During their summers in New London the O’Neills
frequently took meals in a small private dining room at the Packard, a
boardinghouse on Pequot Avenue run by James Rippin’s family. It was
conveniently located near the Monte Cristo Cottage and the O’Neill
family walked to the Packard every day, with James and his wife leading
the way and their sons following behind.
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| O’Neill on the beach,
January 1, 1914. Sent to Dr. Lyman as proof that he was following
Lyman’s advice to recuperate from TB |
According to the Gelbs, though
Jamie and Eugene were grown men, the Rippin sisters referred to them as
"the boys" because they were supported by their parents. Helen
Maude Rippin served as cook and her unmarried daughters waited tables. O’Neill
lived with the Rippins during the winter of 1913-14, while his parents
were traveling with the play Joseph and His Brethren, and he was
regaining his strength after recuperating from tuberculosis at the
Gaylord Farm
Sanatorium. Mrs. Rippin and her daughter Jessica became O’Neill’s
lifelong friends. In a letter dated February 4, 1919, the young
playwright joyfully responds to a note from Jessica, assuring his friend
that "good old times at the Villa Rippin" had not been
forgotten though they had not heard from him. "You see you let
yourself in for it," he says, begging for news, "and now you
will have to write me an honest-to-Gawd long letter giving me all the
dope...So it’s now up to you. Go to it! And remember also that I haven’t
had a bit of current New London gossip in ages...But let me hear all the
‘dirt’ as I haven’t talked with anyone from New London in a
century, it seems" (Bogard and Bryer, SL, 85).
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