Helen May
Keywords: WWII, New York, Saranac Lake, Farming, 1930-50
Interviewed 03/02/2018 by Kayt Gochenaur at Will Rogers
Helen May neé Case was born October 18, 1930 in Onodaga County NY. Her siblings were 9+ years older than her, so in many ways Helen was an only child. She grew up on a farm, but never grew to like animals and wasn’t asked to help on the farm. She was a voracious reader. When Helen was four, a school was built and she attended it. Every Sunday she went to church and then to her grandparents’ house in nearby Syracuse. Her grandparents had also once lived on a farm, but had since moved to a beautiful Victorian house. Helen had 15-20 people in her class. After middle school she attended a larger high school where she met her best friend (who lived at Helen’s house when her own parents moved) and her future husband, Richard May. Richard and Helen didn’t know much about each other during high school but reconnected afterwards and got married when Helen was 23. Helen rode the bus to work in Syracuse, where she worked at a fabric mill, and then at an insurance company. Her wedding was a small ceremony in front of the fireplace at her parents’ house. Her best friend stood up with her during the ceremony, and they both wore outfits her mother had made. Helen and Richard bought a remodeled school house, with a beautiful yard. Helen painted the kitchen spring green. She still has several pieces of furniture that she bought during that time, and a blanket that was a gift from her bridal shower. Helen and Richard eventually moved to Connecticut and New York, outside of NYC. Both Richard and Helen worked for an insurance company. They raised three boys and two girls. In the early 90s Helen and Richard drove around Saranac Lake and thought it looked like a nice place to retire to. They moved to Saranac Lake where they bought the Adirondack Motel, which they ran together for roughly 5 years. They sold the motel and bought a Bed and Breakfast on Church Street which they kept for several more years before retiring. Richard (who loved to drive) and Helen enjoyed taking road trips to see their son in California. Helen has a daughter and granddaughter in Saranac Lake, and both a daughter and a son in Malone.
Interview audio may be edited or redacted for clarity and/or privacy. Audio is part of the Oral History Collection at Historic Saranac Lake.
Interviewed 03/02/2018 by Kayt Gochenaur at Will Rogers
Helen May neé Case was born October 18, 1930 in Onodaga County NY. Her siblings were 9+ years older than her, so in many ways Helen was an only child. She grew up on a farm, but never grew to like animals and wasn’t asked to help on the farm. She was a voracious reader. When Helen was four, a school was built and she attended it. Every Sunday she went to church and then to her grandparents’ house in nearby Syracuse. Her grandparents had also once lived on a farm, but had since moved to a beautiful Victorian house. Helen had 15-20 people in her class. After middle school she attended a larger high school where she met her best friend (who lived at Helen’s house when her own parents moved) and her future husband, Richard May. Richard and Helen didn’t know much about each other during high school but reconnected afterwards and got married when Helen was 23. Helen rode the bus to work in Syracuse, where she worked at a fabric mill, and then at an insurance company. Her wedding was a small ceremony in front of the fireplace at her parents’ house. Her best friend stood up with her during the ceremony, and they both wore outfits her mother had made. Helen and Richard bought a remodeled school house, with a beautiful yard. Helen painted the kitchen spring green. She still has several pieces of furniture that she bought during that time, and a blanket that was a gift from her bridal shower. Helen and Richard eventually moved to Connecticut and New York, outside of NYC. Both Richard and Helen worked for an insurance company. They raised three boys and two girls. In the early 90s Helen and Richard drove around Saranac Lake and thought it looked like a nice place to retire to. They moved to Saranac Lake where they bought the Adirondack Motel, which they ran together for roughly 5 years. They sold the motel and bought a Bed and Breakfast on Church Street which they kept for several more years before retiring. Richard (who loved to drive) and Helen enjoyed taking road trips to see their son in California. Helen has a daughter and granddaughter in Saranac Lake, and both a daughter and a son in Malone.
Interview audio may be edited or redacted for clarity and/or privacy. Audio is part of the Oral History Collection at Historic Saranac Lake.