Click here to view this new collection of old and historic homes built in Coventry, Connecticut before 1900 and still standing. The homes are notable because of their age, architecture or ownership.
The first section shows a photograph of the present home with its original owner and date noted. The list is alphabetical by street name and number. References are included in the second section.
On the Cover: The Hale Homestead ca 1907
B-17 Bomber Buzzes Brick School!
“Look at that plane!: shouted Roger Sims as he jumped out of his seat and ran out the door of the one room Brick School in Coventry. His classmates and teacher followed close behind. It looked as if this B-17 bomber was going to land as it came up over a hill west of the school. Flying at tree top level, it was an awesome sight! As we stood in the open area near the school, the plane made a sharp banking turn. We could see the pilot, seated in the cockpit, wave his hand as the huge bomber flew over the swaying trees. It was a very dramatic moment; as we saw our teacher, Laura Edmondson, return the wave. We realized that it was her husband, Lt. Jim Edmondson, who was flying the plane! Three times he flew the plane in a circle over the Brick School on Merrow Road and the Edmondson family home on Route 44. This caused a great deal of excitement in the whole town of Coventry and was the main topic of conversation for many days. This event took place on April 6th 1944. The Edmondson family and all the students at the Brick School will never forget this day.
In 1945, the last eighth grade class graduated from the Brick School. In 1994 an almost 50th class reunion was held. Our two teachers, Mrs. James Edmondson , and Mrs. George Kingsbury attended along with 13 members of the class. The Reverend James Edmondson came to tell us his version of when he decided to make a flying detour over Coventry.
He was piloting a B-17 Flying Fortress from New Jersey to England with stops in New Hampshire, Newfoundland and Iceland. While flying over the Connecticut River he could see the Edmondson Family home in Coventry and decided to pay a visit. He flew so low that he and his crew had to clean branches from the underside of the plane after landing. The continued to England and took part in many bombing raids over Germany. The next time Laura Edmondson saw her husband was when he returned home after flying thirty-five missions.
By Robert Visny
THE REST OF THE STORY
The story of Lt. James Edmondson buzzing Coventry’s Brick Schoolhouse in a B-17, Flying Fortress, back in 1944 has been told before.
In 2002, Mrs. Edmondson received a letter from the “ball-turret gunner”, Victor Kope, recounting the day her husband buzzed the Brick Schoolhouse where she was teaching. He stated, “I think that was the only time I could look up and see tree limbs.
Lt. Edmondson and his crew of nine flew 35 missions over Nazi targets between May and September, 1944. They covered almost 30,000 miles, bombing war industries, military installations, marshalling yards, troop positions and flying bomb sites in France, Germany and Czechoslovakia. On one memorable mission, the day after D Day, his airplane was hit by anti-aircraft fire knocking out two engines with a third not at full power. The crew lightened the ship as much as possible and they were able to limp back to base, landing well after the rest of the group. The crew tried to count the number of holes in the airplane but gave up, too many to count. It was miraculous that none of the crew was wounded. According to a journal kept by the tail gunner, Tony Loncarich, they spent far too much time flying alone over enemy territory with knocked out engines. Four members of the crew were wounded in action, two of whom never flew again. Two others suffered from combat fatigue and did not finish their tours.
He and his crew also participated in two shuttle missions, attacking targets in Poland, and then flying on to bases in Russia. From Russia, the group attacked targets in Romania, landed in Italy and then targeted German airfields in France on the final leg back to England. Lt. Edmondson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His fortress group held a Presidential Citation for a successful attack on the ball-bearing factory at Schweinfurt, Germany.
Following his tour of duty with the 390th Bomb Group, he was assigned to airbases in the Southwest US where he taught instrument flying. Having been in the armed forces since early 1941, he was discharged between VE and VJ Day in 1945.
Lt. Edmondson returned to Coventry after the war where he and his wife Laura raised 3 children: Susan, Katherine and John. He graduated from UCONN and the Hartford Seminary where he was ordained a Congregational minister. He was the minister of the Haddam Congregational Church for twenty years. In the words of one of his younger brothers, Colin, he was a “fair country preacher”, high praise when coming from a brother. He took a particular interest in youth ministry, leading many summer 
conferences at Silver Lake, the United Church Conference site in Sharon, Connecticut. He also pioneered bicycle conferences for the UCC in both the US and Europe. Retirement presented the opportunity to serve for six months as Interim Minister at the Second Congregational Church in North Coventry.
Laura Edmondson resumed her teaching career after raising her children. Besides serving Coventry schools, she taught in Noank, Litchfield, and Haddam, Connecticut. There were over twenty students in class that day in 1944. For a list, pleases refer to “The Brick School Story” by Mabel Walbridge Hall, printed in 1977.
Retirement gave the Edmondson’s the opportunity for travel. They became life members of the Wally Byam Caravan Association and towed their Airstream trailer on many group caravans across the US and Canada including two trips over the Alcan Highway to Alaska. They wintered in Florida at an Airstream park in Dade City, Florida. Their greatest joys were visits from grandchildren, which always included camping at Fort Wilderness in Disney World.
In 1989, he returned to the airbase in Framlingham, England accompanied by family members. The runways have been torn up, the rubble used in highway construction but the control tower is now a museum and staffed by dedicated volunteers. Also intact was the hardstand where his B-17 had been parked and the Quonset hut where he and his crew slept. It was a memorable experience for his grandchildren, to walk with grandpa and listen as he shared some of his experiences from so long ago.
Jim Edmondson died on May 1st, 2000. Four members of the crew are still alive. Laura Edmondson lives on Brewster Street in Coventry, enjoys good health, crossword puzzles, and serving as information central for her three children, eight grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren. She recently published a family circulated book describing her childhood. She was born and raised with her seven brothers and sisters on the family farm, Maple Castle, just a few steps away from Brick School.
