PLUM ISLAND, Massachusetts……1937
The date was 1937 and my sister Nancy and I are enjoying a fun time at Plum Island, Mass. I am balancing a bottle on my head and seem to be very proud of myself. As I gaze again at that picture I can’t help but chuckle. Little did I know then that “putting the cork in the bottle” was to play a huge part in my later life. I certainly didn’t seem to be worried about it then !
It was a big treat to be spending our summer there. The "great depression" was still with us and we had little money to spare but a friend of the family offered us his cottage on the island for the summer. We 5 girls ranged in age from 4 ½ (that was me, the youngest) to 13 years, so we would be able to care for ourselves and enable Mother to get a well deserved rest.
Our get-away was spent in a tiny cottage named “Alice”. It was one of a group of compact little wooden structures and was directly on the beach. Although we had a rudimentary kitchen there were no bathroom facilities and our community of families shared an outside shower and an outhouse.
There was a small store, a run down board walk and an open-air building where we could play games, listen to music and work on jig saw puzzles. I'm sure that the youngsters of today would be less than happy to spend a whole summer in such rudematary conditions ... no TV’s, cell phones, or other distractions ... just lots of sun, sand and ocean.
In other words...HEAVEN!
posted by Goldendaze-Ginnie at 7:14 AM
6 Comments:
That's a sweet photo & sweet memory! I'm planning to take some time to go back and read some of your earlier postings, I very much enjoy your reminisces.
I remember a similar Heaven from my childhood. Aww the kids today are missing so much.
Heaven indeed! Left to your own devices to create some fun! Wonderful!
There was something to be said for rustic cottages back in those days. It would be an adjustment for any of us now. We might have to start reading again. 😀
We never stayed at the beach but did visit the Texas beach once or twice before it was ruined by globs of tar in the water. I remember smelling it miles before we turned and the Gulf of Mexico was right before us. How I would have loved your vacation summers in that cottage. I'm so enjoying reading your memories.
Just being at an ocean beach as you describe sounds fun to me.
We didn't take vacations per se. A couple years I did get to spend a week or two visiting an Aunt who lived in a small village and another time with my grandmother who lived in a rural area. Vacations were important to my husband an I after we wed but we didn't seek fancy resorts.
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