IRH - Boyd's Lake

This section is to honor the works of Russ Lancaster who started the “I Remember Hamlet” web site years ago. Without his pioneering the web at that time we might not have gathered all these memories of our Hamlet, NC. We thank you Russ for what you started in 1996, may you Rest in Peace. Russ was kind enough to let me download his web site before he took it down. Thank you Russ.
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David
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IRH - Boyd's Lake

Post by David »

Boyd's Lake (1947-59)
by Russ Lancaster
Boyd's Lake..One mile North of City Lake on Boyd's Lake Road, around the sharp curve and you were there.
¶ If you were a youngster between 10 and 14, you could ride your bike from any place in Hamlet and be at the lake within a few minutes and with your parent's permission. In those days, traffic was very light and you had both Mrs. Boyd and a lifeguard to keep an eye on you.
Admission? 20 cents, 35 cents if you wanted to use the dressing room which was a room on stilts with cracks both through the floors and walls. There were showers in the dressing rooms and your clothes went into a little numbered wire basket which you took back to Mrs. Boyd for safekeeping. You could rent inner tubes to float in, buy hot-dogs and snacks and play the pinball machine. There was Music blasting over the loudspeakers which were also used to remind you if your hour's rent on the inner tube had expired. The beach area was white sand and the water was crystal clear and warm. You could swim underwater with your eyes open and see for quite a distance. A lot of kids like myself learned to swim there, first by swimming underwater (nearly to the first class diving board) and then applying those strokes on the surface. If you hadn't learned how to dive you could always "cannon-ball" off the board or platform or just sit on the beams at the bottom of the platform and watch others show their styles. Every kid in school always had their class picnic in late May at Boyd's Lake with several parents pitching in. There were picnic tables and barbecue pits galore and a large grassy area for resting and eating. There were also horseshoe pits and volleyball nets. Kids never got tired enough to want to leave on their own. If you were of high-school age, there was a dance floor on the level above the food and rental area with a large enclosed wooden dance floor, screen less and pane less windows, a juke box and lots of wooden benches built on the porch outside which completely surrounded the dance floor. The girls were always wanting to dance and the guys were mostly too shy to try except for the few who really knew how to dance. Lots of times the girls were forced to dance with each other because of the shyness of the boys and the dances of choice were "The Twist and "The Shag".
Those were the years when Rock & Roll was new and the lyrics still understandable and the slow dancing love songs were so sweet they could bring a tear to your eye or love (for the moment) into your heart.
The boys wore their pants pegged and their hair in duck tails while the girls wore those drop-waist dresses or skirts (below the knees) and bobby socks. As for swimwear, bikini's were only seen in France and the bathing suits were generally basic black or white.
We could all use a re-visit to a place like Boyd's Lake in our lifetime, a place of clear, pure water (no chemicals), clean beaches and a place where kids (young and old) could go without fear or worry. I remember both the lake and those times fondly.
Hopefully, you do too.
Yes, I remember Hamlet!
freddie hassler
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Joined: Thu May 3, 2007, 3:05 am
Location: Hamlet,N.C.
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Re: IRH - Boyd's Lake

Post by freddie hassler »

I could write a book about my time at Boyd Lake, but since I have to type with only one hand I'll give you just a bit
My first trip to the lake I was 5, by the time I was 8 I could swim Paul Boyd, taught me and my brother to swim and so many more :D when I was 13 I was allowed to swim across the lake to the pier and back, but only Mrs Boyd (aka Grannie)could give me permission I was a lifeguard at 15 until I got out of school and had to get a real job
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