An August Memory

I have this little widget that scrolls through pictures on my desktop and this picture caught my eye this morning. It is a picture of me and all my brothers and sisters in August 1967. We are at Mt. Wachusett, which was a mountain that we went to most years for a family picnic.

I remember we would pack a lunch in the old wicker picnic basket my mother had. Then she would make lemonade in the huge lime green thermos (the thing probably held five gallons!) We would all pile in whatever 9-passenger station wagon we had at the time, and make the journey to the top of the mountain. Once at the top of the mountain, there were some radio towers, a fire watch tower, and an abandoned restaurant/gift shop building (we are on its porch). I think once some of us climbed some of the steps to the fire watch tower but it wasn't me because I was afraid just being on top of a mountain!
There were wild berries and rocks and brush and we would root around as kids do in nature. Then we would sit at a picnic table to have our lunch. It was usually lopsided because the ground was rough and it was always windy, which meant weighing everything down. Lunch was usually tuna sandwiches (salmon if we were being fancy), potato chips, and pickles. Maybe the kids would remember other details but this is how I remember it.

After lunch, we would wander around some more, but frankly I remember it being very boring because there was not much to do up there. Then we would clean up, load everything and everyone into the car and drive down the mountain. This was an annual thing for us - an August memory.