[This week, “Looking Back” will start alternating weeks between Northeast PA history, authored by Ann O’Hara of the Wayne County Historical Society, and Cochecton, NY area history, authored by members of the Cochecton Preservation Society. The below is a personal reminiscence by Art Hassis.]

My parents’ boarding house is the Arlington in Lake Huntington. The year is 1940 and dawn is breaking. There are 16 rooms and it is full occupancy. The boarders pay $12 a week, which includes three daily meals.

On the east, Route 52 is all woods. A boat dock is available for boating. Boarders might hike to the shrine up near Bernas Road, a beehive of rocks sheltering religious figurines. It may have been built by boarders who stayed at the Lixfield Boarding House. Others play horseshoe contests on teams, like Sunshine Cottage vs. the Arlington.

One of the special attractions is the Bear Man (seen in this photograph of the nearby Grand Central House), who has a trained bear with a miniature accordion. Another is a peddler known as “the Tin Man,” with a wagonload of pots and utensils for sale to the boarding houses. Butcher Sol trucks fresh beef, pork and poultry around daily.

The dinner bell rings 15 minutes before the meal is served. Our one-acre garden provides the vegetables for dinner. The boarders sit on the porch playing card games, or walk down to the Nutshell to dance. Next door is a pharmacy that has a luncheonette where boarders go for ice cream after dancing. Then they call it a night, with plans for another day of entertainment.

The Cochecton Preservation Society meets the first Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m. at the Erie Depot, 8537 Rte. 97, Cochecton, and tours are available by appointment. Visit Cochectonpreservation society.com, email cps12726@gmail.com, or call 845/932-8104.