July 1939
Aunt Bobby and Uncle Lee in the front of Aunt Bobby and Uncle Selly's cottage.
I know the photo is not clear, but the memories of the cottage are very clear in my mind.
The huge porch with a long table full of fresh crabs - the small kitchen where Aunt Bobby would make her "famous" crab cakes - the pier where the sailboat was moored - the old chest style deep freezer that always contained popsicles.
Back then I hated crab cakes - what I would not give for one of Aunt Bobby's today. The popcicles... well Aunt Bobby knew I loved them and would tell me she got them just for me. Somehow though, I think Uncle Selly liked them as much as me!
As for the sailboat - well with my motion sickness, I would dread the outings. I spent most of the time on the boat sick to my stomach with my mother giving me tea or ginger ale and big hard pretzels from a five gallon can (like popcorn comes in today).
I wonder how many times I would either say or think - "Are we home yet?". But I know for the rest of the family it was a treat to spend time on that sailboat. The boat seemed very big to me (probably was not as big as I remember). It had sleeping quarters and a galley below.
To this day I cannot think of my Uncle Selly without seeing the boat in the background or him on the boat at the wheel!
2 comments:
The "Barbara" was a 30' yawl ... that's a Southern boat... (;o} ... [2 masts, 3 sails]. When we were young [we actually were once, you know, and took overnight or long weekend cruises, your mother and I would share the v-berth [in the bow] where there was an opening hatch we could look out or sneak up on deck through. Day and Selly usually slept in the cockpit and Bobby and Mother below ... there originally was room for 8 [really tight quarters]: 2 in the V-berth; 2 in the cockpit; 2 on the starboard side [upper and lower]; and 2 on the port side [upper and lower]. Eventually, Selly had the two uppers removed. The galley [kitchen to the landlubbers among you] was aft on the starboard side and under the companion way [access to the cockpit].
I'll scan some pics of the "Barbara" and send them to you.
and send them to you.
Bobby and Selly rented the cottage from Doc. Rotterberg (? sp) for many years -and when these were taken- before buying it from him -he thought he'd get it back because he believed they wouldn't be able to keep up the payments. They rented originally at Riva, MD, but preferred Doc's. They also also alternately rented next door from Jasper and Marie Bruin [Jas was Norwegian or Danish, loved fishing and he would invite only my to dinner and taught me to eat eel and scrambled eggs]. When Doc finally sold the place to Selly in the lmid-ate '40s, he retained use of the garage, where he had a one room apt., and use of one side of the pier to doch hid boat, "Golindrina", a 40-45 foot Mathews [I think], which he took by himself to FLA every Fall/Winter [in later years he hired on crew, but he was so cheap and demanding they'd jump ship before the end of the journey down or back]. He was a true curmudgeon, but for some reason always liked me [I would help him work on the boat and carry particularly heavy stuff (e.g., batteries( for him]. Selly threw a crab feast for me when I graduated from the Boat School and at one point Bobby told me Doc was at the back door and wanted to see me. He would not come in and join the party, but told me "I hear you graduated the Naval Academy today". When I replied "Yes, Sir" he handed me a crisp $5 bill and walked away ! Doc died a few ywars later with his boat tied up at Solomons Island. He was working on her having returne from FLA [he was well into his 90s !] and that night "Golindrina" burned to the water line ... they found Doc on the pier in the morning and we think he died of a broken heart !
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