Summers in Bainbridge, NY - Sharon Soloway
by Sharon Soloway
  • July 9, 2024
  • 6 mins story
1. What is your favorite memory of growing up and/or living in Chenango County? This can be from your childhood, the past month, or anything in between.

[0:00]

I did not grow up in Bainbridge. I spent my summers in Bainbridge. In 1967, my father bought a piece of property at the top of - not all the way at the top, but most of the way to the top of - Dingman Hill Road. And… put a house on it - and in fact… Six months after the house was built, people robbed it and burned it to the ground. And he dropped a double wide on the foundation. 

[0:23]

Shortly after my father died sixteen years ago - it’s 2024 - I realized that that was not the place for my elderly mother to be, so I built another house - so there’s two houses there. It’s… where I believe the old sawmill was… and I summered here, and what I remember was how wonderful everyone was and where I live is… just gorgeous. The views are unbelievable, they're spectacular. 

[0:51]

And… like I said, he bought it in ‘67. We didn’t have a phone there ‘till 1992, ‘cause his office would try to reach him. They would call the police department. They would call restaurants. People would come out and say “Mr. Soloway, your office called. We told them you weren’t here.” And - but if it was an emergency, someone would always show up at the house and tell us what was happening so that we could act accordingly, ‘cause he didn’t want to be bothered. That’s why he purchased the property. 

[1:18]

I retired - mostly retired - here in… 2021? I’m an attorney in Virginia. I am still an attorney in Virginia. And thanks to COVID - this is very strange - I actually do court into Virginia from my attic in Bainbridge, New York via Zoom. I am a completely virtual lawyer. 

[1:40]

I love it here. When my dad passed like I said - we summered here, I didn’t know people. My sister and I were just walking down Main Street a few days after he passed and people were literally coming out of the shops to tell me stories of my father. And to this day, when people run into me, they ask about mom; if mom shows up - she’s ninety-five - somewhere with me, people flock to see her. We’ve - it’s a warm loving community. I go to the blues festival every single year. And I love living here. 

[2:08]

In my free time - well I go to see a lot of music… I go to museums. I hike in my woods. I do things like that. I go on little - sort of - “let's go lost” road trips through the country ‘cause it’s so pretty. [laughs] That’s what I do. 

[2:26]

I was actually at my parents’ house in New Jersey in 1976 for the bicentennial, so I do not remember anything. I remember Jericho Days. When they'd have the horse and buggy and the Jericho and was - worked a Jericho tavern in Bainbridge - it was still open, it’s just being restored now. And I remember that. I remember the Afton Fair as a little kid and thinking it was phenomenal. And we can see the fireworks from the canoe - we got it from our house - but I thought that was such a magical time. And my whole family does, so people will just sort of randomly, who have not told me so, start showing at my - showing up at my house. Probably tomorrow [laughs]. And we’ve had friends move here from the city and from Virginia as well, just to - they come to visit and decide they are going to make this their home. So I’ve had three different sets of friends.

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