WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE PECORDS?
This book is a TRUE mystery of a missing family, the Pecords, who vanished from their home on a Friday evening in early fall of 1959. It is not a CRIME STORY; it may turn out to be one, but not at this time. They were the last remote stop on the author's paper route, located 50ft from the Connecticut River. Parts of the theme and the era have similarities that were evident in the movie STAND BY ME which was set a year later in 1960 based on the fiction novella, "The Body" by Stephen King.
Instead of calling the police, he called two buddies to conduct their own investigation and nearly got killed. The book is also a memoir in a sense that the author allows the reader to peer into the 50's era in his hometown, by utilizing the nervous flashbacks he experienced and recorded afterward, during a run for his life. Because of a sworn oath between the author and his teenage friends, he was unable to tell his story till now.
As a coincidence, a relatively new college, Goodwin College, purchased the missing family's home and invited the author to do a tour of it, one last time. They acknowledged that they had planned to tear it down in order to build a "cottage" for hosting off-campus meetings on the site. They shared with him how the street he grew up on got its name, Colt Street. (The missing family's home was also the last house on the street.) The fact that the house was part of a ferry landing set up by Samuel Colt (Colt 45) was incredible. Mr. Colt also lived at the landing while a mansion was being built for him across the street also overlooking the Connecticut River. If you log into Goodwin.com, you can maneuver a telescope on the peak of the building to view the surrounding area...webcam.goowin.edu/view/index.shtm/
Some readers have criticized due that "The book was not a true crime story" and it is not, although it might be at some time in the future. Others said that, "We didn't do enough investigation in regards to where the missing family might have gone." Please keep in mind that we were all age 15 at the time, roughly the same age as the kids in the movie "Stand By Me," which was set one year later in 1960. The town's police department records were destroyed 10 years later, apparently standard procedure. Later on, when we requested help from the FBI, I doubt they took us seriously. It was obviously a different era.
In discussing the story with the editor of the town newspaper, The Gazette, Bill Doakes. He informed the author, that there were a number of unsolved missing persons in town since the mid-1900's. I know it sounds implausible that these situations exist, but they do. Initially, and for a long time after the "incident," the boys kept a low profile. They were young and just plain scared that they might be implicated in a crime, especially having found a hidden wall safe's door swinging open and "empty" in the house. In fact, we agreed to never discuss it with anyone, unless all three were to agree.
Please note: The search for the Pecord's is still going on primarily by the readers and classmates from East Hartford, Conn. Bits and pieces continue to flow in and will be published on the website of KeypublishingCompany.com near future. If you have something to add or questions to ask, please feel free to go to this website and press the "Contact Tab" and forward them.
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