Mary Shiminski and the MacArthurs (1974)
As the MacArthur family song says, in the summer of 1974 someone painted “Mary Shiminsky I Love You!” on the railroad overpass off from Putney Road heading to Chesterfield. The graffiti on the Boston and Maine railroad bridge inspired this song, a book of poetry, a postcard and newspaper articles across the country wondering about Mary Shiminski and the declaration of love. It turns out 29 year old Mary Shiminski was from Long Island and had had a disagreement with her boyfriend. As a result of the fight she had come north to Putney, Vt. to stay with her parents for a few weeks. They owned a trailer in the woods near the Westminster/Putney line and summered there. Mary’s boyfriend, Bert Salva, followed in the tractor trailer truck he owned and attempted to contact her. Bert would park his truck in Putney and walk the three miles to the Shiminski’s trailer, where he’d call to […]