# Memories from childhood.



## Marie5656 (Feb 4, 2018)

*I would say I had some rather unique experiences through my childhood. I will start with the back story.  For many years, starting in the late 50's my dad and my Uncle John (mom's brother) owned a seasonal place up at the 1000 Islands, in upstate New York. Near the Canadian border.  They had a motel, gas station and a restaurant/bar combo. They called it the Borderline.  It was seasonal, and they were there from about April through September.  It was on the St Lawrence Seaway.
The families went there for the summer.  The whole summer.  So, basically I spent my summer vacations there, with my only playmates being my cousins.  My cousin Mike and I were a couple years apart. He was younger.  So we did a lot together.  We would walk to the Seaway (from now on referred to as the Lake) to go fishing.  And when we were old enough, we got to go swimming in it.
We were not allowed in the bar area when it was open for business, but could go in the mornings to play the juke box and play pool.  
A funny memory is my dad would make us what we now know were "kiddie cocktails" or Shirley Temples.  But he would call the Sloe Gin Fizz.   Once, when he was at home he, my mom and I went out to dinner.  When the waitress came for our drink order I asked for a Sloe Gin Fizz.  My mom blushed, and my dad just shook his head and said "She wants a Shirley Temple".   LOL.
I know I have shared this picture before. It is me with my first fish.  It was taken in the kitchen of the restaurant.  I will share more cool memories as tile goes on.

*


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## NancyNGA (Feb 4, 2018)

Sounds like a fun place to spends the summers, Marie. Glad you started a diary about this.   Love seeing old pictures and reading about everyone's experiences.


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## C'est Moi (Feb 4, 2018)

What a sweet memory, Marie.   Love the pic!!   (I had a couple of those "sunsuits", as my mother called those little onesie things.)


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## maggiemae (Feb 4, 2018)

Oh what an adorable picture!  I also had some of those same style sunsuits.  Is that a cast on your arm?


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## Seeker (Feb 4, 2018)

Great picture..wonderful story, those were the good ol' days.


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## Seeker (Feb 4, 2018)

1963 Me on the right my sister on left. Every year we would go to Myrtle Beach for vacation.


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## Marie5656 (Feb 4, 2018)

*Here is another story from the 1000 Islands. I call it "The day we walked to Canada".   Over a couple year period, not far over the border into Canada they were constructing the Skydeck.  Think Seattle's space needle.  Anyway, most of the crew came to our place at one time or another for lunch, or drinks after work.  So, the summer it was finally done, our parents let my cousin Mike and & take a walk to visit it.  Think about it...two little kids, I was about 10 or 11, he was 8 or 9.  WALKING over the Canadian border, and going to visit a tourist attraction.  Alone.  Of course, the border guards knew us already, but they happily went through their protocol of asking us where we were born, where we were going and how long we were staying.  They then told us to have a nice time and sent us on our way.  We spent a few hours there, each bought a couple souvineers and walked home.  I had bought a bank shaped like a big beer bottle LOL.  So on our way back the guards inspected our things, and they all even put some change in my bank.  And we went on back to home.  Can you imagine two kids doing that today?*


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## Seeker (Feb 4, 2018)

Can't see it happening today. How sweet they put money in your bank. Today they probably would have your parents charged with child neglect or something. It was a different world for sure.


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## jujube (Feb 4, 2018)

Great story, Marie!


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## RadishRose (Feb 4, 2018)

Love your stories, Marie, I wish I had grown up in a restaurant family. Oh, that sun suit! I had several like that too. What a pretty little girl you were.

It's true, my friends and I would go off on our bikes and stay out all day, come home starving at suppertime. Our parents were good parents, but had no idea where we were all day. 

LOL but you! You actually left the country! How cute the guards put some coin in your bank.

What a different world it was.


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## Gary O' (Feb 4, 2018)

Gotta love a good story


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## Marie5656 (Feb 4, 2018)

*Fun summers, but I remember being upset that many of my friends went to summer camp, and I never got to go.  One of my cousins reminded me that it was all summer camp for us.*


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## Ruth n Jersey (Feb 4, 2018)

Such great stories and photos. The first photo I'd like to share is of my Mom,Dad and Grandma and me in 1947. We very often would pack a picnic lunch and drive through the countryside,find a nice spot and have a picnic.Sometimes there would be a stream for me to wade in or in the fall we would find an old apple or pear tree and we would pick up the apples that had fallen and my Grandma would make applesauce and can the pears if they weren't in to bad a shape.  The second photo is of me in 1948,my first pony ride with Dad holding the reins.


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## SeaBreeze (Feb 4, 2018)

Glad you started a diary thread Marie, great old stories and what a neat place to be as a child.  Love your photo, from one fisher girl to another. :sentimental:


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## maggiemae (Feb 5, 2018)

I love these old pictures!  Now I need to find some old ones I have and share!  And Seeker, you have not changed at all, you look the same!


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## Marie5656 (Feb 6, 2018)

*
THE PORTRAITS

One summer a group of tourists stopped over at the Borderline on their way to an extended stay in Canada.  One, a man from Poland, found, unfortunately, he did not have all the proper papers with him to go over the border.  Don't ask me the details.  Hey, I was 8. LOL.  So, he chose to stay behind at our place while his companions went on.  He did not want them to give up their trip. He would be our guest for almost 2 weeks or so.  As part of a payment arrangement with our parents, he agreed to paint my portrait, and that of my cousin Sharon.  In oil.  I guess he was supposed to be good.  And my mom and uncle were also of Polish descent, so he scored points with them.
So, that is how, during one summer in the 60s, Sharon and I got painted.  He went to the field across the street each day to pic fresh wild flowers for us to hold.  Not sure what happened to mine, but Sharon said she still has hers.
You can see mine on the wall over the couch behind my mom in this picture.

*


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## gordoncarnegie47 (Oct 18, 2018)

These stories are great! My son recently signed me up for uploadpersona.com and I've been sending in stories just like this. Maybe I should also post them here?


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## Marie5656 (Oct 18, 2018)

gordoncarnegie47 said:


> These stories are great! My son recently signed me up for uploadpersona.com and I've been sending in stories just like this. Maybe I should also post them here?



Gordon, good idea. Use the diary part of this forum. BTW...welcome


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## Sassycakes (Oct 22, 2018)

Marie5656 said:


> *
> THE PORTRAITS
> 
> One summer a group of tourists stopped over at the Borderline on their way to an extended stay in Canada.  One, a man from Poland, found, unfortunately, he did not have all the proper papers with him to go over the border.  Don't ask me the details.  Hey, I was 8. LOL.  So, he chose to stay behind at our place while his companions went on.  He did not want them to give up their trip. He would be our guest for almost 2 weeks or so.  As part of a payment arrangement with our parents, he agreed to paint my portrait, and that of my cousin Sharon.  In oil.  I guess he was supposed to be good.  And my mom and uncle were also of Polish descent, so he scored points with them.
> ...



That's a wonderful picture. It seems like he had great talent. You look Beautiful in it and your Mom also looks Beautiful .


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## gordoncarnegie47 (Oct 22, 2018)

Thank you!


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## Sundown (Oct 25, 2018)

Interesting. I too was at Thousand Island Park area in my youth. Watertown NY to be exact. This was late 60s early 70s though. But all I remember about that was fishing in my uncle's boat house, and a giant crayfish trapped inside a tiny crystal clear spring. Hmm now that I just googled it, there's not really 1,000 Islands in Thousand Island Park. Bummer.


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## hollydolly (Oct 26, 2018)

I don't know how I missed this thread...fab stories and pictures Marie... 

*Gordoncarnegie.*..absolutely start your own thread, I'm sure we'd all love to read it...


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## RadishRose (Oct 26, 2018)

Marie, that portrait looks lovely!


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