North Buffalo, to be exact.
These were the early 1950's:
The days of "Howdy Doody",
"Davy Crockett", "Little Lulu" comics, and of "Ike",
a president who did nothing more controversial
than playing golf, and reminiscing about
the good ol' battles we won
when he served as a General in WWII.
on Crestwood Avenue,
we played "hide and seek",
and "stone school" on the front stoop.
We drew hopscotch boards on the sidewalks,
and searched for
nice flat stones to throw on the numbered squares.
When the street lights came on,
it was the unmentioned signal for every kid on
the block to run inside
and take a bath, brush their teeth,
and be in bed by 8:00 or 9:00 PM.
We walked home for lunch,
had 20 minutes to eat and walk back.
Anything you might have
done wrong on the way to school
(such as stepping in a mud puddle,
scraping your new shoes on the sidewalk,
or throwing a snowball),
was reported to your parents
by the crossing guard and neighbors along the route.
and stayed around
until early autumn:
who wore the flowered straw hat,
the popcorn man with his circus red wagon
and the whistle
announcing hot buttered popcorn and sweet caramel corn,
the huckster yelling
"Fresh Strrrawwwberrriees"!,
as he made his way down the block!
the scissors grinder, who sharpened all the knives in your house,
the carnival rides on big trucks,
like the "heydey' and the ferriswheel
that you could ride right
in front of your house for a nickel!
How we lined up at the milkman's truck
so he could chop off
pieces of ice for us to chew,
on those hot summer days!
from under the canvas awnings of the upstairs porches
as we held our hula hoop contests.
to watch "I Remember Mama",
and the "Friday Night Fights"
~ sponsored by
Black Label Beer and Gillette Aftershave Lotion ~
the jingle went
"Da DA Da Dadadadada da DA da dadadadadada!!"
(You'll remember
if you were born before 1950)!
to watch the Mickey Mouse Club!!
Annette was the favorite, but we liked Karen and Cubby
and Darlene, too!!
My dad was always the one
who walked about 10 kids to the corner store
to buy us all bubble gum,
skippy cups,and Bonomo's Turkish Taffy!
Dad took us in his old Plymouth
to pick cherries on the farm in Lockport,
and ride the "horsie" swings at Ellicott Creek Park!
Mom took me in the wagon
to the corner kosher butcher shop
(next to the orthodox Jewish Temple},
and the longer walk to Hertel avenue to Williams Shoe Store
to get
my perennial "saddle shoes"!
of a Jewish-Italian Neighborhood!
A lot of eating and good smells~mmmm-mmm!
But we still loved those car trips
to get
the "Original Pat's Charcoal Broiled Hot Dogs"
on Sheridan Drive!
OH boy! And who could forget
summers at Crystal Beach in Ft. Erie, Ontario, Canada?
The Crystal Beach boat
took scores of passengers across Lake Erie...
to ride on
"The Comet",
(only THE best Roller Coaster in North America!)
and "Laugh In The Dark", and the "Wild Mouse".
The best treats there were Hall's suckers,
especially the HOT cinnamon! Whoa!
cause it was a 2 or 3, or even 4 partyline,
and people would yell if there were kids on the line!
So what did we do?
We walked outside, to our friend's house, stood in the driveway
and yelled,
"Oh Jackie-e-e, come on out and play-ay!
(until the kid came out,
or the mom yelled back "Go away, come back later!")
The kids had secret calls
like Jeff and Porky on "Lassie"... "EEE-AW-KEE!"
or some other war cry type of yell.
Dads had special whistles
to get you home quick, too! A lot of yelling went on!
amazing no one died from the smell.
Then came "spoolies",the rubberized answer to
"sleep~on"rollers!
were nights on the back porch in the summer;
There would be Dad and I looking up
at the star-filled sky,
trying to find the big dipper, and watching for
the Russian "sputnik" with its blinking red light!
The sounds of the crickets,
the smell of the lilies of the valley in the yard,
and the long train whistles...
all of these are etched forever
in my memory...
and will never be forgotten.
To~ "Papa"