Camping in the 40's

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SherpaKroto

Well-known member
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Sep 4, 2003
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No Reading, MA Avatar: Crater Rim, Mt Rainier, 8/4
I came across this old photo taken by my grandfather Fernando Pinette while visiting my folks in Jefferson. It was taken around 1945 in an area north of Errol, NH that I've always known as "Parsers' Landing" (not sure about the spelling - never saw it written down). It was taken on the Magalloway River near the shore of Lake Umbagog off Rt 16.

From Left to Right: my Uncle Rene, my Mom Rita, my Grandmother Celine, and my Grandfather.

I'm starting to realize how deep my outdoors roots are!
 
Thanks for posting the photo! It sure conjures some memories here as well; I can almost smell the wet canvas from here. That stove looks like it is even older than the photo -- any idea of make and year? (Did you know there's a whole subculture out there devoted to collecting things Coleman? Not part of it, but I can understand it.)

I grew up camping and canoeing along the MN-ON border with my family. To this day, I grimace every time I have to pay at a motel check-in counter.
 
Thanks. This picture looks similar to many of my family when I was a kid, camping in Vermont and upstate NY.

Steve
 
Awesome pic, Sherp! It really evokes a whole different era. Must be something to have such long roots in the outdoors.
 
Great picture SherpaK! You remind me of my deep-seated roots in the Adirondacks. My great-grandfather was an outdoorsman, hunter, builder, volunteer firefighter and inventor. He built Covewood Lodge in Big Moose, NY without any architectural plans, just sketches on paper bags. My grandfather was a gandy dancer on the railroad, and the best fisherman ever, hands down. Their love of the mountains and especially the Adirondacks comes through in the stories passed down over the years, which would be too much for me to write or try and remember right now.

Thanks for the reminder.

Happy hiking.

Josh
 
Great pic.

Can you find that same area and get a picture of it today with your family in it? That would make a wonderful living room conversation piece.

I love these old photos.
 
Is that a bottle shine under the table???? Now I know how deep your other roots go as well.....

:p

- darren
 
Great picture Sherpa - but I don't see the kitchen sink! ;)

Bob
 
Nope. Water. Pepere Pinette was somewhat of a teetotaler. Though not a purist by any means, a drink was a rare occasion for him. Pepere Croteau, on the other hand, attributed his long life (97) to a daily shot (really a juice glass) of brandy ;) He also was an outdoorsman, more of the deer hunting vein, and hunted well into his 80's (although we all knew that he didn't load his rifle for at least the last 5-6 years that he hunted). In different ways, I take after both of them. I am very blessed to have known them well.

paul_ron: I could get a shot, but it looks nothing like it today. Route 16 is now where the mostly dirt road was.
 
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Reminds me of a group I met down on some dirt backroads in WVa - several folks had old Ford model T's & model A's that they had outfitted for camping - every summer they took a trip over the dirt roads that wind thru the Monongahela NF - stuff that many cars would have troublle with today - with tents & stove & stuff strapped all over the vehicles. Quite an expedition!
 
The latest gear

It looks like a nice set of modern gear, small to fit in the pack and light to drag over the highest peaks!

You got me inspired to find some of the old photos I know I've seen of my grandfather deep in the Adirondacks, splitting wood, all muscle and tendon, with the fire burning in the background . . .
 
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