Today I found a photo gem. I love this photo. I see my Grandma Esther and her sister, Aunt Minnie. I see the fence around our bungalow colony in Kauneonga Lake.
The photo looks out to what we called the “front lawn,” and in the background I see the lake. You might not notice it, but if you look through the fence, you can see a bit of blue surrounded by trees.
There are several things that make this photo special. First, I love how my grandmother is standing. She had a habit of holding her foot up like that in photos. I guess she liked to stand that way.
Second, she has her sunglasses off to the side, and I remember those sunglasses!! Although I usually think of them on her face. She wore them all the time. Third, their hair! Neither of them are totally white yet. Later Grandma would put a rinse in her hair which gave it a blue tint!
Also, they are dressed up! All I can think of is that they were going to a show that day at one of the big hotels. Otherwise they would have been in shorts and shirts and sitting in a chair either playing canasta or knitting.
This has to be in the late 1960s. I might have taken this photo with my Brownie camera. Once I got a camera I started my life long habit of taking photos of everything. It might have been someone else, but for now I will claim it.
I have written before that we spent every summer in the Catskills. I had all four of my grandparents and many other family members together all summer long.
Grandma Esther, Grandpa Harry and Aunt Minnie shared a bungalow! How that worked, I never asked. It was just the way it was every summer. I assume their love for each other overwhelmed their annoyances!
In the winter they lived in the same building in Co-op City, NYC, but in different apartments. Uncle Al, Aunt Minnie’s husband had passed away years before. From that point on the three of them were always together.
I cannot imagine them apart. The sisters were always together in my mind, loving and fighting. Many times, I think back to them when my sister and I squabble. A vision of the two of them fighting over a canasta game, they were always partners, flashes and sometimes I just want to laugh.
We were so fortunate to have our summers in Kauneonga Lake surrounded by people who loved us.
https://zicharonot.com/2014/01/25/the-grandmas-forever-canasta-game/
https://zicharonot.com/2014/02/13/knitting-and-crocheting-brings-love-and-memories/
zicharonot 
How wonderful that the sisters remained so close throughout their whole lives. Not many families can say that!
They were quite the pair! As I said squabbles and love.