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 We used to swim mostly at 63rd
Street beach in the early days. It tapered off from shallow to
deep very gradually. Also, the wave action was interesting on
windy days. In this photo, I was still allowed to wear
bottoms-only on the beach. That changed soon after this
photo. In later years, as 63rd Street beach became less safe, we
went to 77th Street beach (later known as Rainbow Beach). It was
quite large and had a nice playground, as well, with ladders hanging
from a Maypole apparatus--those were a lot of fun (but a bit
dangerous). Even later, when I went to the beach by myself, 59th
Street beach, across from the Museum of Science and Industry was within
my walking distance.
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| The Thompsons were friends of my
parents from Elmira. Merle Dow Thompson and Louise Tyler Thompson
were older than my parents. Merle and Louise lived in "The Knoll"
on Hoffman Street. They had a summer place in Maine, on Frenchman
Bay, across from Mount Desert Island (and Bar Harbor). Their
place in Maine was called "The Eddy." We visited them in both
places even after we moved to Chicago. Here, a portion of the
Thompson family is visiting us, in Chicago. In terms of
occupations: Merle was President of Elmira Bank and Trust Company
(later to branch out as Marine Midland). He was also a member of
the Board of Trustees of Elmira College which is how my parents got to
know the Thompsons. Merle had been one of the owners of overseas
gold mines at the end of World War II. He was originally from
Midland, Michigan. Louise was a graduate of Vassar College; she
was later to serve as the dominant influence in my choice of
undergraduate college. The Thompsons' eldest son, Tyler (not the
grandson, shown here), later became the United States Ambassador to
Finland. I believe the Thompsons had four children, two boys and
two girls. The other boy was named Henry and he married a woman
named Henrietta. |
| MEMORIES Moving to Chicago, and in
particular moving to the Faculty Apartment Building, opened many varied
and broad opportunities, especially in regard to the remarkable set of
people who moved into this new building.
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