Saturday, May 28, 2011

Come On In ... The Water's Fine !

 
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When you talk about getting in the water, you're talking about my father's side of the family. Naturally, growing up in Maine, we have access both to "the beach," by which we mean the ocean, but also the lovely lakes all around us. My love for being near the water comes directly through my dad, who came by it honestly, from his own upbringing.

His mother, my grandmother Mattie Seavey, who grew up in the East Deering neighborhood of Portland, Maine, and, who remembered swimming as a child in the tranquil waters of Casco Bay, loved to swim and always had her suit and bathing cap ready to go at a moment's notice.

As a young woman, she worked at the Poland Spring House, and probably took off with her girlfriends for a quick dip in the nearby lake when she got off the switchboard. Here are a couple of her scrapbook pictures taken from around that time, in the swimsuit styles of the 1920s:

 
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Grammy Seavey (Mattie Leighton) on the left 

 
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Grammy Seavey (Mattie Leighton) on the right


Later, she and my grandfather, Howard Seavey, spent a lot of time at Woods Pond, in Bridgton, Maine, where he had grown up. Here they are, drying off before heading back home, probably in the 1940s:



 
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Howard and Mattie Seavey

My dad loved the water and was a strong swimmer, both in the frigid waters of Casco Bay, and in the many lakes he fished and swam in. Here he and my Aunt Polly, his younger sister, are, probably at Willard Beach in South Portland, around 1935 or so:


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My dad, Dick Seavey, at Willard Beach, circa 1935

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My aunt, Polly Seavey, at Willard Beach, circa 1935


Memorial Weekend marks the beginning of summer for many families.

Time to get out that suit!

((Written for the 4th Annual Swimsuit Edition of Carnival of Genealogy))

6 comments:

  1. Great post for Memorial Day Weekend. I lover your bathing beauty photos!

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  2. Loved your post! I don't have many photos of family in bathing suits, so I'm jealouse. I have to mention that I just helped my hairdresser trace her family tree back to Thomas Leighton, and she was thrilled. She's a big fan of WDYTYA and corners me with questions at my monthly haircuts. She took a ride on the ferry "Thomas Leighton" out to the Isles of Shoals to celebrate her roots just last weekend!

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  3. Heather, my Thomas Leighton was born in 1696 in Dover, NH. Same one?

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  4. I love the photos! Your grandmother was quite the looker. I really enjoy the old pics. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  5. Those heavy swimming costumes of the 1930s were something else. Great photos, and thanks for sharing.

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  6. I love the 1920s swimsuit your gram was wearing for the first photos. It looks heavy, almost like it might have been wool. I vaguely remember my mother having a wool swimsuit, probably from the late 1920s, but it wasn't quite the same style. Great photos. Thanks for sharing them with us.

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