Saturday, May 8, 1926
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The boys took their lunches and with four others of the neighborhood followed the creek up to where they call “Cherry Hole”. They left at 8:00 and were gone to 3:30. Had a big time - saw a snake, etc. These boys don’t appreciate their privileges or what a good time they are having. That’s all right. I want them to look back on their childhood as happy days. I don’t , only a few days – most of them were long, lonely days, and I guess the same is true of Gilbert. Of course I was uneasy about them but I shant let my fears spoil their fun.
(These boys were young by today's standards to be going off like that for a day. Dale, the oldest, was not quite ten, Dick was about eight, and Albert was six. But I guess it was different back then, it must have been.
Grandma wrote in her family history that her family moved around a lot when she was younger, and because she was shy, she didn't make friends quickly. So she spent a lot of time by herself or with her mother.
Gilbert suffered as a child from something they called "white fever" which affected his hip, so he was bedridden for several months and didn't start school until he was almost 8 years old. And then he had to use crutches or a cane because the illness, whatever it was, left him with one leg shorter than the other. I'm sure it was not easy to be different and older than your classmates, but Grandma wrote that he quickly caught up with schoolwork and I think eventually ended up at least going to school with kids his own age. He also had two older sisters that, according to Grandma's history, tried to tell him what to do all the time!)
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What creek was near where they lived? I wonder how far it was they went. I can't imagine letting my kids do something like that, even at their age now.
ReplyDeleteKathy, the older sister
The creek is in Brookside park, 2 blocks from home, & goes east-west. I used to play in it but never went farther than the Brookside playground, and community house about 6 blocks away. The boys must have gone farther east, past the RR tracks. The grandchildren can't play in the front yard unless an adult is outside too. Times have changed
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how kids were allowed to wander freely back then. A much safer time. Hey, at least they seemed to make it through the day without ripping their pants!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet blog you got here. I love your added in comments.
ReplyDeleteThings were different back then. Swimming in a hole was a right of passage of sorts. I wished I had swam in the hole when I was a young whipper snapper.
Craig