Iris (Kamaros) Staub was born on March 27, 1937, in Enfield, Connecticut. She had two years of college at Westbrook College in Portland, Maine, followed by 12 months of a program at Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Handover, NH. She and her husband, Dr. Richard Staub, met in Boston while she worked as a “lab tech,” in Boston and he earned his medical training from Tufts University. Iris and Richard spent a couple of years in New York City while he completed his residency at Bronx Municipal Hospital and then another two years at the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana, for public health. They arrived in Pepperell in 1967 and then settled in Groton in 1969. Dr. Richard Staub was a pediatrician in Groton for 38 years and treated children in nearby towns. Iris and Richard Staub have lived in 22 Orchard Lane, Groton, MA, since 1969 and raised three children.
Iris feels fortunate to have been a young mother in the 1960’s and 1970’s where she could send her three children to school (learning in an “open classroom”) then devoting time to volunteering or participating in the many groups and activities that existed in Groton at that time. She also was impressed by the commitment of many locals to the betterment of the community. She mentions: The League of Women Voters, the Parent Teacher Association, Nashua River Watershed Association, food cooperatives, the hospital auxiliary, the Groton Garden Club, Indian Hill Music, Groton Center for the Arts and Sargisson Beach. Notable citizens: Barbara Cooney, Barbara Stromstad, Irene Buck, Susan Randazzo, Marion Stoddart, Pat Camp, Carlene and Bob Owens, Margaret Anderson and Harvey Sargisson.
Iris thinks the level of involvement has dissipated because so many mothers are now in the workforce. She feels that current political issues are also much more polarising although the League had wrestled with divisive issues like abortion and regional education in the past. She is pleased that some groups like the Garden Club can still work towards a common goal without differing political views taking over.
Her concerns about the future of Groton right now are the possibility of Groton Hill Music causing disruptions in town particularly for traffic which already seems heavier every year.
Summing up her “halcyon” family years in Groton, Iris said a perfect day was taking the kids to Johnson’s Ice Cream then to Sargisson Beach to wash off the ice cream and swim. Later Dr. Straub would take the children home while Iris would stop at Forcino’s (Groton Country Butcher and Deli today) for hamburgers to cook at home. Bedtime followed for her happy Groton family.
