the house i grew up in, 10 houses from #16 school. At one point in time, my sister and i inhabited the knotty-pine finished attic. We had barbie dolls with a barbie house and a lot of make believe up in that attic for several years. With only an intercom connecting us two stories below. The big picture window of the living room is the same. The front porch did not have this awnign, it had a brick front built in flower box running the length of the front
The school has not changed much, except for the addition on the right, which was a field. I remember learning to skateboard down that front slope. A group of us got adventurous as we neared our teens and scaled the brick walls, to claim the roof. Right around the time we got too old to be playing “Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn”, which had followed on the heals of neighborhood friendly games of cowboys and indians (garages being forts in my recollection).
Now if only i could find the pictures we took out in front of school, with the pin-hole cameras (which we made from old oatmeal boxes) in shop class. Yes, everyone took shop (i think). We also made and painted “birds on a stick” thingies to decorate the yard.
Even Aberdeen park, in front of the school, looks unchanged. I remember packing picnic lunches and dragging a wagon down here, many, many times. If you walk the two blocks to the other end of the park…you will hit Woodbine Ave. Then, if you take that another two blocks to the left…
I can’t believe there is still a market here! It used to be Mr. Wilsons. We would collect bottles and return them here for 2 cents. He was also the butcher for the deer that dad caught (if he was able to) with his bow and arrows. If he did, we would have a freezer full of venison to last the winter. Right inside the front entrance was the largest penny candy selection, and a cooler with ice cream delights. Summer days usually involved at least one trip to Mr. Wilsons for soda or candy.
A couple of doors away lived Nancy Butters, who would stay one of my best friends right through high school. I remember wonderful times with her family on Conesus Lake, joining sorority, cheer-leading, high school dances, the Beatles invasion, shaving our legs for the first time, many firsts – until moving away midway through high school. A part of me will always be a 19th warder.
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