Friday, August 19, 2011

Slides: Upstate New York

Once again, I've waved good-bye to my husband and watched him drive away in his big diesel truck.  He hooked up the very long trailer, picked up his mother, Caryl, at her apartment, and hit the highway headed for Caryl's house in far northern Colorado.  They have more things to collect there and haul here to Arizona.  They won't be back until August 30th, maybe even the 31st.

I will miss them badly, but I don't envy them the trip.  They didn't leave Show Low until about 7:00 this evening, which means they won't arrive at their destination until at least 8:00 tomorrow morning.  Probably closer to 10:00.  Having accompanied Ed on that trip many times over the past 15 months, I know how wearisome it can be.  I don't know how Caryl can endure it at the tender age of 76, but she has been looking forward to seeing her long-time neighbors and friends again.

So here I am at home, just Dylan and me now that Jacob is serving his LDS mission in California and Sarah has married her sweetheart Chris and moved out.  It's almost an empty nest, a little too quiet.  What will I do with all this computer time on my hands for the next 11 or 12 days?

I know!  This is the perfect time to share the Reynolds family slides that I spent months scanning and organizing.  I love old photographs, and I have loved getting to know my husband's family and past through the old slides Ed's father left behind when he passed away in November 2009.

Early Spring 1954: Swollen Genesee River in
Letchworth State Park, New York State

Letchworth State Park
I'd like to begin by sharing some of the amazing scenery captured on film by Ed's dad when he was just a teenage boy living in New York.  I don't know about you, but I always picture the state of New York as looking like New York City: flat, overpopulated, with too many cars and tall buildings.  I've heard of "Upstate New York," of course, but I couldn't imagine the green, rolling hills and many breathtaking waterways.

November 1954: Falls on the Genesee River in
Letchworth State Park, New York

Ed and I are hoping to travel with Dylan to New York next summer and take Ed's mom along with us.  Caryl hasn't been back in many years, and she would love to see her mother, two sisters, and younger brother again.  While I look forward to meeting Ed's family, I am also very excited to see some of the incredible sights I've come to love through these old slides.

November 1954: Letchworth Falls on the Genesee River in
Letchworth State Park, New York. 
I was only 2 months old and living in Los Angeles, California,
when these pictures were taken!

November 1954: Falls on the Genesee River in
Letchworth State Park, New York.

November 1954: Genesee River running through
Letchworth State Park, New York.

Summer 1955: Genesee River running through
Letchworth State Park, New York.

Summer 1955: Falls on the Genesee River in
Letchworth State Park, New York.

Summer 1955: People overlooking Letchworth Falls
on the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park, New York.

Autumn 1955: Changing leaves along the Genesee River in
Letchworth State Park, New York.

Watkins Glen
Even more beautiful than Letchworth Sate Park, at least in my opinion, is Watkins Glen.  I just love the rock formations.  Look closely.  In all but one of the Watkins Glen photos you can see people walking along the paths of the park.  (Remember, you can click on any photo to enlarge it.)  I love the old-fashioned clothing and how women used to dress up even if they were just hiking around the park!

Summer 1954: Glen Creek meanders through
Watkins Glen State Park in New York.

Summer 1954: Glen Creek meanders through
Watkins Glen State Park in New York.

Summer 1954: Glen Creek meanders through
Watkins Glen State Park in New York.

Summer 1954: Glen Creek meanders through
Watkins Glen State Park in New York.

Summer 1954: Glen Creek spills through
Watkins Glen State Park in New York.

I read that there are 19 waterfalls along the two miles of Glen Creek in Watkins Glen!

Summer 1954: Watkins Glen State Park in New York.
(No people in this picture.)

Taughannok Falls
Next we have these beautiful falls near Ithaca, New York.  There are only a few shots of these. I believe Ed's dad, who was 20 at the time, was attending some kind of cattle show at Cornell University in Ithaca and took a break to go see the falls.  It was the deepest part of winter and everything was frozen, but, oh, so gorgeous! 

January or February 1957: The path to Taughannok Falls.

January or February 1957: Taughannok Falls.

January or February 1957: Taughannok Falls.

January or February 1957: Taughannok Falls.

Three Final Pictures
These last three photos aren't exactly nature in all it's glory, but I found them captivating nonetheless!  They really do bring the world of Upstate New York in the 1950s to life for me.

1953: The Lower Falls of the Genesee River in Rochester, New York.

When this shot was taken, Ed's dad was 16 and it was the summer between his junior and senior years of high school.  He had visited Rochester, New York, to see the sights (flowers, ships, pretty girls) with some friends.  When I looked up these falls online, I found that today the city has surrounded the falls with parks, hiding many of the industrialized elements, making its beauty much more natural.  Still, I really do like this old scene.

August or September 1954: The New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York.

I was just about to be or had just barely been born in California when Ed's dad attended the New York State Fair in Syracuse, New York.  All those people wandering around the exhibits must have seemed like a huge crowd back then.

August or September 1954: New York State Fair, Syracuse, New York.

I love the feel of this picture!  Ed's dad would have been barely 18 (he was born on September first, just like Ed and me) and, as a kid born and raised on the family farm, those bright, colorful lights against the black night sky were probably pretty awesome.

If you enjoy these old slides as much as I do, well, these pictures are just a taste of good things to come!

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