THOSE DAM MEMORIES

The Mt. Morris Dam....as it normally looks and after Hurricane Agnes. I remember it well, especially because I spent so much of my childhood there. My uncle worked for the Army Corps of Engineers and the dam was his responsibility.

After school I walked up this lane to my aunt and uncle's house. It was located inside of Letchworth State Park on the undeveloped side so there was no traffic but lots of space!

My aunt Inez always had a cat.
It was also always named Tommy. Here I am outside with Tommy I.

I think I got my love for animals from my aunt's cats and my mother's dogs.

This is Tommy II who loved to ride in cars. He'd roll in the middle of the lane until my uncle gave him a ride the rest of the way to the house. He would also get into the cars of unsuspecting park visitors so he wore a tag so he could be returned.

We had amazing snow drifts to tunnel in.









These would often last into spring.

 I adored my uncle. He took me many places during the day. We would go along the Genesee River and its tributaries to check height gauges. I would go with him in the evening to take down and fold the flags that flew above the dam. I've been down to the turbines in the lower levels of the facilities where the sound of the water was so amplified, I thought there were monsters in there. We used to fish from the 'steps' which in reality are about 10' tall with ladders to get from one to the other.

I wanted to emulate his mechanical skills.

Paul was one of those deeply religious men, a deacon in his church, who read from his Bible every night. He wasn't one to preach but his life exemplified his principles. Of all the people in my life, he was the best role model I could ever have had.

We spent most of our holidays with these wonderful people. It was here that I got to know my cousins....second cousins actually but they were near my age. They each spent time there. There was an old bike that nearly every child that came for the summer spray painted a different color. That poor thing probably weighed a great deal more than it did when it was new.

We had minibikes and gocarts, and fruit trees and one great tree for climbing! There was a hammock where I spent many hours reading or simply watching the clouds roll by. I still have dreams of being there. These are some of my Dam Memories.