In second grade, I looked on with envy as my third grade friends from church went to Tionesta. They were going to a cabin for the weekend to eat candy and run wild. I couldn’t wait until it was my turn.
This year, I took my girls to the same cabin. A group of people from my church has kept the tradition of Tionesta alive. For years, a group of kids in grades third through sixth go to a hunting cabin on the Allegheny river in the town of Tionesta, Pa. The cabin and surroundings have barely changed since I was eight years old. There are a few less deer heads on the walls but the bright plastic tablecloths are just the same.
The first night we were there, dinner was ready. I got ready to serve salad to the kids. My brother took the tongs and said, “Wouldn’t you like to take a picture of this?” I began documenting the weekend.
I took pictures for this year’s group of kids and parents. I also was thinking of the much bigger group of people who spent weekends together in this cabin every spring and who I knew would enjoy traveling back in time.