Roy Messer Pearson Sr.

The picture of "Kirby" and the label on the back of it makes me wonder if this is the motorcycle mentioned by Roy Pearson Jr. on the back of that photo is the one under his father in this one. It seems a given that Roy Pearson Sr. was not the rider of this bike on the day this shot was taken as his shoes would be rather innapropriate. My Father (Bradford Pearson) spoke very fondly of his Grandfather and the time he spent at his garndparents house in Ballardvale (Andover) and though my Grandfather (Roy Jr) I remember as rather proper and stoic, I think of my Great Gradfather as more salt of the earth by the way my Father described him. But then, it really is rather hard for children to judge their parents isn't it? Parents tend to be on thier best behavior around the children and so the children really tend not to have a clear idea of who thier parents really were as viewed by thier contemporaries. I think about this a lot as I watch my Mother age and the children of my friends grow up around me. Was Roy Messer Pearson Sr as an adult person independent of his decendants, a live off the land farmer/biker dude or was he a dapper dan at heart? I like to think, much like the rest of us when we really dig deep, he was probably at heart a little bit of both.

Kirby was here...

On the back of this photo my Father (Bradford A. Pearson) typed: "Identification by Roy Pearson Jr. (Brad's Father) in a letter to his son on 12/6/90. "The young man with a cigarette is a shadowy figure from my childhood. The only name by which I knew him was 'Kirby'. I think he was a friend of my Father (Roy Pearson Sr.-LV) He always appeared on a motorcycle, and when we went out for a Sunday drive in our Model T or A Ford, he would often come along with us on his cycle. I remember especially one rainy, windy day when he was sliding from side to side of a very muddy road on his bike." Speculation (by Brad pearson-LV): Kirby might have been a boyhood friend of Roy Pearson Sr. and may have lived in Ballardvale (Andover). Kirby may have been a co-worker of Roy Pearson Sr. at Fellows & Company and may have lived in the Somerville area." I like this guy, I'm not sure why. I think it might be his clean shirt and hands coupled with his filty pants. He strikes me as a hard working no-nonsense guy but social enough to stop for a moment and allow his picture to be taken even though his expression clearly states, "I've got way better stuff to do than stand around and look pretty." I wish we knew more about him but I am so glad that my Father took the time to label this picture because otherwise I would have no clue who this guy was and would probably have travelled down a few erroneous genological paths by assuming him a relative.