Charlotte Hitchcock Gottry
Class of 1936
 

 The Hitchcock family wintered in St Petersburg, FL where Charlotte attended school from November until April. As a result of the differing curricula, Charlotte had enough credits to graduate by January 1936. So, she graduated early and spent
the next six months lolling in the Florida sun until she left for Cornell University. After graduation from Cornell in 1940, she received her Masters in Arts from Albany State Teachers College. She was teaching at CCS when Ken Gottry from Hasbrouck Heights, NJ asked her to marry
him. After a hurried war wedding on August 28, 1944 Miss Hitchcock
returned to her students at CCS the following week as Mrs Gottry. She
wasn't any more used to her new name than were her students.
Charlotte taught Latin and English at CCS until 1958. She was a reporter
for 30 years for the Post Star, the Troy Record, and the Greenwich
Journal. Ken and she ran the Cambridge Water Works Company from 1950
until 1986. She was a member of the D.A.R. and O.E.S. Charlotte died on
December 10, 1998.

Charlotte loved her father. She was always quoting him to her children.
As a result, although he died before I was born, my grandfather left a
lasting impression on me.

 

Stop and Smell the (1944) Roses
Tribute for Ken and Charlotte's wedding anniversary.

We’re proud of the renovation of our family’s brick house on East Main. However, we’re most proud of restoring the white rose bush along the west side of the house.

In late summer 1944, Radio Man First Class Ken Gottry got leave from his duties at the US Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He called his girl, Charlotte Hitchcock, on Avenue A in Cambridge and asked her to marry him that weekend.

 Charlotte’s parents, Herman and Lucille, called in some favors and soon all the arrangements were made. Ken and Charlotte walked to the West End and bought the wedding rings at LeGrys’ Jewelry store. Everything was ready, except for the wedding bouquet.

During Charlotte’s sophomore year at Cornell in 1938, she joined the Kappa Delta sorority. The KD flower is the white rose, the obvious choice for her bouquet.

None were available at local florists, so Charlotte contacted the Cramer Sisters, Blanche and Nathena, who lived in the red brick house on East Main. They cut a dozen white roses from their bush and the bouquet was ready.

In 1953 when the Cramer house was up for sale, it was only fitting that Ken and Charlotte bought it. In 1988 Charlotte attended the Kappa Delta national convention to be inducted into the White Rose Society in honor of 50 years of membership.

We’ve tenderly restored the white rose bush as a tribute to Ken and Charlotte Gottry who were married on August 28, 1944. We’ll always have time to stop and smell the (1944) roses.