The Summer of 1962 - 43 years later

About 4 decades and a few years after last having a summer romance at Lake Oquaga, in 2005 my husband and I went for a weekend with friends to the newly renovated Chestnut Inn (previously known as the Chestnut Lodge). We had a marvelous time and before we headed back home to Latham, N.Y., we decided to grab an early dinner in Deposit, N.Y. , the little town down the hill from Lake Oquaga.  There are not many restaurants in Deposit but I thought I remembered a place that I had gone to in 1962.  I had no idea if it still existed but my sense of direction was accurate and we found a down-home place named Crane’s restaurant.  When I walked in, I knew it was the same place that RA took me me to way back in the summer of  '62. In case you’ve forgotten RA was the guy I had met at the Chestnut Lodge all those many years ago.
Bob and I sat at a booth and I opened up the "Memory Lane" scrapbook that I had brought with me to share with our friends during our nostalgic Chestnut Inn weekend.   The owner of the restaurant came over to our booth and I told him that I thought I had been to this place in the summer of 1962 with a local guy by the name of RA ( I used his real, full name when asking the owner of Crane's restaurant about him).  To my surprise he knew exactly who I was talking about.   I mentioned that all those years ago there had been a bit of a commotion at the bar and and I had wondered if the young woman involved could have been a girlfriend of his, and I was being brought there to make her jealous.     But I mentioned that I had kind of dismissed that possibility.  When that thought crossed my mind that summer night all those years ago, I thought, "how would he even have known that she was going to at this particular place on this particular night".  I told the current owner what I had thought and he surprised me when he answered "well, it's not surprising that she would be there, since her parents owned the place!   So, I had been naive and a bit stupid and even all these years later I felt rather foolish. I had been paraded under this young woman's nose purposely to make her jealous.  I felt like I had certainly been "used".     It was  later that same night on the way back to the Farmhouse summer vacation rental that RA abruptly stopped the car and forcefully attempted to grope me.

Before we left to go back home, Crane's current owner also told me that that particular woman ended up marrying RA but he had gotten the better part of the twosome and she had gotten the raw end of the deal.  Apparently, and I might add, from his perspective, RA was no prize and hadn't aged very well but he felt like his wife was quite a nice lady.   I was surprised to see from some research on Facebook (It is amazing what one can discover through Facebook), that RA was married in September 1963.  That surprises me a little because if I remember correctly it was the next summer ( 1963) that I was up to  Lake Oquaga for a short time and was walking with my Dad on the road in front of the Farmhouse when RA drove by in his car and stopped and called me over to the car.  I didn't know how he knew I was up to the Lake.  Since my father was at my side, I walked a few feet to the side of the car.  RA grabbed a small box out of the glove compartment and opened it up to show me an engagement ring.  I don't remember what he said or why he did this, all I remember is he did this.  I often wonder if he gave his girl the ring and married her the next month.   

If his wife's postings are any indication, she appears to have loved him dearly.  He died at 67 years of age and his wife seems to miss him terribly.  I am not sure what I meant to him or if he cared for me at all.  I hate to think he was completely “ using me” to make her jealous. 

I remember my 1961 summer sweetheart, Lyle Decker, with a lot more affection. 

I believe that the above photo was taken in 1963 when my father and I drove my cousin, Karen O'Donnell to get the train back to NYC.  I know the photo was definitely taken in Deposit, N.Y.  by my father.  I am aslo wearing a St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing Sweatshirt and I started Nursing School in September 1962.  ( I could have brought the shirt prior to starting school?).   

These summer romance stories do make me think of my Aunt Anne O'Donnell who never married.  I believe it is partly because the love of her life, Eddie Moran, was a country farmer, and she was already establised as a NYC business woman.  The change in lifestyles would have been just too much to overcome.   Can a city girl marry a country boy and find happiness?

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