THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD
Friday, 20. March 2009, 03:40:24
This used to be my neighborhood, this row of houses in the photo.
My house isn’t even there anymore; it was where the last boathouse on the left is.
Even as a child I knew I was lucky to live in this place.
My house was actually where the boathouse is, built right on the water.
You could jump off the roof or porch into deep water, the boathouse was under the living room, my bedroom was under the house and had a cement dock outside the door.
Originally the house was built on railroad ties and the water would run under my bedroom, the sound was soothing.
One year a house right across the lake, built like ours, fell into the lake when the ice went out.
The next year my father had our foundation redone and cemented.
The house was tilting towards the water already and he was afraid the ice might take our house also.
After that the water slapped up against the front of my bedroom, under the windows. It was still soothing but I liked it better when I could hear the water under the floor.
I liked looking out the windows, right onto the lake. I used to pretend it was a houseboat and it almost was except it didn’t move with the waves.
At night and early in the morning the sounds carried across the water and I could hear people a mile or more away having conversations.
On Saturday nights I could hear the dancing bands from the yacht club and people laughing and having a good time.
When the moon was big it would shine on the lake and if it was full the moonlight was a wide road you could drive a boat in.
The stars were clear and felt close; you could see the Milky Way and other galaxies.
We used to sit on the open porch for hours, staring at the sky. We’d watch meteor showers when it was their time of year, we’d hope for a falling star other times.
The water had it’s moods, sometimes it was calm like glass, sometimes it was rapidly moving, which way it went depended on good or bad weather and sometimes it was furious with churning waves and whitecaps.
It was always beautiful.
It was a perfect place for children to grow, feeding imaginations and providing adventures.
There was swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing and other water sports. There were long hours climbing on the rocks pretending to be lost on an island.
I swam like a fish and used to pretend I was a mermaid, I’d pull myself up on a large rock and bask in the sun and then slip back into the water and swim along the bottom until I couldn’t hold my breath any longer.
Across the short span of the lake was Loon Island Lighthouse, it’s beacon comforting in the night.
Across the long span of the lake was Mt. Kearsage in all it’s splendor, looking totally different with each season.
On the Fourth of July there were fireworks from the yacht club that was right behind the point next to the lighthouse. Not only were the fireworks wonderful and magical but there would be over 100 boats that came to watch from the water adding to the excitement of the night especially for children.
We would sit out on our porch and watch the fireworks, feeling special that our house had this perfect location for what seemed like everything.
Across the street was a thick forest and if you hiked there you could find Indian Cave. We’d take a picnic lunch and go through the cave and then sit on top and eat.
If you walked up Burkehaven Hill, right on top was blueberry hill and that’s where we picked tons of berries.
Today the blueberries are gone and there are houses but back then it was like a wilderness.
Every Tuesday my friend and I used to go horseback riding on Burkehaven Hill also. There were two fields separated by a stand of trees and you could look down onto the lake and across to Mt. Sunapee while riding.
I used to pretend it was 100 years earlier.
I miss my house and I always will but I know how lucky I was to have it especially for 51 years.
As an adult I’d still sit for hours on the porch, staring at the sky, listening to the conversations float across the water. It was where I’d go to settle my mind and find my peace when life got rough.
But I’ve still got that feeling, all I have to do is close my eyes and remember, my soul starts to relax and my mind’s eye sees what I saw for all those years and I think again just how lucky I am.
WIDGETIZE
hughchips2006 # 22. March 2009, 08:23
The house we used to live in the childhood is always the best on our mind, isn't it? My parents have just moved out of our old house where we lived for nearly fifty years and now it is still a little pain inside each member of us when we think about it.
minette061554 # 22. March 2009, 15:12
There is an album on my photos page that is all about the house and when they tore it down.
I lived in this house summers and in Massachusettes in the winters, I had to say goodbye to that neighborhood 9 years ago but New Hampshire is always where I was the happiest and wanted to be the most.
So I am here and I have good memories, I am a lucky woman and I know it.
SummerAngel # 23. March 2009, 20:19
It seems we have a lot in common. I grew up on waterfront property in FL. Our whole neighborhood was bought/taken by the Port Authority to accomodate Carnival Crusie Lines. ALL the homes were torn down and NO access is allowed into the old neighborhood. But, like you, I have tons of fond memories and pictures.
minette061554 # 23. March 2009, 20:33
Although we had a terminal in Tampa when I lived there (1992-2001 but I spent only 4 months there in 2001).
They can do what they like but they can't take our hearts and minds!
And the man who tore down my house and built his McMansion is a very nice man, I like him very much.
I am welcome there...I don't go often though, I go when I visit the neighbors (they are like family still).
So at least I have access, I'm sorry for what happened to you.
Like a cruise line is all that important in the scheme of life...NOT!!
At least not in my, not-always-humble opinion.
SummerAngel # 24. March 2009, 13:24
minette061554 # 24. March 2009, 14:22
Jacksonville seems nice but I don't know it well except to pass to it on my way to and from NH when living in Tampa.
Yeah, progress LOL.