Irondequoit

Throughout the 1920's and 30's, a visit to Grandpa Osborne would have meant a trip to Irondequoit, a suburb northeast of Rochester, where both Charles and his brother Myron lived. Myron's two daughters were Harry's first cousins, and both daughters had kids, so my father would see his cousins. They lived in an area right where the Genesee River flowed into Lake Ontario. It was called Summerville. Doesn't that sound fun?


Irondequoit was bounded by the Genesee River, Lake Ontario, and Irondequoit Bay. Geologists have a name for an area of land bounded by a river, a lake, and a bay. It's a headland. Who knew? I just found out. Only took me 64 years.  

There was tons of stuff to do in Irondequoit. You could ride the Jack Rabbit at Sea Breeze Park.



You could go swimming in the natatorium at Sea Breeze.


If the largest salt water pool in the world wasn't big enough for you, you could shiver your ass off in Lake Ontario.



If you didn't know how to swim, there was someone always ready to get on a stool and teach you.



If you didn't care to get wet, Irondequoit had Durand-Eastman Park. It had a zoo. Apparently, you could ride the camels. You had to bring costumes.


Or you could just eat.



I could go on and on. And I did. My father moved us to Irondequoit in 1952. The party line was that Daddy needed to be closer to Kodak. But I suspect that part of the reason is that he'd always liked it here.