Aldrich Family Papers

Background on Mark and Edith Aldrich

Mark Bartlett Aldrich was born in Pelham, Massachusetts, on March 4, 1907. For many years, Aldrich was employed by his grandfather, Eugene Bartlett at the Montague Rod and Reel Co. The company, located in the village of Montague City in Montague, Massachusetts, made split-bamboo fishing rods. He also served as a selectman in Pelham, Massachusetts, for several terms in the 1930s and 1940s. Mark moved to Northfield, Massachusetts, in 1948, where he owned and operated Aldrich's New England Store until 1962, when he sold the business. After that, he sold cars for Spenser Bros. Ford in Northfield until he and his wife moved to Stuart, Florida in 1964. Aldrich spent his last years living in West Hatfield, Massachusetts, and died on December 14, 1987.

Edith L. (Bertenshaw) Aldrich was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, on March 12, 1908, to Edward and Rosalie (Pensone) Bertenshaw. She grew up in Pelham and attended the Massachusetts Agricultural College, graduating in 1928. Edith taught English at Ashland High School in Ashland, Massachusetts, and married Mark in 1930. After moving to Northfield with her husband in 1948, she taught at Pioneer Velley Regional High School from 1959 to 1964, when the couple moved to Florida. The couple resided in Florida for eleven years, returning to Northampton and Hatfield, Massachusetts, in 1975, Edith L. Aldrich passed away in November of 1989.