Written by Michael Trecker
Photos by Sendra Productions

Sponsored by East Village Place

Published in Longmeadow Neighbors (February 2022)

Families move to one town or another for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes they move for work, other times to be close to family. Maybe they just needed a change of scenery or had always wanted to live in a certain area. Occasionally, families even move somewhere based solely on a whim. Paula Buckovitch and her son, Ben, happen to be one of those families. “I was in Hartford for some mundane reason,” Paula recounted. “Maybe to pay a parking ticket? Anyway, I hopped on I-91 North just to see where it went. After a while, I saw a sign for Longmeadow and I had never heard of it, so out of curiosity I took the exit.” Paula was impressed with the beautiful homes and “impeccably landscaped properties.” At one point while driving through town, she mumbled to herself, “These people are proud to live here,” and a small voice from the back seat answered, “Then let’s live here too mommy! So we can be proud too!” That was all it took for Paula to make the decision, and she and her son have been living in Longmeadow ever since.

Paula is originally from Connecticut, but after attending Boston University for her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, she ended up staying in Massachusetts, living for “a couple decades in a town just outside Boston.” The focus of her degree was in Computer (Digital) Hardware, and her first job out of college was as an integrated circuit (IC) chip design engineer. “I was part of a team of chip designers, We all worked insane hours and had no social lives,” Paula said. She recommends a book titled The Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder which delves into work culture similar to that which she experienced. “In effect, I lost my best years to high tech. That’s why I never married. It was ironic too, because I worked with all men… [but] I would never date a colleague.” Paula made waves in the male-dominated field, however, and ended up in the elite CPU design group of a minicomputer company. Her trials stemming from being a woman in computer engineering at the time did not end here though. “It was mostly all men back then,” she said. “While women had made significant inroads into software and programming, hardware design was still very much a ‘man’s world’. In fact, the test lab where I worked had ‘cheesecake’ posters and calendars on the walls, only they were not of cheesecakes if you know what I mean. While I felt uncomfortable, it never occurred to me to complain. Moreover, there was no HR (Human Resources) department yet, [as] it was the early 1980’s.”

Today, Paula lives in Longmeadow with her teenage son, Ben, and their beloved cat, Miss Panther. “Both are my bosses. My real job these days is trying to keep both happy,” she laughed. “Sometimes one is easier than the other!” Besides being a full-time mom, Paula also enjoys cooking a variety of meals. “I love to cook. My mother was a sublime home cook and a master baker. As her only daughter, I was handed all of her blue ribbon recipesincluding their secrets,” she said cheerily. “The only problem, and this is a big quandary, is I have no one to cook for! Her recipes are all from scratch and use whole milk and real butter. My son and I can only eat so much,” she laughed. “My point here is that I need a husband to cook for!”

Benjamin Buckovitch is currently a senior at Longmeadow High School, and he has already made a name for himself around town. “Most people here in town don’t know me, but most everyone knows my son. My son is Benjamin Buck. I am just Ben Buck’s mom,” Paula said. Ben Buck is a skilled pianist and singer, and has been performing since he was five or six years old. “Much to my confusion,” Paula said, “he started begging for a piano at the age of two. It was out of the blue; I could not figure out where he had even seen a piano. I didn’t take him seriously, of course, but he kept asking for a piano every birthday and Christmas.” Paula eventually gave in and bought him a children’s keyboard, which “amused him for a good 24 hours, at which point I found it abandoned in a corner.” She thought that was the end of Ben’s piano craze, only for him to tell her, “No, mama. You didn’t buy me a piano. You bought me a toy.” He started out with classical piano lessons, entering numerous classical piano competitions and winning more than a couple of trophies.

Ben’s first gig was at a nursing home when he was six years old. He was adamant about performing in front of a crowd, so Paula searched high and low for a venue that would allow a six-year-old to play. Most people she called were excited about it, but backed out the moment they heard that her son was so young. When Ben was finally able to go up and play in front of a crowd, his 20-minute performance earned him a boisterous round of applause.

Growing up, Ben would be at the piano all the time. “We live right next to [a playground] and the boys his age would come over and ring my doorbell, asking if Ben could go play hoop with them,” Paula said. She would look over toward Ben at his piano, who would always just shake his head ‘no’. In order to encourage her son to go out and play, Paula went out and bought a basketball for him. “The next time the boys came by to ask my son to join them, Ben reluctantly took the new ball and went. About 30 minutes later, I heard the piano playing. He gave the guys a half hour and that was it!” Paula chuckled. Alongside the piano, Ben also loves to sing. “Here at home he always sang. He would hear a song on the radio once or twice and then play it. I couldn’t believe it. Moreover, I had no idea his singing was [actually] good,” Paula joked. “People who had occasion to hear him would tell me how gifted he is and that his voice is wonderful. I assumed they were simply being polite.”

Raising a child as a single parent is never easy, but at least there was always music in the house for Paula to enjoy. Benjamin Buck lends his baritone voice to several choirs at Longmeadow High School. In the fall of 2022, he hopes to attend a notable university as a Music Education Major.