Olean N.Y. and Bradford Pa. were the biggest cities so I thought growing up!

Yet both were at the most 20,000 people back then!

My concept of the world was the road leading out of town on North Main Street

Towards the Kendall Bridge!

I was told by someone that this bridge was unique – it had a railroad track underneath

as well as a secondary road – a river ran under it ( The Alleghany)

and a turn off-road in the middle of the bridge!

It was said that only one other bridge existed like this and it was in Japan!

I do not know if that is true or not – but my world when I was young –

went to that bridge and the service station that sat below the cliffs!

We are right smack in the middle of the oil fields here in NWPA.

In fact – South Penn ( PENNZOIL)

Kendall refinery ( KENDALL OIL)

Quaker State refinery ( QUAKER STATE OIL)

all are within 14 miles of Eldred!

Bradford Pa. was a major oil-producing town!

I was little – sitting on my grandma’s lap on the front porch – right on the main street –

and our backyard – was the railroad tracks which I was told never to go near as well as the main street!

There was a very old building in our side yard – the only thing left was the cellar with a roof on it!

It was large – 25′ by 25′ – maybe larger – and it was called “THE BEEHIVE”!

Not because there were bees in there – but that was its name back in the 1800s

as it was sort of like a big boarding house – three stories high!

I would play in the cellar of that old building – later my dad tore it down and moved my aunts

trailer onto that lot as her husband had passed away.

It was around that time he tore the roof off the old red barn and lowered it down.

My brother and his friends had basketball hoops up on the top floor.

I would sneak up there and smoke my corn cob pipe

looking out the window that you could see down the tracks toward Slavin’s furniture and gas station.

Thanks for reading – some of my childhood memories growing up ELDRED PA.

“ELDRED – MAYBERRY before there was a MAYBERRY”!