Tag Archives: Linda Sabo

My Earliest Christmas Holiday Photo

What is the earliest photo you have of yourself taken during the holiday season? I was a bit surprised looking through my own photos because I knew that my parents and grandparents took a lot of pictures of me when I was small. I was the first child for my parents and the only grandchild in the family until I was five years old.

In spite of that, while there were numerous pictures of me in my stroller in the snow and of our Christmas tree each year, the only picture I came across was this one of me with Santa in 1952.


Linda & Santa, 1952

It must have been a bit chilly out, based on my snowsuit. I don’t know exactly where Santa was, but the store most certainly was somewhere in downtown Passaic where we lived. Santa must have done a good job, too, because I have a couple of other photos taken in later years with the exact same Santa Claus.

Santa is very busy tonight, traveling the globe bringing Christmas gifts to children around the world. Children today can follow Santa’s route with NORAD. That’s fun, but not quite the same as wondering when Santa will be coming down our own chimney!

 

Little Sebago Lake & Me

Little Sebago Lake, c1910
Source: My Personal Postcard Collection

This is mostly a photo montage of vintage pictures taken, mostly by my Aunt Barbara, during the summers I spent on Little Sebago Lake. My grandparents’ camp was off what today is called Cambell Shore Road and their cottage was in between the Wetherbees’ and Abrahamsons’, nestled high up in the trees at the end of the dead-end road.

Even though I’m in the pictures, I’ve tried to include ones that have enough background for you to enjoy life at the lake in the old days.

You can see how thick the trees really were. In the blackened area in the middle is where the stairs were up to the cottage.


Some Sunshine and Me on Those Stairs


Wetherbees’ Granddaughter (L) and Me, c1957

Here is a playmate I rarely saw because her family lived in the Midwest somewhere. However, the view of the lake behind us is gorgeous!

The guest cabin is in the background. I don’t really remember berries growing up here as I got older. Whenever I needed something to do, Aunt Barbara and Grandmother sent me down the stairs to collect enough blueberries for Grandmother to bake a fresh pie.


Visiting the Beach Across the Lake

We often visited the beach across the lake by boat. It was about a 15 minute ride over there. Occasionally, there were others enjoying the sand and view, but most of the time, we had it all to ourselves.

Mom and Grandmother especially loved sunbathing and floating around on inner tubes, like the one I’m enjoying in the first two pictures.


Wetherbees’ Camp

The Wetherbees were from the Midwest and only occasionally at the lake. I remember Mrs. Wetherbee, but not her husband. When they weren’t there, Aunt Barbara would take me for walks along the road and those stairs to wander through the bushes next door to the Wetherbee cottage. They had much flatter land down by the water’s edge and even had sandy beach, which was great fun to play in.


Mom

You can see my grandparents’ cottage in the upper right corner. Mom would bring me down to the water to play in the sand. Those couple of feet to her right was the sum total of the camp beach. That’s why the Wetherbees’ beach was so much fun!


Mom and Me, Going for a Row

My grandparents did own a rowboat, which looks to be in good condition in this photo, taken c1956. However, only the motor boat was stored for the winter. This boat was left out to the elements and eventually was quite corroded. The boat was also full of spider webs and there were snakes in the woods along the path from the stairs and the right turn path to where the rowboat sat. It wasn’t but a few years later when I refused to get in it anymore!


Mom, Sitting on a Rock in the Lake, Off the Beach


Mom, In Front of the Guest Cabin


Grandparents’ Camp

This is a good view of just how many trees were on the property. To the right is the guest cabin. You can’t see the main cottage in this picture. The buildings in the distance are the Wetherbees’ cottage and cabin.


View of the Cottage from the Lake

I am sure Aunt Barbara took this last picture. It looks like spring time and I’m guessing it might have been Memorial Day weekend when Grandmother & Grandfather went up to the lake to open up camp for the summer. A telltale sign is that there is no dock back in the water yet!

Hoe you enjoyed the pictures. I never get tired of looking at them because they represent very happy times!

 

My Favorite Christmas Presents

Through the years, there have been many Christmases where Santa was very good to me and I received some terrific gifts. However, there is only one Christmas I remember where I can still tell you my favorite presents that year. I guess maybe there have been too many Christmases at this point for my brain to keep track of, but for Christmas 1959, I dearly wanted two things.

First, I didn’t think I could live without Patty Playpal, the “it” toy of the year. Patty was quite a big doll, probably somewhere between 18 and 24 inches tall. She had beautiful curly hair and a pretty little dress.

Second on my wish list, was a “big girl” bicycle. I had been riding a two-wheeler for over a year, but it was a small bike, dark blue as I remember. All my friends on the block had bikes, which we rode constantly. Therefore, I was really, really hoping for a bigger bicycle.

Santa didn’t disappoint me at all! When I woke up early on Christmas morning and peeked out my bedroom door, both Patty and a beautiful pink and white bicycle were by the Christmas tree. The bike even had pink streamers hanging on the handlebars. Those streamers were greatly prized by all the kids who had them.


Linda, Patty Playpal & the New Bike, 1959

It wasn’t evident in this photo, but I also received my least favorite gift ever that Christmas Day. Just before I was planning to ride my new bike around the neighborhood, spots began to appear on me – I had chicken pox!

Do you have a favorite holiday gift? Leave a comment, please. 🙂