Every summer holiday was spent at Linkhurst, the name of the farm home on Grand Island that had been, and still is, in the Link family for generations.  It is a wonderful home with a large wrap around veranda on which countless activities have occurred.  The pear orchard behind the barn still produces mouthwatering fruit of many varieties. 

The group who attended on holidays was made up of family and friends, known as the horseshoe gang.  The men played serious horseshoes all day long on a court made up of blue clay which was dug from the shore of the Niagara River.  The women visited and worked in the kitchen on the great meals we always had there.  Us kids played hide and seek and got into mischief.  

Aunt Hazel and Uncle Wes raised two children.  Wes Jr. (Buddy) was only a few months older than me and my best friend until he discovered a love for restoring old cars, converted the barn into a shop, and disappeared under hoods, a hobby that became a career where he was known across the country.  Melinda was a couple years younger and became a physical therapist.  She went to Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York.  It had no campus.  When we went to visit her we always drove around Cornell University which had a beautiful campus.

When summer holidays come around I still think of the fun times we had at Linkhurst.