Saturday, February 6, 2010

Winter scenes

Here are some photos from an old family album.


My mother and father, Janet and Nick Nichols, taking us out for a winter walk.  I'm in the basket on the sled; my sister is strapped onto the pack-board on my father's back. We are on Nichols Street (the segment later called Conifer Hill Drive) right in front of our home.

Given the way we are dressed, I'd say we're probably headed to a family gathering,  perhaps at my grandparents' home around the corner to the left, or further along that road to great-grandfather's house, where several "Great Aunts" still lived (98 Preston Street, known as "Pine Knoll").




This photo of our home at 120 Nichols Street, Danvers, under a heavy blanket of snow,  was taken in February 1945.




A few winters later, my little sister was old enough to stand and pose on Mommy's big skis in front of the house.

Note the very large baskets on the ski poles.









Below is a winter photo of us with our dog Heidi.




We're playing in the front yard; the snow-covered tent behind us is the Army-surplus tent we used as a garage.  In my hands is a fuzzy round "muff", while my sister Jean has mittens hanging on a string through the sleeves of her jacket.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Early skates

My first skates weren't very effective or comfortable. I did enjoy playing around on the frozen pond near our home, whether in boots or on skates.

Read more in my February column:  Memories of my first skates.

This photo of me (with double-bladed skates) was taken when I was barely two and one-half years old.   Note the stiff oversized mittens.  I bet they were red.  I have a memory of shiny red mittens we called "lobster claw" mittens.

In the distance you can see the sloped lawn of the old "Locust Lawn" estate.