I've been to quite a few different places in my life, but have only lived in one: Western New York. I guess it could be just the circumstances that kept me here or maybe fate, but for whatever reason, I can tell you some stories of growing up in Westerh New York.
Blizzard of '77
When mentioning this area some may associate it with snow and cold winters and those are accurate assumptions. The worst I can remember of course was the Blizzard of '77'. How did we get through it? With lots of boots, mittens, firewood and hot chocolate I guess. My father, who worked for the State Highway Department had plenty of money that year as he was always working overtime trying to keep the roads cleared for travelers. The snow banks, after being plowed over and over again nearly reached the telephone wires. Buffalo had recorded 35 inches of snow by late January. Besides the massive amounts of snow and ice, the very frigid temperatures and the whiteout conditions for long periods of time made it that much worst. What I remember most about it though were the days off from school, playing in the snow banks and building tunnels. The storm provided several hours of fun for children as long as we were dressed warm. In 30 years, I can never remember any winter being quite as bad.
Summer Jobs
Things changed drastically from winter to summer as the resort town of Chautauqua came alive. The summer months would bring many visitors to the area creating a lot of activitiy in our small town. The summer kicked off with the Fourth of July parade down the streets of Mayville which is still a huge celebration today. Jobs were always plentiful in the summer due to the influx of people into the area and I always worked at something starting at age 14 . My first job was that of a maid at a local motel. Probably why I hate cleaning so much today. Other jobs along the way would include working in a restaurant, lifeguarding and working at a golf course.
Summer Activities
Popular summer activities always included water sports for me. I loved to swim and learned to swim in Chautauqua Lake. I've always like being around the water. Chautauqua Lake provided me with the opportunities to go boating, water skiing and fishing. And although I did do these things, my most accomplished event on Chautauqua Lake was the day I swam across the width of the Lake from the Chautauqua Marina to the Point Chautauqua Condominiums when I was 16 years old. Those were my young, crazy and wild days. I made it accross , ended up with a terrible neck ache and afterwards slept for 26 hours straight.
Boredom Created New Appreciation
The small town life was something I liked then and still like today. When summer ends theres a certain amount of boredom that sets in sometimes, but the advantages truly outweigh the disavantages. We found things to do like hike the gorge, or watch the sunset on Lake Erie or take a ride looking for deer at dusk. The area is quiet and safe, not alot of traffic to get me annoyed, and the countrydside is really very beautiful. The Autumn colors can be some of the most beautiful ever and the new fallen snow on trees can take your breath away. I've noticed that beauty even more as I 've gotten older and now one of my favorite hobbies has become taking landscape photos almost exclusively of Chautauqua County areas.
Buffalo Bills & Sports
And of course some things never change. We are all sports fans of some sort and from the day I was old enough to realize it, yes, I have been a Buffalo Bills fan. Not really by choice but by circumstance. It's hard not to be a Bills fan when surrounded by a room full of screaming maniacs yelling at a T.V. That has been going on for as long as I can remember and now we can also add Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bisons to that list. The Fall season has always brought great expectations of how well our Buffalo Bills team would do. A short jaunt to Buffalo to see a game was always an exciting funfilled event too.
Western New york provided me a great place to grow up. I chose to stay and raise my family here. There are a lot of great places in the world. Western New York is one of them.
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chautauqua, institution, blizzard, 1977, summers, gorge, buffalo bills, lifestyle, growing up, western new york |
