Memories of Years Gone By

One photo can evoke pleasant memories from over a generation ago. I received a few comments about the Sunday photos I took, especially the image of the Fairfield First Baptist Church high atop the hill off Stratfield Road.

Tony Procaccini wrote, "The first photo, of the Baptist church, is next door to my grandparents' former house, 1034 Stratfield Road, a big white house on the hill, hidden from view for the most part from all directions.

"I went there by foot every Friday night in third grade (approx. 1968) to sleep over. (At the time my widowed grandmother and two unmarried sons lived there.) Same routine: dinner at around 6:00, CBS News w/Walter Cronkite at 7:00, "The Wild, Wild West" from 7:30 to 8:30, then bedtime. Remember the freeze frames at the end of each of the 4 segments? James West? Artemus Gordon?

"Saturdays, I snuck through the bushes to either the Tadduni's house or the church grounds many, many times. That photo brings back memories."

Mark Waxman added, "Walter Cronkite; brings back memories. We watched him while we were sitting in the kitchen eating dinner. Remember watching the Vietnam war on TV?

"Billie Jean King and Bobbie Riggs? Yes, I watched the Wild Wild West too. Fairfield was were we got our first color TV. That was parked in my parents' bedroom. I don't remember what size, but I remember it wasn't huge. Going from black and white, to color and now HDTV, what changes in that medium over the past 30 plus years."

I distinctly remember watching Walter Cronkite on CBS every evening and watching the vivid images of the Vietnam War, too. I have strong memories of watching it in my grandmother's room upstairs, and envying her for not having to get up for work or school every morning. Of course, we watched black-and-white television, adorned with rabbit ears, and a worn out knob to turn the channels. There weren't any remotes back then. There was a light behind the knob to show what channel was on, but I distinctly remember it was always broken.

I hope you enjoy the blog as much as I enjoy producing it.

Paul