglas Farmer, reporter with Turley Publication, and myself, to a tour of the new house.
Father and son designed the new home and Herb (who else?) drew the plans for the new house putting his graphic computer design skills to work.
The created quarters could be best described as manly; you will not find the color pink anywhere (I have not seen Briget’s bedroom). Mounted dear heads in the living room reveal the significant hunting background of the Perry’s. The mounts survived the blaze and just needed a cleaning.
Old hand hewn beams from the burned dwelling were salvaged and used for downstairs doorways, the fireplace mantel, and more. A bar in the basement was created out of the main beam salvaged from the burned structure.

Pictured below:
Bar in finished basement, Herb talking to Douglas Farmer who takes notes:

The beautiful and substantial field stone chimney on the west side of the Perry residence is not quite finished yet. It took 20,000 men 20 years to build the Taj Mahal; just two Perry’s and Al Todd, a close friend and co worker of Herbert J. Perry Sr., worked every weekend on this job!

Pictured on the left:
Herb showing Douglas Farmer and myself the impressive chimney that is a testimony of the skilled hands of his father, Herbert J. Perry Sr. and his friend Al Todd:

The field stone chimney will be finished just in time to be adorned during the fall foliage by the huge maple tree right next to it.

Herbert J. Perry Sr. confided in me that he wouldn’t mind meeting the right woman to spend time with; I know it would be for the right reasons. I have never seen such a clean bachelor’s pad. These two guys don’t need a woman to clean-up after them, they seem to be doing just fine on their own!

Click on any picture to download larger image!

August 22, 2010, Peter Frei