Loretta McCarthy Bolin
The Bolins and Joe McCarthy (Thanksgiving 2007)
Loretta Jane, 1922 –
Loretta married Jack Bolin in 1948 and started to raise a family on the Bolin homestead near Serpent Mounds south of Keene. After quitting St. Peters High School because of illness, she worked in Taylor’s General store in Keene as a bookkeeper and buyer of clothing and dry goods.
Jack Bolin was an outstanding singer, the mainstay of the choir at St. John’s in Keene in the 1960s and 70s. He was very active in the Lion’s Club of Keene and was the Master of Ceremonies for the first ten years of the club. Jack loved reading. He often came home from contents sales with boxes of books. He worked at Serpent Mounds until his father, Gus, died in 1961. Jack died in 1975 of colon cancer after a five-year fight.
Jack Bolin and Loretta McCarthy (wedding portrait)
Loretta was very active in the Keene Lion’s Club as well as the Lioness Club of Keene. She became an expert bridge player and still plays two or three times a week in Keene or Peterborough. After the death of Jack she took over the running of the farm, and is still actively involved. She is recognized as a fabulous cook and baker; when she sends a pie or tarts to a bake sale they rarely make it to the table because one of the people setting up the table buys it when she notices who brought it. She continues to be a wonderful role model of a loving mother and grandmother.
The Bolin family (1970)
She and Jack raised seven children:
- Anna Marie, 1948
- Patricia, 1950
- Barbara, 1951
- Colleen, 1957
- Jacqueline, 1959
- Gus, 1962
- Sue, 1966
