Peterborough native Sean Lowe became an amateur historian when he discovered old family photos on his dad’s thumb drive.
“I feel like I was born a 100 years too late, and then I look at some of this stuff and I feel a connection with these people that I’ve never met,” Lowe said.
After his father, Stephen Lowe, passed away in May, he found the saved photos and stopped himself from throwing them away.
Stephen Lowe, known as Mr. Lowe by his students in the ConVal district over the past 35 years, held on to his collection of family photos, as well as a collection of photos and postcards he found online showcasing Peterborough’s history.
“I kind of remembered them, and it was neat going through them all,” Sean Lowe said.
History of the Peterborough Diner
The thumb drive has a large collection of family photos tracing back to the 1800s, all the way up to when Stephen Lowe was growing up in Peterborough.
While the timeline is a little hazy, Lowe has been able to connect the dots that his great-grandmother Dora White was married to Frank Ryan, the founder of the original Peterborough Diner. Lowe’s grandmother, Jennifer Ryan, was their daughter.
Frank Ryan and Dora divorced, but Lowe is unsure when.
“I remember her as Grammy White when I was young, and I don’t know anything more than that,” Lowe said.
Based on Lowe’s understanding, Frank Ryan (his great-grandfather) and Dora (his great-grandmother) moved to Peterborough from Pepperell, Mass., and Nashua.
Frank Ryan originally opened a diner in Jaffrey Center known as ‘Ryan’s Quick Lunch’.
Eventually, he moved his restaurant to Peterborough in a cart parked in front of where Nonie’s was at 28 Grove St. A trolley car, not the Worcester Lunch Car, replaced his cart.
According to the Peterborough Diner website, in the late 1930’s Frank Ryan purchased the trolley and placed it on the Depot Square site after the flood of 1936.
In 1946, Milton Fontaine bought the old diner. The Peterborough Diner was moved to its current location in Depot Square in 1949.
The classic Worcester Lunch Car in green and cream found its home in 1950.
After passing through some hands, including Edward Fontaine, Melanie Neily now runs the diner in partnership with Greg and Krystal Sherwin.
Generational Impact
Lowe’s familial connections to the town go way back, and he remembers bits and pieces of his grandparents: Jenny Ryan and Harrison Lowe.
His grandmother, Jenny, died when he was around 4 years old, but he remembers his grandfather, Harrison.
He said his grandfather worked as a butcher his whole life. “I remember that, and he smoked cherry tobacco,” Lowe said.
While Lowe currently lives in Antrim, he has tons of memories growing up in Peterborough.
He said he remembers his dad, Mr. Lowe, was voted the favorite teacher every year.
“I grew up in Peterborough and everyone told me he was their favorite teacher or best teacher,” Lowe said.
Before his father passed, he posted the news of his health on Facebook and over a hundred people commented on their fond memories of Mr. Lowe. When visiting his father in hospice, Lowe and his brothers were able to read the many comments to his dad.
“He didn’t realize what he did meant to much to so many people. He was proud of being a teacher … it meant as much to me as it did to him,” Lowe said.