Man granted wish to see Westbrook home before it's demolished

Bob Dona, 85, takes a few steps into the house he was born in off Pond Meadow Road in Westbrook.

 “This was my grandmother’s house. This is where I was born," Dona said.

He wished he could see the house one more time. The home, built in 1746, is set to be demolished to make way for a new duplex.

He wished he could see the inside of the house one more time before its demolished. Twilight Wish of Connecticut, an organization granting wishes for deserving seniors, made it happen.

“This is an example of a wish that doesn’t take a lot of money, its doesn’t take a lot of resources, but it goes a long way to make someone happy," said Andrea Hoisl, director of Twilight Wish’s Connecticut chapter.

Dona toured the house, remembering old beams used to hold up the structure, the stairway to his grandmother’s bedroom and the living room where family gathered.

“We have had a table in here with 15 to 20 people sitting around it," Dona said.

He remembered the spot he used to wash his first car, the tree that offered shade for family picnics and friends that lived in his neighborhood that he called the three musketeers.

Dona said he isn’t looking forward to watching the house come down.

 “They say they are going to be taking this place down. That’s a shame,” Dona said. “History gone.”

But he says he understands there are lots of changes happening in the place he grew up.