I mentioned in my first post about our trip to New York that I was inspired by photos of a family trip my mom took when she was little. I probably did this backwards, but after getting back I found the photos again that had initially inspired me years ago. My mom kept denying she was ever there and I quickly realized she wasn't mistaken. The trip was taken in June of 1949. Seven years before she was born. There were 5 photos in the album from Watkins Glen State Park on June 28, 1949 and interestingly enough a photo from the PA Grand Canyon on June 29, 1949.
I scoured our photos from the trip to see if things looked the same today as they did 74 years ago. It's hard to even fathom that amount of time and I was so excited every time I matched an old photo to a new one.
Watkins Glen has been a tourist attraction since the late 1800's. In 1906 the State of New York purchased it from the estate of the previous owner and it became state park. They immediately began improvements and added concrete walkways and steps as well as carving out the entrance tunnel and spiral staircase. Sadly in 1935 there was a great flood and much of the concrete and infrastructure in the gorge trail was destroyed. Immediately after the flood the Civilian Conservation Corps began work to rebuild the walkways that still remain to this today. I did this research because I wanted to know if what my Grandma, Great Aunt and Uncles, and Great Grandparents saw and walked on was same as what I walked on last weekend. Other than a few improvements and upgrades it largely is exactly the same.
The main difference between then and now is probably the entrance to the gorge.
The area prior to the entrance was completely undeveloped in 1949 and is now a smooth concrete path with a stone wall to keep you farther back from the water. The trees and vegetation are also a lot bigger. The entrance to the first set of steps looks different but it's just because the photos are from different angles. And while it's hard to see in this photo the original stone bridge is still there. The newer metal bridge was built on top of it.
You can see in this next set of photos how the new bridge was placed directly on top of the old. This is something I didn't even notice when I was there. In the 1949 photo the people on the bridge from left to right are my Great Uncle Paul, Great Uncle Blair, Grandmother Anna Mary, Great Uncle Frankie (married to my grandmother's sister Helen), their son Joey, and my Great Grandfather Charles Hanna. I would assume that either Helen or my Great Grandmother Florence or both were there as well but I haven't gotten that additional information yet.
The next photo is a distant view of Cavern Cascade with Frankie and Joey.
And then a closer view of the falls.
And last a view from the suspension bridge above the gorge.
After finding pretty much exact matches to photos taken so long ago I'm actually really glad I didn't look these right before our trip. Anyone can replicate a photo they have right in front of them. It's immensely more impressive to replicate photos without even trying. The whole time we were there I kept hoping they would just be of the same areas and it turned out better than I could imagine.
I don't have a match to the PA Grand Canyon photo, the fog prevented me from taking one in the same direction. The amazing thing is that I didn't remember that photo. Stopping at the Grand Canyon was Josh's idea. So the fact that we basically followed in their footsteps without even trying is worth more than a matching photo.
I'm sure they took more than 6 photos on their trip and I'd love to find the rest. I'll definitely be checking with family to see if they have any or if there are any mixed in with other old photos we have.
Some people don't put a lot of importance on the past but I think it's important to learn about the lives of the people who shaped us into who we are. Including their lives before we even knew them. And I may not have learned an amazing fact or a life skill but I did learn about one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.