I remember the summer of 1983, because that was the year when my mother, sister and I spent almost every Friday night at Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, CT. We went in the afternoon to swim in Lake Quassapaug, swim out to the float, and enjoy a picnic supper. Once the sun started to set, it was 1908 night, Quassy’s celebration of their 75th anniversary by selling ride tickets, hot dogs, and sodas for a quarter each.
It was a fun summer, and every time I hear certain songs it takes me back to those nights. Here’s a sampling of the music playing on the radio as we drove to and from Lake Quassapaug:
The Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Eddy Grant – Electric Avenue
The Human League – (Keep Feeling) Fascination
The Kinks – Come Dancing
Madness – Our House
Who says there was no good music in the Eighties? The rides at Quassy are less memorable as they were admittedly rather tame. When we went back one time in 1984, the magic was gone. Still, it’s a fun memory to think back on 25 years later.
Posted by Stephen Francoeur on 22 August 2008 at 9:09 pm
I’d throw in the Cure’s “Let’s Go to Bed” while you’re at it! Thanks for the musical nostalgia trip.
Posted by Nana on 27 August 2008 at 8:29 am
Wow, it’s now Quassapaug’s 100th anniversary!
In 1983, I would have guessed that it would be long closed by now but, as I saw on the Quassy site, it has grown. It seems to still be an old fashioned, slightly tacky, (like amusement parks were when I was little) kind of place — and they even stil have 25 cent Fridays and there are still the paddle boats. Unfortunately, the Quassy Queen II steamboat is not the same one that was there, the one that was from Freedomland was broken up in 1998.
We had a lot of fun that summer.