Cool Memories for Hot Days

US Wealth McCarthy |
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Cool memories for hot days.  My earliest memory of cooling off in the summer was running through sprinklers.  Cold water but very effective!  We did have a nearby pond in which we could swim (or at least cool off), but Lynn Beach was the main attraction.

My Mom, Dad and extended family members would have at least one “cookout” each summer.  The Beach had about 30 stone grills and stone picnic benches, all built during the Depression and very solid and functional.  Permits were required to “reserve” a fireplace and bench.

We would arrive about 5:30 to begin the evening.  We started by cleaning up the grill, benches and surrounding area. Then we’d set up the blankets, ditch our shoes and shirt and head for the water!  The Dads would usually hang back to prepare the coals or wood for cooking and have a cold beer or two.  Sometimes they would join us in the water, but their main purpose was to cook, or more accurately, burn the hotdogs and hamburgers.

We didn’t care that our meat was “blackened” before that became a cooking trend.  It was summer, we were at the beach, and we had food…a perfect kid trifecta!

Those benches and fireplaces are gone now, though the memories of those family cookouts are still strong.  When I look at our old summer photos, I can still smell the salt air and taste those delicious “well done” hot dogs!