I hope and pray all the mothers had a very nice day last Sunday. I miss my mom so much; as of March, she’s been gone for seven years. In my last column, I asked where all the people who visited Lake Huntington back in the day went to eat or go to the bathroom. Mildred Meyer, a lifelong resident of Cochecton, gave me a call and told me what she remembers. 

Mildred and her sister, Maria, married brothers Joe and Eugene Meyer. Mildred remembers lots of boarding houses; whoever was staying at a boarding house went back there for the bathroom or eating. The town did have to increase their sewer system. One of the bigger boarding houses was Greenacres, which was on the site of the high school. Back in 1966, there was a bad thunder and lightning storm and Greenacres burnt down. Mildred remembers this because she was pregnant with her son, John. All the people who came up to enjoy the fresh air and lake were from down state. She remembers Josh Boucher building boats and renting them for people to enjoy. Her husband, Joe, worked there at the boat landing. Boucher Boat Livery sold his boats all over New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. 

The main strip of Lake Huntington had a meat market, general store, post office, doctor’s office, dentist’s office and two churches. The lower level of the Nutshell was a bowling alley, and there was a movie theater. The NY Store was the building across from Gasko and Meyer’s—it is an apartment building today. Next to the Catholic Church was a gas station. There was a vegetable store and a Jewish bakery and a taxi service. Mary Martin lived in one of the houses on the main strip; she was a teacher in the old town hall building where school was held. Mary did move to the Narrowsburg Central School and taught fourth grade. Mildred said, if you were out on the lake in the winter, you would see Mary Martin out on the lake with a kitchen chair, ice skating and enjoying the lake. There was Keen Art Studio owned by Harold Maas, who did film developing, took the communion pictures and school class pictures, and painted portraits. Mildred remembers Len Stephenson owning Pete’s Pub, but she could not remember what was there before Len owned it. I remember seeing pictures of it on Facebook that it was a casino. What a difference from today; we have houses and not much more. I miss Doug Heinle and spending time with him listening to his stories.

The Cochecton Youth Commission is bringing fun science activities straight to your doorstep! The committee plans on this being one of the many doorstep learning activities to take place during this new and somewhat stressful time. All you have to do is go to their Facebook page and choose from one of the activities attached and text Michelle at 570/419-8801. She will provide you with the rest of the details. These activities are for Cochecton youth. (There are a variety of activities to reach all age levels!)

Be safe, wash your hands and wear your mask.

Keep smiling and have a great week. You can email me at leeniebeans@citlink.net or call 845/252-3568 if you have any news. My new deadline is Friday’s. You can always check me out in community living.