Postcards from the Lake: A Little Museum

When my mom and her sister were younger and spending their summers as teenaged girls and young women at the lake, they often would go to the Chatterbox Cafe. I remember mom telling me of how they'd go into town and just talk, chatting about who knows what. One summer, before it closed, my cousin Mutty and I went there too, talking about our moms, remembering.

So imagine my delight when I discovered a booth from the now long-gone Chatterbox at the Otsego County Historical Museum!

The menus, the jukebox, the neon, the booth itself with its log cabin wall -- all there!

Oh, that's just the best thing to see the first step into a little museum! Not quite as good as seeing the real Chatterbox and savoring a grilled cheese sandwich -- but pretty darned good!

The historical museum is quite small -- basically a storefront with a back room on Main Street, but it has a good deal to offer, covering the various small towns within the county.

Some of it was quite personal to me. For example, I remember hearing stories of how my grandfather would take the train up to the lake each weekend while my grandmother and their kids were summering at the lake. It was fun for me to discover a postcard of the train station where he would get off and walk to the cottage.

Then there were the seats from the movie theatre. We spent a lot of time there as kids!

I love displays that look like rooms with all the bits and pieces of daily life. So I was particularly fond of the kitchen scene.

I loved the stove.

                   

And all the details!

And I can't resist a vintage sewing machine!

The school room was fun, too.

I wonder how many countries on that globe no longer exist or have new names?

Time to move on, but to those finding themselves with a rainy afternoon and wanting to get away from the lake, this one is definitely a good choice.

And then -- beach time!