Some of my earliest memories are of visits to Port Henry. We stayed in Dad’s parents’ two-story house south of the high school. The first picture is of that house. I remember that it had hardwood floors. The second-story floors had vents in them to allow heated air to circulate from the first story. I can remember “spying” on people downstairs through the vents. Also, the vent grates had holes just large enough to accommodate small marbles. My brothers and I had a great deal of fun scaring people downstairs by dropping marbles from the second story to the floor below. What brats we were!
The second picture is of a huge house owned by my Grandma L’s family. Dad’s Uncle S lived there. The picture shows that it has been greatly improved since the early 1960s. In my memory, it always appeared pretty run down and in need of paint. I always imagined that it was haunted, although I don’t think I ever shared my thoughts on that with anyone. I don’t think I ever went inside until after Uncle S died. We went with the adults, who were there to determine the fate of all the “treasures” inside. I remember ascending a wooden staircase and avoiding holes in some of the steps. I remember LOTS of cobwebs, and it seems like we startled a field mouse or two. Of course, that could all have been my overactive childhood imagination.
Picture three is a view south along the railroad tracks near the lake. That is St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in the distance on the hill. Port Henry was essentially a railroad town. It owed its prosperity to the work of transporting the iron ore from the mines in nearby Mineville. In the 1890s, Essex and Clinton Counties of New York produced 23% of the nation’s total iron output. Dad’s family made a living from the railroad. Mom’s father worked in a mine.We enjoyed a nice walk on solidly-frozen Lake Champlain while we were at Port Henry. The last picture is one of a large number of ice-fishing shanties on the lake. By the way, if you want your very own ice-fishing shanty, there were a large number of them for sale by the state campground down by the lake.
3 comments:
Cool! Dad's house didn't look that nice when I was there a few years ago.
I remember that Great grandma's house had a piano in it, which I had secretly hoped would be ours. Of course, some local relative got it. I remember rats, though, so my imagination was even bigger than yours. However, the presence of either one would not surprise me. Vacations to Port Henry are among my fondest memories.
Great pictures and memories. Hope all the "kids" in the family will read this post.
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