Last week we took a look back at the Summer of ’69. One of the stories contributed by local resident Joanne Bouchard crossed the years and miles and connected her with someone from her hometown in New York. The two women went to the same high school, each married in the same neighborhood church and both had great summer fun at Jones Beach – but they never met.

Joanne wrote in the Summer of ’69 special edition, “It all began in June of 1969. I had just graduated from Uniondale High School. I was working at Hofstra University part time in the Library. That little part time job was my ticket to attending Hofstra free in September. The routine of that summer was pretty simple. On my days off I would meet my friends at Jones Beach, Field 4 to the right of the lifeguard stand. It was “our spot”. I could always count on finding someone there at any time.

“I remember lying there one day listening to station 77 AM, Cousin Brucie. I think every transister radio played that station on the beach. You could walk up and down the shore and always hear the same songs being played.

“As the summer went along we started to hear about this concert in Bethel, NY. It was a 3 day concert with a line-up that was too good to believe. We never really thought of attending, we all thought it was something that other people were going to attend. As Woodstock approached it sounded better and better. News reports started to appear on TV reporting the road delays, thousands approaching and gathering on the site. The NY Thruway was closed! That was the spark that set all of us to say let’s go!”

Joanne made it to Woodstock but Pat Dotson said the road was a gridlock and she and her friends turned around that day and went home. Pat Dotson of Fuquay-Varina, a graduate of Uniondale High School, read Joanne’s story in the special edition and felt a connection to home. Her younger sister Ginny Obenshain had been in Joanne’s class at Uniondale and Pat was a year ahead of them. Pat contacted Joanne and the two met at Stick Boy Bakery in Fuquay to reminisce about times gone by at Jones Beach and high school.

“There’s that feeling,” Pat said, just knowing that Joanne shared the same experiences she had as a young girl.

Joanne agreed. “It (Jones Beach) was such a big part of growing up,” she said. Joanne brought her high school yearbook and they spent the afternoon visiting and catching up on news about friends and family across the years.

Pat has lived in North Carolina since 1980 and in the local area for about six years. Joanne has also lived in Fuquay for several years but their paths hadn’t crossed. It probably won’t be 40 years until they meet again, but both agreed that the world feels a little bit smaller than it did last week.