Old Man of the Mountain

JustOldStuff

OldPostCards

I had a couple great Aunts and an Uncle that lived up north in and around New England. We would spend a week each summer going up to visit them. We would stay with my Aunt Helen at her summer house on the lake.

I remember she took us one time to a place where an old homestead used to be and she and my parents dug around and found old bottles and things buried there.

She also would go with us when we would go to see some of the touristy sites. One of my favorites was going to see the Old Man in the Mountain.  

vintagephotosjohnson

As a little kid, I was pretty impressed that this old man’s face was way up there, but I was also a little disappointed. I had expected to see much more detail in that face.

WmMacGregor

Well, what do you expect from a little kid? I listened when my parents and Aunt talked about it and really thought it was going to look exactly like and old man’s face. I remember looking way up there and squinting my eyes so the details seemed to be there just not too clear.

landscapelady

Over the years I have kept fond memories of going there with family and getting to see the grand old man.  I also thought it was pretty cool that it was on the state quarter.

neleh88

smalls4utoo

cornucopia

VintageBeth

 

 

itsfound

I was saddened like so many others when the old man crumbled away in 2003, but his image does live on. 

 There is an old man legacy fund site (which I found interesting);

http://www.oldmanofthemountainlegacyfund.org/default.aspx

and a cool video;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MYYPru077vg

The old man may be gone but he is a long way from being forgotten.

(jj)

Valentine's Slide Show!

Free picture slideshow made with Smilebox

Treasure Lost ~ Treasure Found

Okay, I’m not sure if that title is really the right one for this, but it was all I could think of.  I mean, you can’t lose something you didn’t have and you can’t find something you didn’t lose.  Yet in the end, it all works out and really might make sense.

This is the story of an item I found while “de-cluttering” my house.  I’m not sure where to begin this story though, so we'll see if the beginning works:  MY beginning so to speak. 

I was born in a small town in the state of New York.  At that time, my Dad had a sister in CA and she wanted him to come help her run a fast food joint in Pico Rivera.  I don’t know when negotiations actually began, but in 1963 my Dad went to California to work out the details with her.  She was living in Norwalk at that time (a part of Los Angeles County).  He returned and before we knew it we were moving:  station wagon all loaded, packed as high as could be with 3 kids in the back seat.  And back then, seat belts were NOT required. And the 2500 mile cross country trip began.

Since living in California, my parents have lived in 5 different places, the last one being in Santa Fe Springs.  So let’s do some quick math before I continue:  2500 miles, 5 homes and 46 years later.  This brings me to my “find”.

During his visit, my Dad had sent me a post card, from CA to NY.  The details written are not important.  But what I found very interesting and very mind boggling was this:  he was staying in Norwalk, the restaurant was in Pico Rivera and he mailed a post card to his daughter that had a picture on it of a park in Santa Fe Springs where that daughter (me) currently lives.  And I find this post card 47 years after it was mailed (and it came cross country with us) while “de-cluttering” my house.  Thank you Mom, for not throwing everything away!

Needless to say, I am hanging on to that one!  And here are some photos of that card.

Upper corner about the park in SFS

Postmarked Dec. 1963

Can you believe only 8 cents?

The park in Santa Fe Springs

Just goes to show, you never know what you might find in your own home.  Even a lost treasure you never knew you had!

Duuude  aka Julie  : )

Hard to believe that this year is just about over….

It has been a pretty good year.

There have been plenty of ups and downs, but that is to be expected.

All in all I really can’t complain too much.

I think I’ll keep this year just the way it was after all and will wish for a little bit  better next year. There is always room to wish for better….right?

Speaking of wishes, I found some cool old postcards specifically wishing one New Years tidings. With all the e-cards, IMing  and text messages, we have gotten away from good old fashioned hand written snail mail greetings. There is still much to be said in receiving a nice letter, card or postcard in the mail.

Maybe with all the rush to get things done, we need to slow down and enjoy simple things. 

OldeTymeNotions

debsatticfinds

  ArchipelagoVintage

              

Look how fun these postcards are, wouldn’t it make your day to get one of these in the mail?

Inspirationsnapshot 

PostcardsAround

PrettyPaper09

My wish for you all is that you get a nice little hand written snail mail note or card, which will remind you to slow down once in awhile and enjoy.

May you all have a healthy and Happy New Year.

(jj)