After this ScanCafe customer recently converted hundreds of family photographs and 8mm movies to digital, he was moved enough to share some of the pictures, along with a few details.
Here is his story – a simple but engaging account of life in the 1960s by the mountains:
Although the photo digitization project had been on my mind for a long time, it always lagged on the “back burner” as time went on. But when my beautiful mother, the matriarch of our family and our extended families passed away this past April, I felt the need to recapture some of our family history. I am sorry I did not do this sooner so that she could enjoy the results too.
I grew up in a family of six in the Upstate New York village of Stamford, in the Catskill Mountains. We were, and remain a very close family. My parents were both raised in New York City and moved to Stamford in 1941. I had many cousins in New York City and Long Island and we all visited each other often. The pictures I am sharing here depict my family in action in the early to mid 1960s.
I was the youngest with two older brothers and a sister. The photo below was taken at Idlewild International Airport (which was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport around this time). My oldest brother Don was on his way to visit a college friend in Puerto Rico. Notice how we dressed to go to the airport!
Our hometown is a four season destination. This is us digging out our cars after a typical show storm.
In the summer we enjoyed golf, hiking, swimming and all sorts of activities. This is an amazing picture taken from the Stamford Country Club with our proud Utsayantha Mountain in the background.
Our house was the place where all our friends gathered. There was always a party going on, and lots of music. This picture features my brother Steve in the center, my sister Patricia in the chair and our dog Butch in the foreground. This was obviously taken around Christmas time. We loved using our giant fireplace!
Here is a picture of me in front of the Unisphere at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964. My sister and wife and I visited this exact same spot after 53 years this past summer!
My hometown was host to a popular ski area called Scotch Valley. I am in the middle. My sister right of me and my mom is on the outside next to my sister. My brother Steve is to the left of me and I cannot make out the other person on the end. We loved to ski and we all kept up skiing for decades.
My beautiful mother and handsome father.
My parents were thrilled to welcome their first grandchild, their granddaughter Aline.
There is no place like home. This picture shows the beautiful one we all grew up in. My brother Steve and sister Pat are in the foreground.
