One of the best things about the internet is how easy it is to contact people you haven't seen in decades. Annette Artini, a year behind me at Solvay High School, found a picture on this website showing her with teammates on the 1953-54 Solvay basketball team, so she checked in via email to say hello and bring me up to date. She lives in Cape Coral, Florida, and in embarked on an interesting project involving her Liionel Train set. It's something I've always wanted to do, but never had the energy. The photos she provided – and which appear on this page – should take Solvay oldtimers on a trip down memory lane.

"I lived on the corner of Freeman Ave. and Conklin Street," Annette wrote. "My father Vincent had his grocery store there, serving the needs of Solvay for many, many years.  I attended Prospect School which was right across the street, then Intermediate and of course Solvay High.  Tom Smolinski lived right next door to me until his folks built a home on the top of the hill overlooking the high school.  I used to climb over the fence to ride on the merry-go-round horse that Tommy's father installed on a washer machine motor. How I loved that horse!

 
"I have been back to Solvay many times on a hunt for memories.  I am just finishing up my family history with my early life as the center.  I had a great childhood, one that has been of so much importance lately.  I guess my age is showing.....  I do have gaps in my family tree but it has been fun taking pictures of the old neighborhood.  My father's store has been made into four apartments and the house looks great.  I do miss seeing the church that was across the street the one my father caught me climbing the roof with the neighborhood boys.
 
"My second project is a train set depicting Solvay in the late 1940's when I was about ten.  It is of Freeman Avenue where I put my father's store, Prospect School, Bobby Maestri's house and Henry Salvini's house.  They were my best friends!  I also put, but out of actual location, St. Cecilia's, and several farms. 

"I am in the process of adding phase 2 with no working track but with businesses on Milton Ave.  I have Solvay Process on the right of the train tracks looking west and on the right my friend Rosemary Salvatore's father's shoe store, Solvay Bank, hardware store, department store, drugstore, Pozzi's Hotel, my aunt Theresa Bagazzi's Bar and Grill and my favorite place, Craig's movie theater.

"Do I dare do phase 3?  Right now I am just enjoying the memories of rebuilding Solvay!"

This part of Annette Artini's project features a figure eight layout with a farm area on the left and the village on the right. The village street "would be Freeman Avenue, with the the gas station in the right corner of the picture."

"It will be coming out," she says, "and replaced with a building representing the store across Conklin Avenue from my father's grocery store. Sylvester had a store there and some apartments were also in the building. Looking at Freeman would be Artini's grocery store on the right; left of it will be Bobby Maestri's house, left of Bobby's would be Henry Salvini's house.

"Across the street would be Prospect School, O'Leary's house, up front, right, St. Cecilia's Church. Not all of the buildings are where they should be as I didn't have near enough room. I picked out the ones that had a special meaning for me. I squeezed in the ice house on Milton Avenue where I went every Saturday during the summer to get a block of ice for our icebox refrigerator at our camp on Oneida Lake.

"Picture two (below) shows a farm with two houses, some cows and horses, a pond with a family fishing, and the coal loading area and an apple orchard."