Chapter Ninety Eight
For the past four years, our Hitty Club has met their friends from the eastern part of Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Virginia several days prior to Mother's Day for a get-together and this year was no exception. We spent three days in the Niagara Falls area and had a fantastic time! We all checked into The White Inn, a lovely B&B in Fredonia, New York. It had a huge porch and the first ones to arrive could sit and watch for the others.
After breakfast the first full day, we headed for Niagara Falls which was a little less than an hour away. As we approached we could see the mist in the distance and started to get excited. Once there and looking at the Falls we were thankful for our raincoats. It wasn't raining but we needed protection from the mist and the wind. We thought the roar of the Falls awesome!
We got as close as we could with the adults all keeping close watch on us. HittyBelle and Hitty Carol were the bravest of the Robertson Hittys. They got as close to the American Falls as Esther would allow!
Hitty Dallas Brown and her sister sat on the railing just long enough to have their picture taken. At times it was pretty scary. We all had a sense of adventure.
Of course, some of us were braver than others and one of Betty's Hittys started to climb over the railing to get a closer look until her mother called her attention to the sign.
After spending time close to the Falls we started back up the long path and steps to the parking lot. HittyBelle and I stopped for a rest.
As lunch time approached some of the group decided to go over to the Canadian side. The adults decided that those with passports would go and the others would take a trolley ride around all the sites on the American side. We crossed over to Canada on the Rainbow Bridge and this was the Robertson Hittys first time to be in another country.
Our first stop was at Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens where there was an abundance of big urns filled with pansies. In the background the trees were in full bloom. A breath taking sight!
As we walked along the brick path, we spotted a whole area of the prettiest blue flowers and HittyBelle and Hitty Carol rushed to see them up close.
We drove along the highway beside the river and our next stop was a huge clock made of different colored flowers. We were there at a very opportune moment because we were able to take our pictures just before a large group of people on a bus tour arrived. That would have made it difficult to take our pictures.
Our destination in Canada was Niagara- On- The-Lake, a town where the Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario. The main attraction there to the adults was the Prince of Wales Hotel, a beautiful old building in the center of town. Becassine stayed close by just in case her ability to speak French was needed.
Several of the adults had lunch at the hotel and were quite pleased. We went into the restroom and found it to be one of the most ornate that I have ever seen. Of course, HittyBelle and Hitty Carol had to take a close look at the fixtures.
At
these gatherings there is usually some type of project and an exchange of Hitty
related items. This year's project was the making of Hitty greeting
cards and I am sure if anyone ever receives a personal handwritten note from any
of the group, it will be on one of those cards! I won't go into all the items
exchanged but I must end this chapter with a picture of some of us in the
beautiful delicate dresses JoAnn had made for us out of vintage white
handkerchiefs. She made each one completely by hand. JoAnn was also
making veils to go with them if we wanted to dress as the original Hitty did in
the Cotton Exposition.
We are all home safe and hope our annual get-togethers will continue!
Postscript: The picture (not the white dresses) and four additional ones are featured in a little book titled "Hittys Visit Niagara Falls" now available in Hitty's Book Shelf.
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