One trademark of a close knit family is that they enjoy spending time with each other, and picnics are but one avenue for familes to come together. In 1994, Delphine, Rita, Evette, Tom and Linda wrote about their favorite picnic spots they experienced as siblings growing up. The places are Aunt Betty's farm, the Castle, Flat Rock, General Herkimer's House, the Mohawk River and Erie Barge Canal, Oak Mountain, Phipps Park to name a few of the more memoriable ones. These are their stories.
Barge Canal - from Herkimer take Rt. 5 east to Little Falls to Rt. 169, Lock #17 is about 1/2 mile on your right. Walk across the canal lock and take the Moss Island path, this other side is where Mom swam, per Uncle Alex, she never told us. (Rita)
The Mohawk River and Erie Barge Canal were to become one of the first picnic grounds in this family. Dad (Roy Richie) lived in Herkimer near these water ways and he and his brothers, Leo and Albert played and fished whenever they could in the river. If you traveled seven miles east along the river you would find the river and canal joining just before the city of Little Falls. Mom (Mary Rosemyer) lived in Little Falls and when she was a young girl in the mid 1920's she would go to the ever popular canal near Lock #17 where other children swam. Her mother realized her love for the outdoors and swimming, so she gave her daughter 50 cents to join the YWCA learn to swim program. Now as my mother told this to me, she was already learning how to swim in the canal and decided to save the 50 cents, which was a lot of money in those days. She never really fooled my Grandmother though, because she did get hurt once, scrapping her side on a sharp rock and when you swam in the oil?slick canal, you also smelled like the canal. (Rita)
As the Mohawk River and the Canal joined, fate would join Mary and Roy. When they met in the summer of 1932, their love for the outdoors started the picnics. I can imagine these first picnics were very romantic, they dressed in suits and fine clothes and were very debonair. They married in 1935 and three years later started their family. Pants for women became popular in the early 1940's and life styles changed with the impending WW II. Richie's and other relatives gathered at different spots on the sometimes swift West Canada Creek. The West Canada Creek runs from the Adirondack mountains, through Hinckley Lake, Poland, and ends in Herkimer, emptying in the Mohawk River. As Roy and Mary's children, we all learned to swim and respect the water at a very young age. We usually went on our picnics on Sunday, and when we were old enough, Mom made us go to early Mass and no one could sleep late. The picnic food would be full course meals, or as simple as baloney sandwiches, especially at Flat Rock , where you couldn't cook out. You drove your car right on the flat rocks in the creek. The water was about 2 to 6 inches deep and rushed all around you so you could wash your car and slide down the creek on the slippery rocks. Another favorite place was Big Rock Beach , a creek with natural pot holes, very deep with ice cold water. At times it was very private and our parents allowed us to experience skinny dipping, if we wanted to. (Rita)
Mom and Dad skinny dipping at Big Rock Beach . "Now nobody look". (Linda)
Big Rock Beach near Dolgeville, possibly part of Kayser Lake (Rita)
Oak Mountain - from Herkimer, take Rt. 28 to Middleville, take Rt. 29 to Rt. 29A east to Stratford. Drive northwest on Cemetery Rd from Stratford starting at the bridge on NY29A over the East Canada Creek. Take the first right fork, cross Trammel Creek and in 0.2 mile take a left fork crossing the creek two more times. This road winds north to a fork, 3 miles north of Stratford. Perkins Mill Rd. continues straight ahead, and Bungtown Rd. "posted as Oak Mountain Rd." is the left fork. Driving along this road look to your left (west) and you will soon see Oak Mountain through the trees I believe we picnicked on the left side of this road. (Rita)
Fishing season opened April 1st, and we would venture up to Oak Mountain, snow of course was still on the ground. Dad would fish for trout and we would cook it right there in a black cast iron pan. In the summer he would snare frogs for frog legs at the "Castle" , at City Brook near Newport. We would bring those home and have a gourmet's meal. (Rita)
It's hard to pick a favorite picnic spot visited during one's childhood, because they were all such fun, but one does come to mind that was different because it had an aura of mystery about it and our family always had it all to ourselves when we would converge there with our good things to eat and fishing equipment for Daddy, one of his favorite pastimes. It was called Oak Mountain. I don't know if that was its real name or one that we made up, since we did have a habit of naming places. Where it was, I couldn't tell you. As a youngster, I never paid attention to routes, directions, or the like. However, I did enjoy riding in the car and going places ? getting away from everyday life and having a change of scenery. We, as children, were fortunate that Mom and Dad would take us to these places ? and picnics were very popular. A piece of grass to sit on, a brook to fish in, a lake to swim in, woods to run in ? and best of all when aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmothers and others would gather and bring their favorite dishes, decks of cards, watermelons, and lots of laughter ! (Delphine)
I think Oak Mountain was sort of a secret place to my Mom and Dad. I never saw another person there. You drove up to it on a dirt road. When arriving at "the spot", the car was pulled in a little ways. There was fine sand in the area. It made me think I was at the beach. One time we took some home for our sandbox! The picnic spot was on top of a ravine with a heavily wooded slope down to a bubbling creek. This is where Dad fished for trout. He would get us to fish too, but I soon became bored with it and enjoyed climbing up and down the hill instead. Mom and Dad knew of a hermit who lived a little ways down a trail, and one time took us for a walk to his cabin. Almost there, we saw a water wheel that this man built for his power. I was impressed with it. When we got to the cabin, we saw that he was not there. Neither was his dog, who Mom and Dad had also met before. So we don't know if he moved away or was just gone for the day. One time, upon arriving at Oak Mountain and unpacking our lunch, Daddy discovered that he had left the steak home. On the way in the car, I was thinking about that steak sizzling on an open fire, savoring its wonderful aroma, and was sorely disappointed! I stomped my feet and scolded Daddy to no end. He, too, was mad at himself and didn't reprimand me for being so nasty. He said he'd go back home for it. I told him not to ? that I would suffer with the food that we did have. Well, he did go, and we had our steak. I felt a little ashamed, but enjoyed it anyway. So, I wonder what this mysterious place is like now. Is it still as wild as it once was? What happened to the hermit? Maybe, just maybe, another young family picnics in that spot now, wallowing in the beauty and lushness of that great wonderment we call outdoors. (Delphine)
Picnics were when Mom and Dad would get cabin fever and let us kids loose in the wilds of New York State. There were many of these when we were growing up and I will comment on a few. Oak Mountain: Whereabouts unknown but somewhere north of Herkimer down a dusty dirt road. Of course I would always get car sick and make Dad stop before we got there so I could (you know) uck...Anyway Oak Mt was the really first place that I was shown how to fish and yes, of course, I caught one & Dad & Tommy had to take it off the hook for me. They never took me fishing again. Yes, the old mountain hermit was there and his place was just a wonder to us all, so much junk around and neat things to look at. (imagine a yard sale at that place)? (Evette)
Aunt Betty and Uncle Larry Peruzzi's farm We all have our favorite memories and one of mine was what happened after a picnic at Aunt Betty and Uncle Larry Peruzzi's farm in Fort Herkimer. My mother wore a big full skirt to this picnic, on this beautiful warm summer day, I can still hear the crickets chirping away. We picked fresh vegetables and berries from the farm garden and picnicked at a little creek behind the farm. We came home late and all ran upstairs to get ready for bed. (We always ran, a little game we played, last one up was a nut,nut,nut). Mom went into the bathroom and let out a howling scream, out of the bathroom ran a very frightened field mouse. All of us girls, along with Mom climbed on top of the hamper and clothes chest, with everyone screaming now. My father came to our rescue and captured the mouse. It wasn't very difficult, the mouse climbed up the window shade, went inside the roller and was trapped. We all had a good laugh, and it was anyone's guess how long that mouse was in her skirt. Mom never wore a skirt to a picnic again. (Rita)
When I tell people that we used to picnic in a cow pasture they laugh but it sure was a lot of fun. I remember building the dam with Bobby and some other bigger boys just so we could have a deeper place to swim. The cows helping themselves to the beer or anything they thought would taste good. Then after the picnic we would go back to the farm and jump from the rafters in the barn into the hay below. It's a wonder none of us ever fell from there as there was usually farm equipment below. (Evette)
Castle - from Herkimer, take Rt. 28 north to Middleville, just outside of Middleville take a right on Castle Rd. and your first left on Old City Rd., a short distance you will come to "City Brook", with a demolished Castle and beautiful falls on your right, the path on your left to our old swimming hole is private now, but if you took a walk on the Brook rocks, you may find some diamonds we left for you. (Rita)
Couldn't wait to get there and then we had to cart all our food & picnic stuff down the path which seemed like a million miles because we couldn't wait to get there & go swimming. Sometimes we got to walk down via the creek and then we didn't have to carry anything. We would also picnic up near the "castle" and the waterfall but it wasn't deep enough to swim but we still liked the waterfall and running thru the castle thinking we were a princess & our knight in shinning armor would appear any minute and live happily ever after! (Evette)
The Castle was my favorite place. Swimming in that freezing water until our lips were blue, playing in the castle. We always seemed to have the whole place to ourselves. Since I was the youngest I never had to do anything to help prepare, set up or clean up afterwards. ALL RIGHT! (Linda)
Flat Rock - take Rt. 28 north from Herkimer, take a right on North Creek Rd. I never found it (1994). I checked with the Herkimer Chamber of Commerce and they remembered it, but said the changes in that area have eliminated the spot. (Rita)
We all have memories of this place as it was close to home and went there often. Usually after work Dad would come home and we would go for supper. Maybe just sandwiches or hot dogs and spend a few hours as it stayed light for so long. There was a time when I almost drowned and am not sure if it was Flat Rock but I must have been about 3 or 4 and Delphine & Rita were sitting on a small water fall splashing their feet in the water & all the adults were jumping off the rock & swimming. I HAD to be like the big girls so Mom let me sit there too, but my feet didn't quite reach so I kept scooting forward so my feet would reach the water until I slipped right into the water. I remember opening my eyes under water and saw Aunt Leslie so I grabbed her and she pulled me up out of the water. I didn't get to sit there again! (Evette)
Where did Flat Rock get it's name and who named it? I don't know but that's what it is, a big slab of slate, as big as a football field and it seems to me that it was on a slight angle from one side to the other. (Zero depth to four to six inches deep on the other far side). I recall waiting in the car, sitting in the steering wheel swinging back and forth (boy that wheel had a lot of play in it) as Delphine, Rita, Evette and I waited for Mom & Dad. They were having a cigarette and a glass of beer over by the counter between the stove and icebox. Then we'd be on our way and it seemed to take so long to get there, but I knew we were getting close because of the aroma of asphalt and the sound of pebbles ticking the fenders on that narrow road. Then the iron bridge, as we turned onto the creek of slate and shallow water and it was just the right temperature too, Dad would drive over to the far side where it was maybe four inches deep and park there in the water. There was a shelf about six inches above where you could put a blanket down and have a picnic. The year was probably 1946 and I would be four and Linda wasn't born yet, we would walk along the slate in the very shallow warm water as it was so much fun. Then up stream, just before the bridge, there was a deeper part maybe 12 to 18 inches deep where I learned how to swim, by crawling on my hands and knees, putting my face down and blowing bubbles, (Mom said I swim like a rock). After we learned how to swim we would go down stream where the slate broke off, creating a waterfall and pot hole where we spent a lot of time under the falls and swimming, I can remember being in the water so long that when you came out you could see a ring around the sun. Mom and Dad must have had a lot of fun too. I don't remember it all but they would wash the car by just scooping up a bucket of water under their feet and toss it on the car or each other to cool off. (Tommy)
General Herkimer Homestead - Rt. 169 a little past Lock #17, Herkimer, NY (Rita) I loved touring the house and used to imagine myself living there. (Linda)
West Canada Creek - from Herkimer take Rt. 28 North, picnics were along the shores around Kast Bridge and Poland, NY. (Rita)
Farm house picnic - from South Washington St. Herkimer, (by the way we as children grew up at 337 So. Washington St.) go over the Mohawk River and Barge Canal to Rt. 5S, go, east (left) to Fort Herkimer, just after crossing the bridge over the thruway take a sharp right on Griffin Rd., very shortly on your left you will see an old abandoned little farm house and barn, the creek (name unknown) is somewhere behind the farm. (Rita)
Phipps Park, Florida - Rte. A1A at Palm Beach go south, Phipps Park is on the Ocean just before Lake Worth Beach (Rita)Phipps Park, FL
We had many picnic's in Fla after we moved in 1957. We usually went to Phipps Park as it had a large picnic area up from the beach, grills, shade & a rest room. I remember when we went there with all the "northern" relatives when they came to visit, the Rosemyers, Richies, Mellens and many friends. One time when Steve & Cathy Carl and some of their friends were visiting me we took them to Phipps Park for a day at the beach. We no sooner set up our stuff when it started to rain, and I mean it poured! Mom and Dad said, "lets go to our house and have the picnic there." I forgot to mention that it had not rained for weeks so it was a welcome sight to us but not to the New Yorkers. we had the picnic at their house, cooked in the garage & ate in the house & it rained all day. (Evette)
The picnics at Phipps Park were always fun. They were all different and all
involved different people, since we always seemed to have company. I can't
imagine all the hot dogs, hamburgers, polish sausage and potato salad that was
consumed at all these picnics!! (Linda)
Photo taken about __?__. Left to right:
Linda, Mary, Grandma Sarah, Evette
Sneaking JET in the car and hiding him so he could go on the picnics with us. Of course He wasn't allowed in the car, let alone coming along on the picnics with us. Once we got to the picnic area and Jet was found out there was no way we could turn around and take him home. There were ALOT of things Jet wasn't allowed to do but somehow got away with. Ha! Ha! . After we all grew up I found out that Daddy knew all along that we had Jet in the car before we even left home and yet he always put on a big act of being MAD at all of us for sneaking him. Somehow the fact that he knew made me feel that Dad was really a big SOFTY ! (Under all that crustiness).(Linda)
Things were so much simpler back then and to me a picnic was really something to look forward to. I know that because of these picnics I have a great appreciation for nature. (Linda)
Additions and Changes. Do you have recollections and fond memories to add to the above collection? If so, send them to Dave Thompson's attention at [email protected]. Last update August 26, 2000.