Saranac Lake .. and a jouney back ....

 ... to growing up in this wonderful little town.

Ahhh .... the beauty of the Adirondacks looking out from the back side of Mt Pisgah. 

I don't think there is one person who grew up in Saranac Lake, New York who doesn't have memories of Mt Pisgah. This is where I learned to ski - torturous as it was at the time, I made it through the tears and conviction of NEVER doing this again; only to emerge as a possessed teen with the need to be on my skis, looking for that special someone to blow in my mittens to warm up my fingers. Night skiing was the best .. the lights, lightly falling snow, the T-bar pulling us up the mountain and I do believe that I recall hearing music.  After a couple of runs, we would put our skis in the stand up holders, go buy some popcorn and sit by the potbelly stove to thaw out.  All such wonderful memories! Hummmm, and, I do believe there is a very special ring lost on that mountain.

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And, here is St Bernard's School.  No childhood is complete without wearing the Catholic School uniform, complete with white blouses and Patty Pan collars!

The town hall holds such wonderful memories of the teen canteen dances, Winter Carnival events  .... and it was where my Dad worked as a policeman.  Now the fact that he was a policeman in the town that I was TRYING to grow up in is a story in and of itself!

This was the lake that I grew up on.  If you could see the shoreline on the left, you would find our "big House" and the 5 cabins.  I recall standing on our dock on Sunday mornings and hearing the friars sing - in that big building half way up the mountain. 

This was the motel and small pond that I walked by each day on my way home from school or hanging out downtown.  I never tired of this view and always stopped to see the water run under the road, looking for frogs and fish.  Such a simple pleasure.

 

 I use to love to ride my bike along McKenzie Pond Road, passing by the pond and knowing that ahead there was a an uphill stretch to contend with.  No dilly dallying here! Just whiz on by!

Much like Mt Pisgah, no child could escape the allure of  Mountain Mist.  Anyone recall the custard dipped in the red cherry shell?!  Oh man .... messy but so wonderfully delicious.  That, alternated with the sprinkles ..... happy memories.

I never made it into Robert Lewis Stevenson's cottage .... because all I wanted to do was get the the animal farm just beyond it.  It was tiny but I loved putting my money in the machine to get the pellets to feed the animals. I just loved it there.

The library was such a cool little place.  My memory of childhood was going there, sitting at the little table and reading the Edith and Mr Bear books!  Even today, I still read them to my granddaughter, just as I did to her mother! 

Everyone who came to town to visit had to be brought to "The Little Red" Schoolhouse.  It was so cute.  But ..... turn around from "Little Red" and the picture below is what you would see.  Who could ask for a better town to grow up in?!