It must happen to others: Old recollections pop into my mind from time to time, usually when something happens.
I was reading Philomena A. (Hoenig) Morse's obituary Jan. 31 when I thought of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. While flashbacks bring images and facts, there's seldom a timeline.
The Morse-Kennedy connection welled from my psyche because Mrs. Kennedy was the guest of honor Sept. 30, 1958, at a Democratic Women on Wheels gathering in the Colonial Club restaurant. Mrs. Morse and her husband, Eudore "Ted" Morse, ran the business.
Sen. John F. Kennedy was in town to open Webster Democratic Town Committee headquarters. Sen. Kennedy's likely 1960 presidential bid was gaining momentum, and he came to Webster at the behest of town resident John J. McNally Jr., one of his first presidential campaign aides.
Mr. McNally and others held a lunch in an anteroom to the Colonial for Sen. and Mrs. Kennedy and a number of Worcester County politicians. The future first lady felt faint after arriving at the restaurant, and Mrs. Morse provided a private setting for her comfort. It was a symptom of flu or something of the kind.
Mrs. Kennedy's distress was relatively short-lived. She was at her husband's side 30 or so minutes later, when about 200 members and guests of Democratic Women on Wheels greeted them in the restaurant's main dining room.
The gathering was a Jacqueline thing, a coffee hour with the group tied to then-state Sen. Joseph F. Gibney's district. The future president escorted the guest of honor, spoke briefly, and went on to the Democrat campaign office in the Maanexit Hotel, a big, long-gone building on Main Street, at what is now a Dunkin' Donuts. Mrs. Kennedy arrived in time for the ribbon cutting.
There's an aside to this part of the story. Democratic offices were in a vacant storefront, a stairwell away from the hotel lobby, bar and barbershop. A young Julian P. Kaczynski, now barbering from a shop behind Sandi's Restaurant on Main Street, was on duty. Sen. Kennedy found his way to the tonsorial parlor, and Mr. Kaczynski gave the future president of the United States a haircut.
While the memory probably came to me because the personalities were famous, the role of the Colonial and its owners were typical. It's a quality that continues through the Morse generations now managing the business. The restaurant became successful because Ted and his beloved Philomena were never too busy to help patrons, regardless of status.
CATEGORY: Event TYPE: Obituary DESCRIPTION: Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, Mass.: Jan 31, 2002. pg. B.7 DATE: 31 Jan 2002 NOTE: Copyright Telegram & Gazette Corporation Jan 31, 2002
WEBSTER -- Philomena A. (Hoenig) Morse, 89, of Webster, a longtime restaurant owner, died Monday, Jan. 28, in Hubbard Regional Hospital.
She leaves her husband of 64 years, Eudore J. "Ted" Morse; a son, Richard E. Morse of Thompson; two daughters, Norma P. Wadewitz of Holliston and Sandra E. Carmell of Palm City, Fla.; a brother, Andrew F. Hoenig of Thompson; two sisters, Anna M. Steele and Elaine R. Krommer, both of Webster; seven grandchildren; three great- grandchildren; nephews and nieces. A brother, William Hoenig, and a sister, Margaret E. Ziarko, predeceased her. She was born in Webster, daughter of Christian and Anna (Zimmerer) Hoenig, and graduated from St. Louis High School in 1929.
Mrs. Morse was a hostess and co-owner of the Colonial Club Restaurant. With her husband, she opened the Thompson Road location in 1945. She retired in 1982 but continued to collaborate in daily functions of the restaurant, now operated by her son and grandson.
She was a member of St. Louis Parish and formerly sang in its choir. Mrs. Morse was a member of the Webster-Dudley-Oxford Chamber of Commerce, Hubbard Regional Hospital Guild, the Hummell Society, the Audubon Society and the Arbor Society.
The funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 4, in St. Louis Church, 14 Lake St. After cremation, burial will be at the family's convenience in Calvary Cemetery, Dudley. Calling hours are 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, in Sitkowski & Malboeuf Funeral Home, 340 School St. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Louis Church, 15 Lake St., Webster, MA 01570; or to St. Louis School Endowment Fund, 15 Lake St., Webster, MA 01570.