The Decker Brothers

The summer of 1961 we came up from Brooklyn, NY for a week at Scott’s farmhouse on Lake Oquaga.  I just turned 16 years old that March and was feeling so grownup and ready for some real “adult” excitement.  My parents generously allowed me to bring my 16 year old cousin, Sharon,  and my 15 year old life-long friend, Dorothy, along for the week.  We willingly jammed into one double bed in a tiny little bedroom on one side of the farmhouse.  There was one window overlooking the field to the left of the house and we initially spent a lot of time gazing out this window, sharing our dreams of a future that stood wide open before us.  None of us had a driver’s license yet but since we were already well into our teens, we were allowed to wander around the lake pretty much at will. Our only real instructions were that under no circumstances were we to get into a car with any boys.  “Okay, we’ve got it” we said as we left the farmhouse to do some exploring of the local surroundings.  Down the Oquaga Lake Rd we walked heading past Scott’s Family Resort as we talked incessantly and admired the beautiful trees and green countryside and fresh smelling air all around us.  We eventually stopped for awhile along the side of the road.  A few minutes later a car drove by heading up the hill.  The next thing we knew, the car had stopped and was beginning to back down the hill to where we were sitting on the guardrail.

The three young men in the vehicle started to talk to us and eventually pulled the car over to the side of the road and got out.  Sharon, Dorothy and I were delighted with their attention and responded enthusiastically with coy smiles and naive flirtations.  They told us they were brothers and that their names were Golden, Lyle and Stanley Decker.  I don’t know how the guys figured out who was interested in who but almost immediately it seemed that three couples had been established - Golden was for Sharon, Lyle was for me and Stanley was Dorothy’s fellow.  I was delighted with this arrangement since Lyle was the guy that made my 16 year old heart melt.  I thought he was adorable and I couldn’t believe he might be interested in me.  Who knows, possibly I wasn’t really the one he wanted but even to this day, I’d rather believe I was his pick!