Song - Summertime by Norah Jones
Nope.....
Camp Rich is not like Glamping......
Nor is it a camp for rich people.
It is short for Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe.
The little shop above was were I loved to go as a young girl in the late 50's & early 60's. I would save up my allowance to buy an Indian doll, bank or necklace here. Later as a teen, I would purchase my Kodak film here as well.
Across the street is where our family would go shopping. My mom & her sisters would buy groceries while my brothers, cousins and I would buy a little cardboard container that had holes poked in the lid - yes, we were getting big fat worms for fishing. And if it was an extra special day we could sit on those outdoor stools behind the man in the photo above and order ice cream cones! Twirl and lick!!
This building has since burnt down but the building behind it is the Historic Camp Richardson Resort.
Sometimes my Aunt Marie would encourage all of us cousins to hike to the store from our cabin (she was a school teacher and loved "projects") and we would put on our tennis shoes & shorts, loop our yellow plastic water mugs to our belts and head off on some fun adventure. Anything for an ice cream cone!
There was also a dining room across the street from the "Souvenir Shop" but I don't ever remember eating there. I think it was because my mom & her sisters & my grandmother liked home cooked meals. But more likely the thought of taking all twelve of us kids out to dinner was somewhat daunting.
This is a photo of Camp Richardson in the mid 60's with the lodge, the store & the dining hall. Gas was across the street and so were the air pumps we would use to blow up our huge truck inner-tubes.
A similar view from 2014 except it includes the old gas station on the right that is now a bike rental company.
The present day coffee shop used to be the Post Office which is how us "older people" stayed in touch with each other. We didn't have a phone at the cabin then. It was a very important building for me as a teenager, as this is were I received all of my crucial correspondence from my other teen aged friends over those long two weeks at the lake! Every one's mail just came by General Delivery.....no need for addresses back then....sigh.....such simple times....and not that long ago!!!
The old souvenir shop is now a very popular ice cream shop with huge scoops of ice cream! BEWARE - order the "kiddie" scoop or at most one scoop and you will still have a tummy ache.
The old dining hall is the present day store & cafe, although it is mostly filled with T-shirts and trinkets and a few supplies for the nearby campers.
The hotel is still in business and there are several cabins nearby for rent near the lake. They have also added a restaurant right on the lake at the marina called The Beacon.
The main reason that I was thinking about Camp Richardson today was because last month we Mr. B and I were up there for the weekend.....and......there was a traffic signal. Made me shed a few tears over how this quaint little spot in my life has changed and will continue to evolve for the next generation.
It will forever look like this in my heart.
"Summer is like childhood.
It's full of warm memories but gone too soon."
-- Kellie Elmore
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