In the days before air-conditioning, Mago-Vista Beach in Arnold, MD was one of our summertime getaways. My mother would pack us into the car with a picnic lunch and a one or two additional children from the neighborhood and off we’d go. I don’t remember if we wore our bathing suits or changed when we arrived. The friendly, family beach was pleasantly sandy. I loved the big silver raft that was anchored not too far from shore. We could wade out to it and jump off into the warm water. There was a dance pavilion that the grown ups used for night time dances. According to a web site devoted to Mago-Vista Mr. Benson began building the resort on the Magothy River in 1938. There was an amusement park and houses to rent. How I wish I could recall seeing that. The image here is from my collection of Maryland ephemera. While I don't remember canoes, I do love the bathing suit on our paddler. Some have told me that the Mago-Vista of our youth is long gone and now, but of course, condominiums have taken its place.
