Page 15 - Fall 2024 Newsletter

Memories of Gladys
GLADYS: Photo from staff photos in North Star Yearbook
The year was 1946, the war was over, the job was done.
The soldiers came marching home. Many of them with
souvenirs, the spoils of war. Some treasured a German
helmet, a Japanese sword, an Italian cap. Doctor Ira
Tarbell brought home something special to help him
get back to normal. A tall, beautiful movie star looking
girl from California to become his wife. She was from
Idaho; I thought California because her smile radiated
sunshine.
I first saw her at the recreation center in my hometown
of Houlton. Weekly programs sponsored by the center
highlighted local talent such as magicians, quartets, or
a speaker discussing the history of the town or world
events. On a day I will never forget it was a musician, a
tall strikingly gorgeous blonde singer with a voice and
a presence that could hold fast the heart of any man,
young or old.
She stood against a wall framed by a large window;
the golden sunlight enveloping her as she sang. The
song was Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. As she caressed each
note, I stood transfixed by the words, the melody, her
www.houltonalumni.com
By Bob Fields ‘51
sensuous movement engraved on my heart forever.
Years later each time I heard that song on the radio
my thoughts returned to that gorgeous vision that
captured my fourteen-year-old heart back in 1946.
Many times, when I heard it on the car radio, I pulled
the car over to the curb and listened to the song that
carried me back to that room, that song, that vision.
In 2010, a week before Christmas, I heard Zip-a-dee-
doo-dah on my car radio while driving to work. I pulled
the car over, dialed information in Houlton Maine and
asked for the telephone number of Doctor Ira Tarbell.
I called the number. She answered the call as Gladys
Tarbell and it occurred to me for the first time that I
never knew her name. I told her who I was, and she
recognized my name from my basketball days in high
school. I reminded her of the day I heard her sing Zip-
a-dee-doo-dah at the rec center many years ago. I had
carried the vision of her in front of the window since
that day and was reminded of it each time I heard the
song on the radio. I may have murmured I loved her, a
love that had endured through the years.
Her response was a ray of sunshine in my life. She said I
made her Christmas, a simple yet profound statement
that filled me with joy.
A few years ago, I visited my folks in Houlton and on
my to do list was a promise to find and speak with
Gladys. I learned from my sister that Gladys had been
in the Madigan Home (a nursing home), for the past
year. I decided to go and visit her. As I walked the
circular drive leading to the Madigan House, I recalled
it was the Madigan hospital before a conversion. The
building is one of the most striking and beautiful
homes in Houlton. An America Fore square, white
with black trim, as was the custom of the times. It
was originally a private home. The nursing home
was the building’s second conversion. The grounds
were immaculately groomed. The circular drive had
a rock garden accented with a mix of perennials and
annuals, and, as the style in New England, the steps
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