Keith Langevin:  

I had an electrifying start in life when I was a baby being bathed in the kitchen sink, and I stuck a wet washcloth into the toaster. I remember screaming at the top of my lungs because it felt like my hand, wrapped in the wet washcloth, was being suctioned down into the 2-slice toaster. My mother, who probably had stepped away for a moment to answer the telephone, instantly came running and unplugged the toaster. I've been sparking right along in life ever since. In June 1966, when I was 11 years old, our family moved from 11 Ruth Street, Danielson, Connecticut to a newly constructed 10-room house that my parents had custom-built at the address now called 27 Ferland Drive, Dayville, Connecticut. During the years we lived there, the houses on Ferland Drive didn't have numbers yet. Our address at that time was called Box 755 Ferland Drive, which referred to our roadside mailbox. As the local folks know, both Danielson and Dayville are sections of the town of Killingly, Connecticut. Therefore, I was enrolled at Killingly Memorial School in Danielson from Kindergarten through 5th grade, and then transferred to Killingly Central School in Dayville for 6th grade only. The kids in our grade from both these schools came together in September 1967 when we all entered Killingly Junior High School on Broad Street in Danielson. Two years later, of course, we all went on to Killingly High School at 79 Westfield Ave., Danielson, Connecticut from September 3, 1969 through graduation on Thursday, June 14, 1973. While growing up on Ferland Drive in Dayville the entire family enjoyed going to Alexander's Lake to swim at the public beach and at the cottage of Gloria and Willy Gingras who were good friends of our parents. Ferland Drive connects with the east side of Maple Street only a little over a mile south of Alexander's Lake. When my brother, sister, and I were children, the whole family would go to the lake by car, but in our teenaged years, we kids oftentimes pedaled up there on our bicycles with various friends. I recall all the good times and great friendships of those years. As teenagers, my friends and I used to enjoy riding our bicycles all over the entire town of Killingly, Connecticut. One of the favorite bicycling destinations of my friends and I was downtown Danielson where we would often go to buy donuts at Koski's Bakery which was located at 21 Academy Street close to the intersection with Main Street near the southeast corner. Koski's Bakery was a small establishment that did not have any seats, counters, or tables. Customers would walk in to buy all kinds of fresh baked goods to go. The ladies who worked there stood behind a large glass display case of donuts. Behind them, on the back wall, were more displays of baked goods such as breads and cakes. The donuts were yummy and they sold for only 7 cents each. As kids, each one of us would usually buy 3 or 4 donuts at a time. I don't remember there being any discount on a dozen. An entire dozen would have still cost the full 84 cents. I still remember one funny incident at Koski's Bakery when I was very young and walked in with a few of my friends. After looking over the display of donuts, I told the ladies behind the display case that I'd like to buy one Glazed, one Bavarian Cream, and one Assistant Donut. The ladies were confused and asked, "What's an Assistant Donut?" I pointed to it through the glass display case in front of me and said, "That one!" "Oh, you must mean the Chocolate Covered!" exclaimed one of the ladies. "I know it's Chocolate Covered", I agreed, "But I was just reading what the sign in front of it says". The lady then came around to the front of the case to look at the sign. The sign in front of that particular tray of donuts actually read, "Asst. Donuts". She laughed and explained, "Oh! That just means Assorted Donuts. We'll have to fix that sign!" On our way out the door she joked, "I hope those donuts "ASSIST" you with your appetite today!" During our later teenaged years, my friends and I went on numerous bicycle-camping trips. We packed food, sleeping bags, plastic lean-to shelters, and other equipment onto our bicycles. We then pedaled off for several days at a time, on trips to places including Misquamicut Beach, Rhode Island; New Haven, Connecticut; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Warwick, Rhode Island. I've been out of touch with most of my school friends for many years but I would cordially welcome any of them to reconnect. At Killingly High School, I was involved in lots of activities including the Art Club, the Photography Club, and the Bicycle Club. As a sophomore, I was a contributor to our school newspaper, "The Megaphone". I played a role in our Junior Class Play, "The Man Who Came to Dinner". In our senior year, I worked backstage in our school musical, "The Sound of Music". I was also one of a large number of students who helped construct the Thanksgiving Day Class Float. We built the float at the home of our class president, Barbara Dziki. At the end of senior year, I was among the party of classmates who enjoyed a fun day of activities at our senior class outing which took place at the Frank Davis Resort on Monday, June 11, 1973. Throughout most of my school years, the highlight of my life every summer was Windham-Tolland County 4-H Camp in Pomfret Center, Connecticut. I never missed a summer at 4-H Camp for 10 years in a row when I was ages 9-18. I absolutely loved summer camp. For the first 6 years of camp, I was an ordinary camper. Then, from ages 15-17, I was a Junior Counselor, and finally at age 18 I was hired as a paid employee on the Senior Staff. I never did date anybody from Killingly High School but, at different times, I dated a couple girls that I had met at 4-H Camp. One of these relationships lasted into our college years. COLLEGE ADVENTURES: After high school graduation in June 1973, I went on that fall to UConn (The University of Connecticut at Storrs). I both began and completed my college education at UConn with one interruption in the middle. After completing my freshman year at UConn, I took a temporary leave of absence because I needed some time to decide what course of study I wanted as my college major. I also wanted to get a full time job so I could buy a car. I got my driver's license on Halloween Day 1974 when I was 19 years old. Shortly thereafter, on November 12, 1974, my bicycling years ended when I bought my first car, a 1968 Plymouth Satelitte. I bought this car for $1,000 from Cormier Chrysler Plymouth in Putnam, Connecticut when it had 118,518 miles on it. It was green with a black vinyl roof. At the time I purchased this car, it had just gotten a complete shiny new repainting by order of Lou Cormier, the owner of the dealership. It was always a reliable, great running car. I put 25,121 miles on it during the following year and a half before finally listing it for sale in the Turnpike Buyer and selling it for $760 on May 28, 1976 with 143,639 miles on it. Since then, I've upgraded many times to newer cars with more features. During most of that time away from college, I worked as a furniture assembler at InterRoyal Corporation in Plainfield, Connecticut from September 1974 to December 1975. By the end of that time, I had decided I wanted to major in Parks and Recreation Administration. However, it was too late to enroll for the spring 1976 semester at UConn, so I enrolled at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson, Connecticut for just that one semester, spring 1976. QVCC was a unique change. At that time, they hadn't even built their own campus yet, so QVCC held evening classes at Ellis Tech which only needed its classroom space during the daytime. Back in those days, some of the QVCC administrative offices were housed in a temporary doublewide trailer on the grounds of Ellis Tech. QVCC also had use of several offices, conference rooms, and other facilities within Ellis Tech itself. It wasn't until many years later that QVCC eventually built a beautiful new campus slightly further north on Maple Street in Danielson. As compared to UConn, I found QVCC to be a very friendly, small-town experience. A few of my fellow students at QVCC, namely Phil Theroux and Boyd Wood, were former classmates and friends from Killingly High School. While at QVCC for that one semester, I was a member of the Student Government Association as also were Phil Theroux and Boyd Wood. Even though QVCC still did not have a campus yet at that time, my friends and I, as members of the Student Government Association, were privileged to attend the annual convention of C.I.S.L. (The Connecticut Intercollegiate Student Legislature) in Hartford. I also was a photographer for the 1976 QVCC yearbook. By the fall 1976 semester, I was again back at UConn. Once back on the UConn campus at Storrs I really stepped up the pace for the next two years by taking as many as 8 courses per semester. At the same time I attended UConn as a student, I also worked 13 hours per week with preschool children at a nursery school called the UConn Child Labs which was located right on campus. That job was a refreshing break from all my classes and studying. After completing all my required coursework, I still was required to do a summer internship before I could graduate. I did my internship for the Madison Beach and Recreation Department in Madison, Connecticut in the summer of 1978. My crowning achievement that summer in Madison was a project that was my own idea. I organized and directed a camping and sightseeing trip. This was a 5-day, co-ed trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I hired a bus and driver from the independent school bus company that serves the Madison, Connecticut school system. I rented a huge 2-sto...Expand for more