A cooperative community in Rockland county of New York

Just a Few Memories about Childhood in Skyview

January 19, 2022

I wasn’t actually born in Skyview….only my dear friend Gabrielle Lynn could claim that truth, but I was raised in Skyview and cherish most of my experiences growing up there.

I am grateful that my parents had a vision to join Skyview and had the guts and wherewithall to clear the land and build much of our home themselves. My older brothers Daniel and Joel and sister Becky, all under the age of eleven were their able assistants of course and by the time I came along in 1953 there was a completed home with a roof, electricity, heat and running water. Only my siblings and Mother can share those amazing stories of how plot #18 was readied for building.

Among my thoughts at this time are, had I not grown up in Skyview I don’t think I would know so much about plants, animals, soil and the seasons affecting the flow of the brook! I just about lived down at the brook that separated the Sabini property from ours. I went to sleep listening to the babbling water and only recently understood why I have always wanted to live near a stream! I found red salamanders under rocks there, caught minnows and frogs and moved rocks out of the way to increase the pace of the flowing stream. In the winter I could actually ice skate and slide down the frozen waterfalls in the brook. I discovered Indian Pipes, magic puffballs puffing out clouds of green smoke if you stepped on them, bloodroot, Jack in the Pulpits, Trillium and many varieties of fern and vine. I came to know all of the varieties of trees and learned that in the beech forest, poison ivy would not grow! Other wonderful memories include endless days of play with Liseli and Carolyn and if they weren’t available, there was always someone to call. I know that at one point in time there were at least 125 children in Skyview…at the same time! Summers were endless and we lived at the pool or in “Summer Program”. Winters included sledding down the road from Pepperman’s hill to the field if you had a really good sled…..like a Flexible Flyer! Ice skating then as it is now was the best, as long as the snow was cleared off in time to preserve the smooth surface. So many memories to share….I certainly enjoyed a childhood enriched by the unique neighbors who “chose” to live in Skyview because of the kind of community it was. I rarely thought about the fact that one friend’s parent was a renowned civil rights attorney, or another’s a gifted writer, professor or activist. These folks were just my neighbors and more like extended family….lots of extra parents and I still consider Yolanda Lynn as a second Mom! This much for now, more later!

(My parents seemed to have saved every single issue of “Skyviews” dating back to at least 1953 if anyone is interested…let me know)