Back in my Day: Childhood, Play, and Schenectady

Our latest exhibit, Back in My Day: Childhood, Play, and Schenectady focuses on growing up and being a kid in Schenectady County. So we dug through our photo archives in order to pick out some great photos that show what childhood looked like for Schenectady's residents. Many of these are from our Schenectady Family Photograph Collection, as such, many of them are unlabeled. Here are some of our favorites:

Recess is an important part of the school day. Here we see kids lining up to go on the slide at Edison School in this undated photo (possibly 1910s?).

This photo shows school children crossing Erie Boulevard circa 1970s. They were most likely going to Riverside Elementary on Front Street.

Sometimes your toys are made to be toys, sometimes they're just things that you find lying around. This photo is from 1946, but is otherwise unlabeled.

Pets can be an important part of childhood (and adulthood). Here, Ruby and Antoinette Devendorf pose for a photo with their pup named Patsy. 

This photo shows the Hotchkiss kids peeking out of a car window in August 1920.

Two teenage girls dress up in 1890s-era clothing and pose as a "Gay Nineties" bicycling gentleman and lady in this 1939 photo.

Central Park was a very popular place for Schenectady's youth to play. This photo shows some rambunctious youngins climbing a rock in Iroquois Lake.

Wintertime activities for kids in Schenectady included playing on what looks to be pretty thin ice on the pond in Vale Park This photo is from 1910. 

A young Helen Mynderse dressing up as a Red Cross nurse.

Members of Schenectady High's 1908 class hanging out under what looks like a Japanese Cherry Blossom Tree. 

Back in My Day: Childhood, Play, and Schenectady will be open through most of November 2019 at the Schenectady County Historical Society. We hope you can come visit and relive your childhood with us!