Postcard image, c.1950, looking toward "The Spa"
View today - by Jim Molloy - Aug 2008 (click to enlarge)
Close-up of the Spa; on the right partially hidden behind the trees
When Ballard Lake's "Pepsi Boys" were about 13/14-years old (c.1954/5), we began exploring beyond our world of dangerous water snakes, boy-eating snapping turtles, and woods infested with wild Indians - and set out for an even braver world; Lake Carmel. That's where the girls were, lots of'em.
Our destination was a place called "The Spa," located on the N/E edge of Lake Carmel, just off Route 311 just above where it originates at Route 52. The Spa was a kind of combination teenage dance hall (screened-in room) and hot dog stand, which catered to Lake Carmel's young beach goers. The main attraction was the jukebox, and one of the big hits of the day was “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley & The Comets (the girls danced while the Ballard boys watched - and sometimes one of us would actually get up the nerve to talk to one of the dancing, beach beauties, usually to no avail).
But the real adventure for us Indian fighters was in getting there, hitchhiking down Route 52 to girl paradise. And many the day we walked half or most of the way, or rode in the back of dilapidated pick-up trucks driven by laughing mad men. Especially from Doran's Bar in Ludingtonville. Or that other whiskey joint near the top of Kent [Huff's] hill. Particularly after dark when unsuspecting deer lurked innocently in the one headlight. Thankfully, we were seldom a part of the head-on crashes, and usually arrived back at the lake only shaken, but in one piece. Not to mention "Huff's Hill" strewn with antlers, carcasses, and hood ornaments.
Update; 9/19/09: Know anyone in the following photo (click image to enlarge)? Well, maybe not, because this fabulous, undated scene of the Lake Carmel beach, adjacent to Route 311, was probably captured around 1940 - or just before I was born! Still, the scene duplicates perfectly what we experienced during the mid-50's; the crowds, the girls(!), the joys of summer. And if you look closely you can see the "Spa," where the hotdogs rolled off the grill and the music rocked out of the jukebox!
Photo courtesy of Carmel, NY on Facebook
1 comment:
the Spa as you refer to is now called the "Villa Carmel"... at least that is what it used to be called when I was younger... it was a great place to be as a teenager in the 80's... not all of the beaches on lake carmel are open anymore...
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