Summer holds great memories. Growing up we were released from school Friday of Memorial Day weekend, and returned Tuesday after Labor Day.
My parents bought a little house on Mead Street when I was 9-months-old. It was the early years of Highland Addition. Southridge was just an open field with horses.
The neighborhood was abundant with kids, and was a fun place. We all went to school, and played together. Friendships were formed that remain today. Many of us went all the way through school together from kindergarten to graduation.
Over the years as families grew, we started moving to different areas for bigger homes. That divided us into various elementary schools, but we re-connected in junior high.
My best summer recollections included playing in the woods, which was later developed between Mead and Truesdell. We even had a ball diamond where some of us honed our skills for future summer leagues.
Trips to the library were anticipated fun. A little friend and I spent countless hours lying on a blanket under a maple tree reading, chatting and playing with dolls. Another friend liked styling our hair, as well as our dolls’ hair. She wanted to be a hairdresser. She is a stylist in Florida. Goals!
Of course we devoted hours to playing hide and seek, riding bikes, bouncing on pogo sticks, walking on stilts and roller skating. Remember Skat-Skoota? It was big pedals with wheels. I can still balance on it and move forward. Maybe it was the inspiration for today’s hoverboard. By the way, I still have the metal skates and key. Nope, not doing that!
Let’s not forget badminton, four square, hopscotch and jump rope. And JARTS! We also played under the bridge at the cemetery by Truesdell. Fishing with paper clips and hot dogs was not successful, but it didn’t matter.
A cherished memory is playing catch with my dad, and swimming with him at Clinton Swim Club. My mom was afraid of water. Dad was the president of club’s board, so I spent a lot of time there.
We had cookouts, with neighbors gathering to make ice cream. The wait was excruciating for salivating children.
Local merchants handed out flyers for free kiddie shows at The Murphy Theatre. It was a cool place to be if you had no air-conditioning, and our parents got a break for a while.
After supper we played until after dark. Parents sat in lawn chairs visiting and watching us. We had to go in when it was “bath time.”
It was the simple things that occupied our summers. I’m grateful to have grown up when I did, and for the lasting friendships. The Internet and cell phones didn’t exist. We interacted, and our pretending was rather creative. Now we reminisce of childhood antics at class reunions.
I hope you, too, will one day be able to fondly reflect and smile upon the summer of 2023.
