Buried Treasure

Buried Treasure

Kaydeross Park, Saratoga Lake
Late 30's early 40's

When I headed off to the Saratoga Springs Public Library on this cold February evening I never imagined that I would discover a family archive of albums sitting on a shelf in the center of the library's Saratoga Room.  However that is exactly what happened. I have been fighting a good old fashioned head cold for the last week, so my search for a sign from Clem had been placed on hold. I have been itching to get back to the library and feeling a little better today, I promised myself I would do just that. I was greeted by Victoria who immediately did every thing in her power to lead me to another sign from Clem. She made several suggestions and provided dozens of names of people who might be helpful in my search. As she was checking some things on the computer I was slowly prowling the shelves for a sign of my own. In the very center of the Saratoga Room there are large shelves full of these huge cardboard boxes. Each box has an identifying tag on the side indicating the contents. Many of them  were family collections of albums. Some of the albums were full of newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. I was bent over at a right angle when a very familiar family named appeared before my eyes. It was the name Greenwood. 

Score! 

What stopped my heart for a few seconds was the fact that it was my grandfather Elmer Greenwood. It gets better. I pulled out the large box and placed it on top of the counter. I carefully opened it up and was floored to find it packed with five different size albums dating back to the 1930's. A sheet of paper lying on top of them indicated that the items were mostly from the Saratoga Winter Club and other winter sports. Suddenly my search for a sign from Clem had served up another family heirloom I never knew existed. 

A gold nugget

The pages of these scrapbooks were jammed with articles about local speed skating athletes, some with Olympic ties. Once again my search for a sign provided a roadside full of billboards to read and rediscover. I can't wait to see what's around the next turn. 

My grandfather Elmer Greenwood (left) and Bob Walton Sr.
Bob was the original owner of Walton's Sport Shop on Lake Ave.