All the Repression, affairs, smoking and non-stop drinking on the job aside, the episodes of Mad Men give me flashbacks to my childhood in The Tarrytowns on the Hudson River. I lived in those neighborhoods amidst the executives with the exciting advertising jobs, the women limited to their Garden Club meetings and volunteer work for either the Junior League Nearly New Shop or at Phelps Memorial Hospital. Some women had lunch at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club and enjoyed either an afternoon of tennis, riding or time by the pool. Homes rarely had pools in that area since homes were much simpler those days in size as well as decor and the small lots did not allow for a pool. I know they call it Ossining in the series but the references are also just south into Sleepy Hollow and Philipse Manor territory. John Cheever, nicknamed “The Chekhov of the Suburbs” lived in Scarborough Manor and Ossining. All Mad Men Country. Perhaps he was the inspiration with his chronicles such as “The Sorrows of Gin.”

Episodes give me a start when a scene opens with the barware and glasses in the Draper home - exactly the same glasses my Father owned. Or when Betty Draper leans against her kitchen counters and the windows have the same “Cafe Curtains” my Mother had.

The train station was Philipse Manor on the Hudson which has a beautiful old stone Station House. I used to hear that the fireplace was lit for the evening return and there were leather wing chairs and Oriental rugs in the waiting room. Yes, drinking cars were big back then and perhaps this is where they waited for the wives to pick them up after their long day with their three martini lunches. Or one last drink before they went out to their station cars.

Community meetings for the residents of Sleepy Hollow Manor were held in the Rockefeller Family “Playhouse” up in neighboring Pocantico Hills. Perhaps this is how and where Betty used to meet her new love, Henry. She also mentions going into Tarrytown for a decorating project. I know the large hop she was referring to. The series is perfectly crafted with impeccable details with the use of cultural archives and resources.