Sunday, July 3, 2022

Woods and fields, earth & sky: that’s the way it was, the summer of ‘73

Isn’t this a nice view?  It’s an aerial photograph of my childhood home, taken the summer of 1973.  Recently I was browsing a vintage photography site that included aerial shots of the rural parts of Greene County where I grew up.  It contained roughly 4000 images, and I was happily surprised when one of them turned out to be my family’s farmhouse.

No date, it simply said “Greene Co PA, Summer 1973”.   If you look closely enough, you can see my Dad’s white music van, to carry equipment when he & my Uncle Mike performed on the weekends.  It had Donovan Morris & the Country Rockers painted on both sides. 

We also had a giant blue Oldsmobile at the time that I liked to pretend was the Batmobile.

I looked through my mom’s old photos for pictures from the same time frame that aerial photo was taken, here’s one from July 1973

That’s me, Dad and my older brother Duke in the back; Steve, Shawn & Donda-Lin in front

It’s such a curious thing, that aerial photo.  I used to look through our old family albums so much, I could easily identify the month & year the picture was taken without having to turn it over.

(My mom always wrote the date on the back of each photo). 

Duke’s 10th birthday cake, May 1969.  Mom and our youngest sister Courtney coming home from the hospital, July 1975.  But that aerial picture above… I wonder what was going on at the time? 

Our car & van were parked outside, so we weren’t away on a family vacation or visiting relatives or swimming at Ryerson Station.  Where was everybody?

Most likely, us kids were outside hiking the surrounding fields or woods, or exploring the old sheds and barns that dotted our countryside.  Perhaps my older brother Duke was upstairs in his room, reading one of his countless sci-fi paperbacks (which he kept in neat stacks atop his bedroom dresser). 

Our brother Steve was either at his favorite fishing hole or our neighbors the Gordons, and if it was a Saturday morning, my sister Shawn & I might be in town, spending our allowances at Murphy’s (a Five & Ten store) or the weekly matinee.

Our neighbors the Gordons; this is a pretty early photo, they were considerably older when we moved to the country in 1970

My brother Steve spent so much time at their farm, I’m surprised they didn’t try to adopt him!

I don’t really have anything of importance or interest to share here, besides that top photo.  I know I have a tendency to take a lot of strolls—more like lonnnng walks—down Memory Lane, but seeing our old farmhouse again after so many years, on a bright summer day in 1973 no less… 

The recollections & wonderings it inspires is just too much to resist.

Here’s one more photo, my sisters Shawn & Donda on their bikes, June 1973.  For all I know, that plane taking the aerial pictures was directly overhead!

   Happy Fourth of July Everyone

 

44 comments:

  1. This a sweet read following the last one (though that conversation needs to keep happening). Yay movie reviews too (which I read yesterday).

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    1. Thanks Shawn. Hope you, Jim, Sophia & everyone else in your clan down there have a happy 4th of July. 🙂♥️🧨🧨

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  2. That is so cool Doug and I am so glad that the photo that you knew nothing about opened so many doors for you. It had to make you wonder just what you were all doing at that exact moment. It let you enjoy a moment of time travel.
    Have a safe 4th Doug.

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    1. "A moment of time travel"; Patti that's exactly it. That's how I felt when I saw that top photo. Thank you for your kind comment my friend, I hope you have a safe and happy 4th as well. 🙂🧨

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  3. Wow, that turned out to be a very fruitful post, Doug. I sure enjoyed seeing all the photos and wonder too where you were when that aerial shot was taken. :-)

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    1. Thank you DJan, I was just thinking that's a view a skydiver like yourself would be accustomed to. I was very happy to find it though, I never dreamed I'd see something like that. 🙂

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  4. Now you've got me curious. I know my parents had a copy of a aerial photo of the farm and I probably have a copy if I look hard enough. I do know it was taken in the 80's after I'd left home. It is fun to look back at the photos and remember "when".

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    1. Thanks Maebeme and wow that's cool to have! I sure wish my parents were still here to see this one. 🙂

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  5. Enjoy your 4th. My family house was sold in 2015 and then donated to a local family elsewhere. Good memories of family parties. Gigi hawaii

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    1. Interesting, Gigi. Well, I haven't been in that farmhouse in over 40 years, but I'd like to see it again. Hope you have a nice Fourth too. 🙂

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  6. What a wonderful photo! I love how old pictures bring back memories of those times. I still drive by my first house. It's different now but I still have a few memories of the yard.

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    1. Thanks Margaret. Well, to drive past my old farm house you really have to go out of your way. At least seeing it this way, it's exactly how I remember. 🙂

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  7. Hi Doug, I really enjoy seeing your old photos! Your farm is lovely. I occasionally look at Google Maps to see the house I grew up in. Love the long sideburns on your Dad in the July 1973 photo! My Dad had them too.
    Have a great 4th of July!❤️
    Robin

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    1. Robin, you always make me smile because you're so observant! You should have gone into journalism or detective work 😉 anyway, that's cool you can see your house via Google maps. I've tried that but it never worked for me... I think our farmhouse was too out in the boonies! Thanks for the fun feedback and oh yes happy belated Canada Day! 🙂♥️

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    2. Thanks Doug!❤️
      Robin

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  8. Great photos, Dug! Your dad's sideburns reminded me of DH's in 1973 - must have been the style then (we were 27 and on our 3rd kid then). And those old photos ARE a means of time travel. Have you seen the movie, "the Adam Project" (on Netflix I think)? Traveling back in time, older Adam gets to meet and pair up with himself as a kid... interesting. Made me think how I would love to have my older kids and their younger selves with me together at some point in time. If time is as portrayed, it would be possible. Love the idea - but as the movie stated, it would have it's drawbacks too.

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    1. Thank you Rian! Well, my dad was 36 the summer of 73, gee now that I think about it, that was pretty young. And my parents still weren't done having kids, they had one more a couple years later! Anyway, never saw that movie but now I really want to.. I love time travel stories and that one sounds right up my alley, but I haven't had Netflix for almost a year now darn it. If I get a chance to see it I'll let you know. 🙂

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    2. I love that movie "The Adam Project"

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  9. I enjoyed seeing the aerial view of the house you grew up in. Summers were so much fun back then. By 1973 my husband and I were dating, and I had started working at my first job as a secretary -- prehistoric position to mention now that the job has been renamed.

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    1. Hi Susie, thanks for your kind comment. Had to smile at prehistoric position, is secretary really that old? Now I feel old! Sure do miss these days, but it's good to hear from a kindred spirit. Thanks again. 🙂

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  10. I don't know if you think so -- I don't know if anyone thinks so -- but it sounds to me like you had an idyllic childhood!

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    1. Thanks Tom. Well... It had its moments. 🙂

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  11. (Kay of Musings) It really does sound like a wonderful childhood with your parents, brothers and sisters. How fabulous that you have that aerial view. I think… I think… my brother gave me one too.

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    1. Thank you Kay...it wasn't the Brady Bunch, but it had some good memories. If you have an aerial view too, you should put it on your blog. I'd love to see it, I'm sure others would too. 🙂👍

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  12. Such cool photos Doug! The photos capture time with your folks as the years passed showing what looks like an interesting life growing up on a spread with lots of fun places to explore with space to do your own stuff. I like experiencing journeys through time.

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    1. Thanks Spacerguy, and it's good to hear from you. I've been wondering how you were doing! 🙂

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  13. Nice post, Dug. I understand the fascination of the photos and the sense of time travel. Liked your connection between photo 1 and the last pic by the car, which is seen in photo 1. I'm currrently going through my in-laws' photos and papers (much from the 1930s and 40s) and seeing some fascinating things - grades 1-8 report cards, Petersen Penmanship certificate, ration stamps, Sears payment booklet, an old love letter, postcards and photos from Air Force duty stations, pics of the adults and the kids in their youth, old checkbook registers, ... It's an opportunity to see how a life was built bit by bit. Kim in PA

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    1. Kim, thanks very much and I'm glad you noticed that about the car in the first and last pics. I have to tell you, I'm envious of the papers and stuff you're going through right now. I'd love to see those items, I love old documents like that! Thanks for sharing and it's nice to hear from you again. 🙂

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  14. Happy 4th of July♥️😊

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  15. Courtney ValentineJuly 4, 2022 at 12:15 AM

    Happy Fourth of July, I’ve been looking for that picture forever thank you for including it

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    1. Happy 4th Courtney, do you mean the family photo? I'm sorry you weren't in it you were still 2 years away! 😉♥️

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  16. Interesting reflection. I, too, often find myself reading about someone or an event with a date given and begin to wonder where was I then and what was I doing. Photos can be very stimulating of such thoughts.

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    1. Thank you Joared, you get it. It's just strange seeing an old family photo from someone else's perspective. But the look back is still fun. 🙂

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  17. Your family house looks like there was a lot of yard to be kept mown. LOVE the StingRay bike, and that tall-riding all metal tricycle! Linda in Kansas

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    1. Linda, I always love your observations. And omigod that lawn was a chore to mow! Hope you have a Happy Fourth! 🙂🧨

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  18. Really nice photos, love the aerial shot. Is that house still standing and being lived in? Summer 1973 here in Australia was Jan-Feb and I was about ready to pop with my firstborn.

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    1. River, you just gave me a chuckle here. Love your way with words! As a matter of fact, the house is still standing but I don't think it's in very good shape these days. And the countryside surrounding it has several new homes now. Yuk.

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  19. Happy Independence Day, Doug! So enjoyed the photos of your lovely farm house and family. I imagine flowered wall paper in some rooms. I don't remember if you mentioned learning to play an instrument but I think it likely with your Dad being a musician.

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    1. Thank you Florence, and Happy Belated Canada Day! I was hoping you'd see this post, as I knew it would be right up your alley. There was no wallpaper in the house, but the kitchen did have an orange and yellow floral liner on a couple of the walls. And yes I did learn to play an instrument, but it was a trumpet as I was in Band in high school. Nothing cool like my dad and his brothers. 😎

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  20. It's always fun to look back. Yesterday, sitting around the campfire, my sister told me about a recent trip she'd made back to where we first grew up. She hardly recognized the house, but a lot of the familiar landmarks were still there: The triangle rock we play on when we were kids. The 'second bridge', where we spent long summer days building haunted houses to scare the bejeebers out of each other with, the old dirt road that saw a lot of bike traffic. We never thought of our childhoods as idyllic, but viewed through the kind focus of 50 years, it seemed a lot sweeter.

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    1. Thanks for sharing Debby, that's great to read about your sister going back and revisiting old places. I agree about not really considering my own childhood idyllic, but it is easier to gloss over things now with the passage of so much time. 🙂

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  21. That looks a pretty nice sort of a place to grow up in. I grew up in the country also, well in a country town, not actually out in the country. We moved to the big smoke when I became a teenager – best of both worlds.
    In the (northern hemisphere) summer of 1973 I was living in Boston, well, in the outer suburb of Maynard, working at DEC (the computer company).

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    1. Peter, we were so far out in the sticks (and away from other kids) I'm just glad I had so many siblings :^) Hey, that's pretty cool you lived in Boston then--you've managed to get around.

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