Those were the days: The Soares clan, with friends & neighbors

Vintage photographs from the 1930s and beyond from the family of Victor Faria Soares, Sr. and Rose Raymond Soares of Somerset, Mass., my grandparents. These were digitized by my uncle, Arthur Faria Soares, who also provided me with many stories about my family and his experiences growing up. The children of Rose and Victor Sr. were: Victor Jr., Beatrice, Raymond (my father), and Arthur.

Continuing with our summer theme, here is my pépère, Victor Faria Soares, Sr., posing at the entrance of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport. Idawalley Zorada Lewis-Wilson was a legendary 19th lighthouse keeper at the Lime Rock Light in Newport Harbor. She saved at least 13 people from drowning over her years of service; the first when she was only 12 years old (her father was the official keeper at the time). When told it was unladylike to row a boat, she said, "None--but a donkey, would consider it 'unfeminine' to save lives."