A Childhood Memory of Cayuga Island, Niagara Falls, New York,

I lived on Cayuga Island from about 1945 to about 1951. I say "about" because my parents were living in Griffon Manor (near 96th St.) when I was born. Sometime after that they moved to the 8124 Riverside Dr. where I have my earliest memories.

Kids those days, even below the age of five had considerably more freedom to roam than they do today. I recall sitting along side the Little Niagara River, which we called Cayuga Creek at the time, and curiously watched as my friend, Dickie, fell into the river and drowned. I didn't understand it at the time. I only remember that his body gave a jerk and he fell in the water and didn't move or struggle. I often wonder if he had a seizure of some sort to be the cause.

From that time on my mother would be hysterical if I wandered anywhere near the water. By the time I was six we moved off the island after my baby brother was born.

Barbara and Denise Fairchild

When I was a little girl, living on Cayuga Island in Niagara Falls, New York during the late 1940s and early 1950s I had a best friend. Her name was Denise Fairchild. I think she was maybe a year younger than me. Basically, we played with dollies. Denise had a little sister who was younger, named Barbara. I don't remember playing with her though she may have been nearby. It seemed at the time, she was too young to participate. When my family moved off the island about 1951, I missed my friend and didn't understand why I couldn't visit her. I never knew the youngest baby sister. I believe this picture was taken after we moved. Though my parents kept in touch with the Fairchild's for a while, I never saw the Denise and Barbara again. I always thought they were very pretty, and wished I had curls in my hair, too.  I found this photo among my mother's belongings after she passed away in 2006. Imagine keeping it all these years, with no further contact.