Summer in the Finger Lakes
Six local history museums in the Finger Lakes are working on an exhibit on the history of vacationing in the Finger Lakes and are searching for stories and information. This unique collaborative effort will explore topics such as cottage life, childhood, boating and other water recreation, amusement parks and other entertainment, food, the public and private use of the lakefront, the ways in which the region has been promoted, and what it’s like to work in tourism businesses.
To add your story (or that of a friend) to our collective effort, you can send them via e-mail to info@genevahistoricalsociety.com or add to our recently created blog on the subject by posting at http://summerinthefingerlakes.blogspot.com/. The exhibits will open at all six museums in June 2007. For more information, contact John Marks or Anne Dealy at the Geneva Historical Society, 315-789-5151.
The participating museums are the Geneva Historical Society, the Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society, the Cayuga Museum, the History Center of Tompkins County, the Chemung Valley Museum and the Ontario County Historical Society.
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Geneva Historical Society
543 South Main St
Geneva, NY 14456
315-789-5151
info@genevahistoricalsociety.com
Submitted by Anne Dealy
I'm working with the six organizations--and just in case you need some questions to get started with those memories.....Enjoy--and share--the memories!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you spend the summer?
If it was at cottage, please describe the interior and exterior of the cottage?
Can you describe the furnishings?
Do you know the history of the cottage?
What was your favorite thing to do at the lake as a child? as a teenager? as an adult?
What did you do on rainy days?
What were meals like? Were there special foods that characterized your time at the cottage? Did you go on picnics? What did you eat? Were there restaurants that really meant summer to you?
Did you sail/row/waterski /boat or do other water activities?
What is your favorite memory of the lake?
Do you think lake vacations have changed since you were a child?
Did you every work in a job that served vacationers?
Where was it and what did you do? When was this?
Describe what you wore to work.
What was the best part of your job? The worst part?
Did the job have certain rituals or routines? Memorable characters?
What did you and your co-workers think of vacationers?
Did you go to summer camp in the Finger Lakes? Where? When?
Can you describe what the camp looked like? What was a camp day like?
Were there any "Native American" rituals practiced at camp?
Did you have to wear a uniform?
What was the food like at camp?
What was your favorite part of camp? Your least favorite?
Was there a ritual for the last night at camp? What was it?