First Person: An older ode to Kelley Square Mary Reynolds Special to Worcester Magazine Two years ago the young Shane Matthews wrote a well-written ode to Kelley Square that I found charming yet understated. You were, after all, Shane, only 27 years old. As a 68-year-old who grew up on Vernon Hill, I see Kelley Square from a different lens. I was 10 years old when Ascension Grammar School closed and merged with St. John’s Grammar School. Off we marched down Vernon Street, through Kelley Square, down Water Street, over Pond Street, through an abandoned and litter-filled lot and into the school yard. Did our parents think anything of this dangerous trek for such little people? Apparently not !! And for us it was filled with wonder — Red Bergeron’s Third Base Bar (open for the 11-7 workers at the local factories), Lederman’s Bakery, Widoff’s Bakery, etc.. On the way home we chose the Green Street route, where the wonderful people at Table Talk Pies gave us the mistakes for free.