Here are some pictures from my vacation and some reminecing

They make great Pastrami sandwiches here at Tommy's - a wonderful NY experience. 

The view from my Brother Ed's RV



Eddy and Helen buy their honey and maple syrup from this Local farm.  It's just down the road apiece. (note the sign, "Wicopee Rd"

The High School I attended in Elmsford NY.

The Girls Entrance

 Alexander Hamilton High School

The Boys Entrance



The area where my dad had a well and built a small rock pond on Taxter Rd, Elmsford NY.  Now over
grown with trees and old stumps.  Just beyond is a small stream where my brothers and I used to
catch crayfish.  lots of great memories here.



The old driveway going up to our neighbor's home.  My brothers and I used to sleigh ride
down this driveway all the way to the street in the winter time.  The tall tree to the left
with a limb restin on it was at the right back corner of the garage.  We used to climb this cherry
tree all the time and sit on he garage roof gazing up at the clouds n the sky.

Note the remains of an old mailbox strapped to the tree at the driveway entrance of my old
homestead on Taxter Road where I grew Up.

 

Memories of the old house on Taxter Road  

We lived in the upstairs of the old Carriage house and Barn without running water, heat or indoor plumbing.  The house was large, having 2 floors.  The main floor had a large apartment with the kitchen, dining room and living room on the left side that had a front entrance onto a large porch with stairs going to 3 upstairs bedrooms.  There also was a wrap around screened in porch from the kitchen to the dinning room, to the right of the main floor was the  attached Stable area, which had stairs in the back going to the upstairs apartment.  The barn had an open area to house a carriage and a few stalls to house the horses.  Mom and dad lived in the apartment above the stable.  On the 2nd.  The upper level of the house had 3 medium sized bedrooms with and entrance to the stair way.  From the back bedroom there were windows where you could look down into the back yard.  we used to climb out on the porch roof when there were rain storms and dance under the water running off the roof onto the porch.  The apartment above the stable where mom and dad lived had an entrance into a small room then the kitchen, a large room to the left is were we all slept. from this room there was a doorway to the stairs going down to the front porch.  There were also 2 or 3 rooms behind our sleeping area that had a door leading to the back stable stairway. 

Since we didn't have any indoor plumbing Dad would have to go down to the well every day and bring back pail fulls of water from the well from which my mother would use for cooking or bathing.  Taking a bath meant using a round steel tub filled with hot water that was heated on our wood stove.  The old wood stove in the kitchen was our only heat source for the apartment.  I remember Dad piling blankets and coats on us as we slept to keep us warm..  Brrrr the mornings were cold and we often huddled around the stove to warm us in the morning.  In the kitchen was a sink with a hand pump for water but it didn't work.  The kitchen window looked out into the back yard were dad kept his chickens, ducks and goats.  The goats were housed in a little shack on the right side of the house.  Our out house was located at the back of the house and to the right of the front porch well hidden by bushes and trees.  I remember planting my 1st rose bush alongside of the outhouse.  It grew tall and had many roses on it which gave off a heady aroma of roses.  To this day my favorite cologne is Roses, (I even have rose sachets in my clothing drawers.)   


A large area to the left of our driveway off of the front porch was were Dad had his vegetable garden.  My Father loved to plant Peas, String Beans, Tomatoes, Peppers, cucumbers and onions here.  towards the back are 2 large boulders on which I would sit and read, (I remember going up into the attic were I found a box of books - I read Thru these books the summer I turned 13.  Wow in my imagination I visited Rome, Greece and other exotic places as I read these books,) or lay across them looking up at the clouds by day or the stars at night.  There was a gentle slope down to the road were Dad would Plant Dalia's and Gladiolas. 

My husband Raymond built railroad tracks to scale around the perimeter and made a car using a small engine.  My oldest boy, Raymond Jr. loved to ride around the track on the car his daddy built.  We lived on this property quite a long time.  I was 5 or so when mom and dad moved here from downtown Elmsford and in my mid 20's & Married with 2 children, (Raymond Jr. & Ann,) when we moved to Tuckahoe NY were my 3rd child was born, (Nancy).