Family of Dennis James Ahern and Lyrl Catherine Peterson

Dennis James Ahern, born to Robert J. Ahern and Mary E. Higgins on Monday, 22 November 1943 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton, baptized 12 December 1943 at St. Agnes' in Arlington (sponsors: Harry A. Russel and Alice B. [Coholane] Kerrigan). Dennis was a bargain baby at $10, his father having recently joined Blue Cross/Blue Shield as an employee of the gas company. The hospital staff warned his mother not to go home with him on Thanksgiving Day, lest the family expect her to cook the turkey. She did and they did. Not getting any turkey himself, Dennis took to loud and sustained bawling, but, as it was not time for his feeding, was left to exercise his lungs. He's been whining ever since.

On 7 June 1945 General George S. Patton came through Arlington on his way from Bedford airfield to Boston. People lined the street in Arlington Center to cheer the WWII hero. Clutching an American flag, the 1 1/2-year old Dennis was in his sister Claire's arms when the General leaned over and patted him on the head. Fortunately it was only a light pat and did no damage.

Gloucester Daily Times - 20 August 1951

Seven-year-old Dennis J. Ahern, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Ahern of Webster street, Arlington and 54 Beach street, [Rockport, Mass.], blissfully slept through being drifted out to sea in a small skiff late last night. After an extensive land and sea search, with some 100 people and a flotilla of some 20 boats, he was found by Walter F. Church, local fisherman, scouring the waters off Sandy Bar [sic] breakwater at 12:10 o'clock this morning, some three miles from where he had originally embarked.

The lad, eager to try night fishing, had found rowing too much for him, and calmly decided to turn in until daylight would in his opinion permit him to find his way back to shore.

Dennis was in the habit of attending the Legion band concerts on Beach street Sunday nights. His parents felt he had gone there when the boy left the house around 7:45 o'clock. However on this night Dennis had other plans in mind, and thought he would try fishing for a change. He is very fond of boating. He went to the Granite company stone wharf off Granite street, and with another boy enjoyed fishing off the rocks for awhile. The other boy left for home shortly afterward and advised Dennis to do likewise. But instead, Dennis took to a small skiff owned by a Mr. McRae, and secured oars and oar-locks from another boat. He also got a life-belt and donned it.

He began to row away from the pier to find himself a better fishing spot. It was close to 9 o'clock by this time. Dennis soon realized that rowing any distance was too much for his age. He noticed a sail boat some distance away and shouted for a tow, but apparently the sail boat occupants did not hear him, or else they could not locate the drifting boat. He evidently tried to put out the anchor but there wasn't line enough for it to reach the bottom.

Logically enough, he felt his best bet was to go to sleep and wait until daylight when he felt he would be rested and could see where he was heading. Chances are, however, that but for his being found, the boat might well have drifted far out to sea.

Meanwhile, when his parents failed to find him being at the band concert, they became concerned, and started to look for him. They went to the wharf. Then they decided to request further help. They notified police headquar- ters where Officer John F. Borge, on duty at the desk, at once set the wheels in motion for one of the most elaborate hunts ever instituted here.

Ten minutes prior to the Ahern call, a woman reported to police that she had heard cries of a child coming from the water, calling for his mother and father. Officers Leroy C. Silva, Eben R. Hodgkins, and Auxiliary Police Roger L. Eaton and John J. Francis were detailed to investigate. When the call came in from the parents, Officer Hodgkins, Fire Chief Guy A. Thibeault and Dr. Thomas A. Kelley, a friend of the Aherns, enlisted the aid of small boat owners, Richard Gray, George Nelson and Uno Peterson to search the harbor waters.

Officer Borge increased the searching fleet by getting four other boat owners, Ralph Nelson, Walter Church, Carl Nelson, and Gene Lesch to do likewise. Straitsmouth station US Coast Guard, notified, immediately started out. Numerous other outboard motor craft joined in the flotilla.

Along the shore, police, firemen, auxiliary police, auxiliary firemen, Coast Guards, and citizens armed with fire department flood lights, covered the shores from Halibut Point around to Land's End in an effort to locate any sign of the boy.

Police Chief Richard K. Manson was emphatic in the high praise he paid to Officer Borge for having organized so large and thorough a searching party.

It was the motorboat Junee Boy, owned and skippered by Walter Church which found the drifting skiff, at a point some 200 yards northeast of the gas buoy outside Sandy Bay breakwater about midnight. Dennis was lying in the bottom of the boat, sound asleep, while the anchor was dragging over the stern.

Aboard the Junee Boy were Auxiliary Policeman Raymond Reed, Fireman Benton C. Story, and also Paul and Jack Kelley, brothers. They picked the boy up from the skiff and into the Junee Boy. The boy even slept through his rescue, so exhausted was he from his nocturnal rowing.

His frantic parents were overjoyed to have the boy returned to them safe and sound. Mr. Ahern repeated over and over again his and his wife's heartfelt thanks for all those who took part in the search and especially to the crew of the Junee Boy.

Firemen had been summoned by a bell alarm on the fire system, two blows repeated, calling the crew of the Pigeon Cove chapel. The Pigeon Cove combination kit's lighting equipment did legion work along the shore.

It was another instance of the wonderful co- operation of everyone in a small town to turn out anytime of the day or night to help a neighbor or a visitor.

Newspaper reports to the contrary, Dennis did not sleep through his rescue. He was very much awake, but kept his eyes closed in the hope that nobody would spank a sleeping child. He fully expected to get a licking when he got home, but was instead given some hot cocoa and put to bed. The next day a lady down the street gave him a quarter because God had saved him. He spent it on penny candy and never did get the licking he so richly deserved.

Dennis went to St. Agnes parochial school and graduated from Don Bosco Technical High School in Boston in 1962, enlisted in the Navy and served as a Photographer's Mate 3rd class, stationed in Pensacola, Florida and Coronado, California. From 1966 to 1971 he worked in the printing trade for Thomas Todd Company in Boston, then went to Washington to work for Judd & Detweiller, the magazine printers. After his marriage, he returned to New England and continued in the printing trade until 1981 when he underwent an involuntary career change and became a technical writer working on contract at various companies until settling at Digital Equipment Corp. in 1985.

Dennis married Lyrl Catherine Peterson (aged 29) on Saturday, 26 May 1973 in the Davies Memorial Unitarian Church in Camp Springs, Prince George County, Maryland. Donald MacIver was Best Man. Among other duties, this meant helping Dennis bake the wedding cake the day before, taking him out to buy new shoes that morning and digging a hole on the lawn of the church for a tree planting after the ceremony. The wedding was followed by a potluck supper and an evening of Scottish and English country dancing, at which Dennis wore a kilt of the MacIntyre tartan in honor of his great-grandmother, whose name was understood to have been Elizabeth MacIntyre, though it has since been learned that she was originally a McAteer, born in Cushendall, County Antrim, and the name had been "Anglicized" from the Irish.

Their child is:

• Andrew Dennis Ahern, born on Thursday, 11 October 1979 at New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

Dennis and Lyrl bought a house in Acton, Mass. in 1977 and Dennis was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Acton Memorial Library in 1981, becoming a Corporate Trustee and President of the Board in 1989. Based on his grandmother, Margaret E. Lane, having been born in Ireland, Dennis applied for and was granted Irish citizenship on 12 August 1991.

This page maintained by Dennis Ahern.

visitors have accessed this page since April 21, 1998.