Here are a couple of Cub Scout pictures that my old friend Ray Lia recently sent me. I don’t think I was in the Scouts for very long because I wasn’t very good at knot-tying or whatever was required. I think I got through the Wolf level but not the Bear.
Our den mother was Ray’s very nice mom. When Ray married his wife, Pam, in the autumn of 1976, I got to escort Mrs. Lia to her seat. They are good at Christmas letters, whereas I am… not.
I had seen the color picture before. It was in a photo album with a bright red cover I used to own, which disappeared from my grandma Williams’ house on 13 Maple Street in Binghamton, NY, in the 1970s. The kid to the left is familiar, but I can’t place his name. Then there’s me, David Doyle, Ray in the hat, and a guy named Bill Davies also in the hat.
Not surprisingly, Ray, Bill, and David lived on Cypress Street in the First Ward of Binghamton. David lived on the corner of Mygatt Street, while Ray and Bill lived on the first block from Oak Street. Ray’s house was 7 1/2, about halfway between my grandma’s house and mine at 5 Gaines Street.
B&W
I don’t believe I ever owned the black-and-white photo. Most of the kids are vaguely familiar to me, but I have a terrible time remembering their names. I’m to the left. Ray is third from the left, and Bill Davies is to the far right.
Ray thinks there’s a guy named Darren or Darwin Rossi on the back left and John Sleazak or Slezak on the back right.
I’d appreciate it if you were of a certain age and could identify any of these people from Binghamton, NY. I’m also curious about the venues and times of both pictures. Ray, Bill, and I all look younger in the black-and-white picture than in the color one. Thanks for your help.
