Sea Cliff people: Priscilla Waltz

I’ve lived here since my family moved to Sea Cliff in 1925. I came here when I was 3 years old and lived in a Victorian house at 277 Glen Ave., and it’s still standing. Now I’m 90. I’ve lived in this house [on Highland Avenue] for 61 years. I have three sons and a daughter. My husband Raymond passed away 16 years ago.

This was originally a large estate. We used to sneak through here as a kid to go ice skating. When I moved to this house, the builders who laid out the foundation of the home, found horse bones, so they assumed that my backyard was once used as a horse pasture. On the main street, I remember having a shoemaker, bakery, department store, gift shops, two barbers and two butchers. There was everything you needed. We didn’t have refrigerators until I entered the third grade, so people would shop once a day.

The water, the sunset, the rocks and the sailing. It has just the friendliest of neighborhoods. Oh, and I love what they’re doing now, bringing in the bands to Memorial Park, and there are art shows at the libraries. Of course, it’s such a beautiful spot and has a safe harbor.

I remember sailing with my family and racing in our sailboats with my brother Thomas. We belonged to the Sea Cliff Yacht Club. We’d spend the day at the beach in the summer. Kids would bring their lunches to the beach. We used to walk up and down the hill, sometimes racing up the steps. We walked everywhere.

Littleworth Lane used to be part of an Indian trail, which would go out to Oyster Bay. During the revival period in the late 1800s, people lived closely together in tents. By the mid-1900s, hotels and resorts were built and later summer cottages, larger dwellings and single-family housing. Churches and schools were built before the 1920s.

There’s an awful lot of houses for sale. It’s the bad economy. Our greatest challenge is to keep the community going and tighten our belts and not spend frivolously.