It’s summer. Time to get out in the fresh air and enjoy good food and good fun.

First,we head out to stock up on supplies.

Hamburger, potato salad, maybe some sliced ham. Let’s see – Olfene’s Market on Court Street has a special on hamburger for 59 cents a pound and their potato salad is going for 39 cents a pound.

Maybe we should head across the river to Mohican Market on Main Street in Lewiston. Don’t stop there as often, or at Sampson’s Super Market just up the street.

Onions are three pounds for 29 cents at Mohican and their fresh-baked pies are 29 cents each. That’s a start on a pretty good picnic.

Well, that was then – the early 1950s – when families packed lunches and headed somewhere else for a few hours. Now, it’s barbecues in the backyard on stainless steel propane-powered marvels.

It’s interesting to think about how our customs of family fun have changed over the years, and it’s surprising to realize that a good deal of that nostalgia isn’t gone – just altered a bit.

It was always a treat to drive around Lake Auburn to Taber’s on Lake Shore Drive for its miniature golf and a driving range, not to mention great ice cream cones, shakes, hot dogs.

That’s one of the memories that can be recreated pretty much as it originally was. Taber’s is still there with that wonderful view of the lake, and the golf balls are still flying.

There were many favorite destinations for swimming. For Auburn families, one of the best was The Outlet at East Auburn. It was the quintessential swimming hole where a boy lucky enough to have a new swim mask and fins could explore a new underwater world (that actually was no bigger than his living room). On hot days, there might be 50 or more swimmers of all ages at The Outlet. There was no lifeguard, but everyone managed to keep order and safety.

Getting up the courage to dive from the springboard centered over the dam was a real milestone in a boy’s life.

When an adult would allow it and go along for safety, you might get to cross the road to the other side of the bridge spanning the stream. Close to it, water spilled over the dam which was about 10 feet high and maybe 15 feet wide. You could dash under the falling torrent where, behind it, you were in a magnificent dry space looking out through the rainbow-tinged wall of water.

Today, that outlet dam and its sidewalls of rock are off limits, but land nearby has become the very popular and adequately supervised Outlet Park.

In addition to the waterfront activities of swimming, diving and a slide into the water, the city of Auburn provides playground equipment, an outdoor basketball court, volleyball courts, an open area for field games like soccer and Frisbee, picnic tables, barbecue grills and plenty of free parking. A concession stand, sanitary facilities and bathhouses are provided on site and certified lifeguards are on duty during regular hours.

This area, so popular in the mid-1900s and again today, is not much more than a stone’s throw from a major site of fun and frivolity a full century ago. That was Lake Grove, where Lewiston-Auburn families gathered after trolley rides from the city for their own picnics and evenings of musical entertainment or dancing.

For other Androscoggin families, there were places like Sabattus Lake, Taylor Pond and Bridge’s Beach at Tripp Lake, where for a fee, you got bathhouse use and access to the fine sand. At the Tripp Lake beach, there was a float with a spiral slide. That’s now private property.

Also on Tripp Lake, right next to the highway, was Scotsman’s Beach, so-called because it was free, and still is. Lately, highway officials have taken notice of its public value and the safety of roadside parking has been improved.

Come to think of it, there’s an awful lot of the good old days still around in Androscoggin County.

Dave Sargent is a freelance writer and an Auburn native. You can e-mail him at [email protected].