Eleanor Horton Clavelle, class of 1943

How has Winooski changed since you were in school here?

It’s changed a lot. Life’s changed a lot. 

My husband, before he died, he went to mass and the pastor introduced him to a man from Burundi, because they both spoke French. He was a doctor over there but he couldn’t be a doctor here. He became a good friend. He is very active at the Association of Africans Living in Vermont. It can be very hard for new people who come here, but I’m glad they’re in Winooski.

What was your life like growing up here? 

I always loved it. Where the Senior Center is now, it used to be a big open pit and we used to slide down the hill with the neighborhood kids. It was a close community. Then my father died when I was 11. That changed everything for me. I was the oldest of six. My youngest brother was born two weeks after my father died. I had a lot of responsibility to help my mother. My father was Edward Horton. During the Depression he ended up working in insurance. Then he was the first probation officer in the state of Vermont before he died.

I attended what was Memorial School at that time, and I remember how much I liked it. Ms. Collins was the teacher that I had in 2nd grade. Back then, on Halloween you didn’t go knock on doors and ask for candy, but she always gave out candy. The students liked her a lot. 

My grandfather came here and built a lot of the brick houses that still stand. He built the Winooski Block (where Scout & Co. is located) – it was apartments and stores and grocery stores. My ancestors had a grocery store there. My family owned a meat market in Winooski, called the Clavelle Brothers, which closed 1959. 

What have you done since you graduated from Winooski?

I worked at the daily news for a year, and then I actually got fired because I went on a trip with my boyfriend and we stayed an extra day without letting them know, and then when I got back I got fired. After that, I worked at the telephone office as a telephone operator…”Hello, how may I connect your call?” – it was actually a fun job that I enjoyed. Then after my first child I didn’t work…at least not outside the home…raising five kids was a lot of work! Just think, I had to wash diapers by hand in the bathtub! I moved next door to my mother when I was about to have my third child, and she helped a lot. 

Advice for students at Winooski School District today?

I’d like to tell every kid not to smoke. Whatever you do, don’t smoke. It causes so many problems. And hopefully, don’t do drugs. I believe the fact that I am so healthy today is because I never smoked. 

What do you hope for the future? 

My husband worked four jobs to put our kids through college. Back then, it cost $800 for a semester at UVM. Now it’s even less affordable. It would be nice if kids could go to college for free. The news planes, the F35s, cost a million each but kids can’t afford to go to college…it’s pretty sad. 

Why do you think Vermont is special?

Other places have tornadoes and hurricanes and in Vermont all we might have is a big snow storm. So, we’re pretty safe where we live. I think it’s beautiful. I spent the past four months at our family’s camp in Malletts Bay. Summers here are awesome. Our family has owned the camp for over 120 years, and it’s always a huge gathering of all the kids and grandkids. It’s great. 

I’m very proud of all my children. They’re all retired now. I always encouraged them to follow their dreams. I told them: You can be anything you want, even the President of the United States. And my son Peter (Clavelle) ended up being mayor of Burlington for 15 years. My oldest was general manager at Hazelett Corp. in Colchester. My daughter, Betsy, was a social worker at Howard Center. My daughter Anne was nurse at UVM. And my youngest, Steven, he lives in Florida. He didn’t go to college but he’s done very well for himself. I am also very proud of my 11 grandchildren. 

Why do you heart Winooski?

I never wanted to go anywhere else. I married a guy from Winooski and we stayed here all our lives. It used to be that you knew everybody because it was so small. Now, I love all the restaurants. They say Vermont is a White state, but we have so many different cultures here. I think it’s very interesting and I like living here.