Portville NY

Papa’s World – Some memories of the past!

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Smiles – they are free. Kindness is free!

Steve – Cindy – Buck – Elaine and Sherry.

We all lived in Portville, NY.

We played volleyball with Elaine and Steve.

Today they came to visit us in our new home.

And of course, we had a scramble-

GALS VS. GUYS!

And as I remember, it was very close!

We have known Steve and Elaine for over four decades.

Our volleyball team was known as the BEACHCLUB-

A fitting name since now –

We live by two beaches.

Elane is the only one not retired, but soon will be.

These are some more memories from the past!

The 2020 PANDEMIC!

We survived.

A past memory we shall always remember!

That was the year we sold our forever home-

Moved into the kids’ for four months –

And then went to S.C –

To North Myrtle Beach in Ocean Keyes.

Here we stayed for nine months until our new home was built!

In Cameron Woods Community – Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

More memories from the past.

Ronnie Cox – actor, performer, and Hollywood star – (DELIVERANCE)

A teller of stories through song.

We were fortunate to have him stay with us!

He performed at our church –

Community Lutheran Church in Sterling, VA.

We offered to host him and another world-class performer-

Radoslav Lorkovic – He performs in concerts all over the world.

Keyboards and accordions.

We sat at the breakfast table for hours –

Ronnie is telling his life story.

This was a pleasure and a memory from the past.

On the ferry to Fort Fisher –

The three youngest grandkids.

BODE- CASSIDY and TAYLOR.

They came for a week’s visit –

Creating a Past Memory!

Steve and Elaine – two of our oldest friends –

We were there as they had children.

We played volleyball and golf together,

Friends for life.

More past memories.

2020 – Early in the PANDEMIC-

Tammy and Marcus, and the grandkids lived one mile from us.

Even though they were nearby-

Because of the PANDEMIC –

The tarp on the ground was as close as they could come to us!

Standing in the garage, talking.

A past memory we shall never forget-

PANDEMIC-2020!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD-

My site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

For over twenty-plus years –

AGING INTO OUR SENIOR YEARS AS HEALTHY AS WE CAN

FOR MORE INFORMATION,

go to –

http://www.sfitzsimmons.juiceplus.com

REACH OUT AND SHERRY WILL HELP YOU!

Papa’s World – 6-25-1982 – marriage!

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Papa and Sherry the day we were married.

Front row – second from left standing behind Natalia – Tammy.

The tall girl next to Tammy – Sherry’s oldest Debby.

Next to me – Debbie – her sister and her two daughters – Kristy and Bethany next to Tammy and Debby.

Nathan is being held by Debby –

Next to Sherry is her mother Barb and her father Bill.

Next to Bill is Rusty – Barb’s brother and in front of him is Ceil – his wife.

This day was the second marriage for both of us.

We had dated the previous year and a half.

We had worked together at The American Olean Tile Company –

and by chance found out we were both in divorce proceedings.

Luck in a passing comment by other co-workers –

Brought us together in a conversation we had later.

All this seems like yesterday

her mother and father are now gone as is her Aunt and Uncle.

The kids – all of them – are grown and have children of their own.

For some unknown reason – my two boys are not in this picture although –

they were in other pictures.

The years passed – marriages and grandkids came.

Here to the left is Debby and Mike and their three daughters –

Maddy – Sarah and Ella.

To the right are Tammy and Marcus with the twins Cassidy and Taylor and the only boy – Bode.

We moved during the 2020 Pandemic – having sold our Brambleon, Va. home.

Mike and Debby still live at Lake Holiday –

on 522 between Berkly Springs and Winchester, Va.

Tammy and Marcus live in Selma Plantation –

just North of Leesburg, Va.

Many trips are now made back and forth between our home and their homes.

And they also make many trips back and forth.

The three oldest grandchildren – two are out of college –

the youngest is out of H.S.

The three youngest are still in school and into all kinds of activities –

The twins will soon be 15 and Bode to be 11.

Debby and Tammy are close to their mother.

Sherry on our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic in 1982.

Papa – just after my heart attack and before my open heart surgery.

My oldest son Troy and his partner Andrea – still live in WPA where he grew up.

My youngest son Shawn and Trisha – married – still live in WPA – where he grew up.

Papa and Sherry – far left – seven years after we were married – and I had a few years before –

given up playing softball –

And we both played in a competitive volleyball league and weekend tournaments.

Today we are seniors both 75-plus years old –

living our dream life in warm climates near beaches-

and golf – close to longtime friends.

PAPA’S WORLD – 6-25-1982 – Marriage –

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ONE I LOVE –

6-25-2025!

Papa’s World – Our friends Elaine and Steve!

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The year was 1989 – we had played competitive volleyball for several years!

Here we are – Papa – Sherry –

Steve – Elaine – Debbie –

Steve – Chris and Mike.

Now this was not backyard volleyball –

this was protect yourself-

or get your face smashed!

There were 16 teams –

all had players from a two-county area.

Many – many traveled for tournaments –

across NYS and Pa.

We had a competitive team for three years –

Then in 1989 –

we finally won!

We became close friends with Steve and Elaine-

Raising our families together.

Portville, N.Y. –

is where we lived –

and they did too!

We also golfed together –

in those early days.

And they have visited us once since we moved here –

They still live in Portville.

We often played a scramble –

Sherry and Steve vs Elaine and me.

In a way,

this was even more competitive than the volleyball!

They were our first friends –

after we were married on 6-25-1982!

Hoping this summer they can schedule their vacation this year-

to come and see us.

Steve retired in November!

I believe this to be the Kane Country Course –

back home in Pa.

Close to where Sherry grew up-

in Mount Jewett, Pa.

We have many memories of them,

their children,

and our combined family.

Long-time friends –

ELAINE and STEVE!

Thanks for reading Papa’s World –

my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papa’s World – In 1999 – we transferred to NVA!

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It was time to move on – at 50 years old and soon to be 50 –

Sherry and I decided on new adventures

awaited us – not in Olean, N.Y., and at Dal Tile ( American Olean Tile) –

where we both worked –

She is the Logistics manager and I am the supervisor of Body Prep – Service departments!

She had gone as far as she could in a male-dominated world of manufacturing.

Both of us needed a change –

me – I was frustrated –

I needed to get to a better frame of mind –

Her – she was going to be stuck and overlooked!

So – after sifting through multiple in-company openings –

we choose the Northern Va. area!

We moved from a country county filled with farms – two lane roads – deer – cows – turkeys –

to TRAFFIC –

MILLIONS in population –

to right smack in the middle of Alexandria Va.

Washington D.C. and the infamous BELTWAY!

We lived in a condo in Old Town Alexandria for almost two months –

hoping I would not get lost as I traveled back and forth from work.

WOW – four to six lanes of traffic – one wrong turn –

which I did – brought me panic.

But – I made it home to that apartment.

The positive side – although my sense of direction leaves a lot to be desired –

I loved being able to walk the historic streets-

by the Potomac in Old Town!

I guess this two-month period was what we needed to adapt to CITY LIFE!

We both transferred within the company –

and that is now twenty-five years ago.

But it seems like only yesterday!

We started to search for a home –

PRICES WERE SHOCKING!

We bought our first townhouse in Fairfax – halfway for both of us to drive.

She had a store –

called a SALES SERVICE CENTER – in Dulles – right across from the airport!

Me – I was to stay in Alexandria at what was one of the largest SSCs in the country.

Close to the Springfield Metro.

Both of us had traffic – however,

my hours were changed to 5:00 am. to 2:00 pm.

Traffic for me at those hours was not that bad.

Sherry found the backroads to travel to her store –

which in two years she took from less than one million in sales to almost six million in sales!

Our townhouse was on Fountainside Drive –

3 miles to George Mason University and the same distance to the NRA building.

Before the construction build of the new FAIRFAX TOWN CENTER and the brand new WEGMANS –

we rode our bikes on trails in the woods of what would become those new areas!

We lived in this home that we paid nearly $80,000.00 more-

then we sold our four-bedroom colonial on 3/4 of an acre in Portville, N.Y.!

And we had about 1600 SF.

But – it was in an upcoming new development –

and we sold it and built our very first new home –

a 2400 SF. brick – attached townhouse on Ridgetop Commons –

in that forest, we rode our bikes in!

In three and one-half years we upgraded –

and we had become assimilated into city life!

Many times we drove into the Capital to park and walk the city!

But – we bought METRO passes and rode into D.C. on weekends to tour and see the sights.

We became official tour guides to friends and family –

often sitting on the capital lawn for the Memorial Day concerts –

and Fourth of July salutes televised

nationally for concerts on the mall!

We watched the 2000 election results and saw people partying in the streets –

it was an awesome time for two country folks from WNY!

In this case, it took a lot of understanding –

but in time – Debby and Tammy –

came to live in NVA –

bringing family and finding their own destinies –

If we had not transferred here –

there would be no Taylor – Cassidy and Bode-

as she found Marcus here.

There was Maddy but who knows about Ella and Sarah?

Our move had a profound outcome on our families and still does to this day.

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – IN 1999 WE TRANSFERRED TO NORTHERN VA.

Papa’s World – Life at Pleasant Acres Drive!

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Our love and marriage – for five and one-half years – we lived on the East Windfall Road –

way out in the country.

A house came up for sale – it was being sold by a holding company – the previous owner transferred and his company bought the house in the move.

It was a beautiful – ten-year-old – two-story Colonial – with four bedrooms and two baths upstairs!

A full basement with cement floor – and on the main level – two living rooms – a dining room – a breakfast area and a large laundry room with an attached half bath.

A large two-car garage with a bump out for shelving and storage.

Situated on three-quarter-acre mowed lot – with a small grouping of trees in the backyard.

And right across the street were our dear friends – The McBrides!

Sherry and Papa – with Cindy and Buck McBride – later – moved to N.C. and about twenty-five years later –

we followed and now live some 38 miles from them.

We often get together to golf on weekends and then either go out or to one another home for dinner.

We lived in Pleasant Acres Drive for twelve and one-half years – Mike and Carol John lived next door – and we often played tricks on one another –

One time he snuck over and hooked up to my Christmas lights and would turn them off and on! LOL

Another time I remodeled the half bath – took out the old toilet – painted it Red – White and Blue –

I placed it behind a big pine tree where he could not see it – and I placed a sign on it –

“WELCOME TO MIKE’S JOHN”! LOL

To this day we still visit them and they visit us – they have since moved and built a large house near his business and purchased a large house on Chautauqua Lake that we have visited twice!

Our neighborhood there was fun – often, times we would line up the riding mowers and race to the end of the road.

There were neighborhood graduations – parties and just general good fun.

Buck and Cindy moved about four years before we did – sad days followed but we often would vacation down in N.C. with them

After twelve and one-half years – we decided as empty nesters – it was time to move on –

It would be sad but for me – I had enough of supervision – factory life –

and for Sherry – she had a college degree and couldn’t go no further –

she was head of Logistics – time to move on.

We had added on a very large two-level covered deck with a hot tub!

Also a firepit with white scotch pine trees and several birch trees-

Had the back of the lot graded and seeded into the lawn – added hot water baseboard heating

and a wood-burning stove in the basement and tiled part of that.

I hand-stained the woodwork with her father’s special woodworking – he was a master –

And that all is there today – we sold it to a close friend and they live there today!

We said our goodbyes to friends and neighbors – packed up and we both transferred to NVA!

We transferred within the company and took all our benefits with us –

We went from the middle of COUNTRY to ALEXANDRIA, VA. the middle of the city!

After two months of company housing – we purchased our first home –

In the Fairfax, Va. neighborhood of FOUNTAINSIDE DRIVE!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – LIFE AT PLEASANT ACRES DRIVE – my site: LIVINGLIFEDOINGITMYWAY.BLOG

Papa’s World – Remembering the past!

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Our first home together was way out in the country – some tem plus miles from the school –

for Debby and Tammy.

Our nearest neighbor was at the bottom of the driveway –

1/10th of a mile away, at the bottom of the driveway!

And then the next neighbor was-

across a huge field, and up the side of a hill.

It would take me 3 solid days of mowing with a riding mower – rest for a couple days and start over again.

The driveway had mowed grass on either side eight feet wide!

We lived here for five and one-half years – campfires –

cows in a pasture behind the house hidden by a tree line.

Debby would earn extra money by cleaning the neighbor’s house across the field.

School sports and activities required ten-plus miles each way –

and my son’s another ten miles on top of that!

Our cars seemed to be forever in motion –

and our workplace was six to eight miles away!

This was country – deer – turkeys – and all the other critters including bears.

But it was also a time of peace – church – raising kids –

and going on picnics to state parks,

Inviting friends up for campfires – visiting our parents –

mine some twenty-plus miles away and hers some forty-five miles away.

Our little home had three bedrooms – each girl had their own on the second floor –

and ours was just off the kitchen with a huge deck and glass sliding doors.

There was a living room with a wood-burning fireplace –

it was here I asked for her hand in marriage.

There was a kitchen with a table in it –

and a country door into the laundry room ( it was two parts – upper and lower)

a squirrel once got into the laundry room

and our cat caught it after a raucous round of chasing it all over that room!

At night before we put in a street light – you could star gaze and listen to the owls –

coyotes and other critters of the night!

It was way up on the end of the East Windfall Road in the Portville, N.Y. school district.

The road continued as a dirt road up and over the hill –

eventually turning back again to blacktop!

Going back toward Portville – you could take a right and go over the hill into Olean –

past the golf course and come out at the hospital.

After five and one-half years –

we put in an offer on a home at Pleasant Acres Drive-

on the other side of Portville behind the cider mill!

We would then live here for twelve and one-half years –

until the kids were in and out of college and we were empty nesters!

That will be another blog – but until then –

our first house together resides as great memories in my mind!

Sherry back when we lived way out in the country – 1982 –

REMEMBERING THE PAST – PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papa’s World – Through the years – life!

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Our wedding day – June 25th. 1982 – a second marriage for both of us – the start of a new life!

We combined her two daughters with my two sons – although my sons lived with their mother-

Almost every weekend they were with us in the country between Olean and Portville in N.Y.

We tried to have mini long weekends – traveling in our 12-passenger van.

Packing food – eating picnic style – providing what we could afford –

It was an unforgettable time in those early years.

We lived there for 5 1/2 years before moving to the other side of Portville – closer to my sons and still in the same school district for the girls.

A new neighborhood in Pleasant Acres Drive which would be home for 12 1/2 years.

From here both girls graduated from H.S. and the boys graduated from H.S. in nearby Pa.

We were now empty nesters –

In 1999 we applied for a transfer for both of us to NVA. staying within the company!

When we retired – we had 79 1/2 years of service between us.

In Northern Va., we became Washinton Nationals Baseball fans and are still that way to this day!

We bought our first condo in Fairfax, Va. – then sold and built another one also in Fairfax – a couple miles

from George Mason and the NRA building.

We sold again and built a house in Brambleton, Va. behind the Dulles Airport.

Here we lived for 14 1/2 years – the stock market went way down but the housing went way up – SELL!

We lived in NMB for nine months while building our current home in OIB!

Cameron Woods Community is now our home in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

We live near two beaches and a lot of golf courses.

We are 45 minutes from Wilmington, N.C.

And 30 minutes to North Myrtle Beach.

Today we are living our dream where it is warm – near the beach and golf –

We have made new friends and old friends visit us.

Family comes here and we go there.

Life is good!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – THROUGH THE YEARS LIFE!

Papas World – REDS & TRUDYS back home

/ Tom / 6 Comments

You know when you move away – there are somethings that

you always miss and make a attempt to see or do again!

In the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains

Of Western New York State

Near the border with Pa.

Is one of those you just have to go back to!

Good day to you all!

That special place has been there since 1924 !

Almost 100 years and still going strong!

A place so unique – that in all my travels

I have only seen it in another place

and that is because a former resident

opened the same kind of place!

In North Carolina!

Welcome to a pleasant surprise!

Know locally for it’s little space – warm atmosphere

and its BURGERS & FRIES – shakes and friendly service

REDS & TRUDY’S is a gem in a field of granite!

The BURGERS are unique in that the are not paddies

but crumbled – baked and toasted buttered – salt covered rolls

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH!

Along with the extras of cheese and diced up onions!

Top picture
Its small but packed with flavor!
The old stools and slide into booth’s
The smell and wait are well worth it!

The meat is always crumbled – baked in a hot oven

and the rolls buttered – sprinkled with salt

and heated in the oven

to come out a little toast

yet the whole thing melts in your mouth!

And they have been doing it this way for 96 YEARS!

The rain bow is here!

The same family has operated this since 1958!

62 years!

REDS & TRUDYS is a institution back home.

The people who grew up and lived within 50 miles

and then moved away

well this is their go to when they come back!

Like plastic bubbles
REDS & TRUDYS
are always a memory
and a place to visit
when you go home!

In 2018 -they were bestowed upon

by The Olean Chamber of Commerce

The Presidential Award

for continued excellence

over the NINE PLUS DECADES!

Sherry and Tom
MORMOR & PAPA

If you ever get to Portville New York – just as you enter

On the left sits this little eatery.

Do not be surprised if there are no seats-

But do not worry – they have a walk up window

where you can order

BURGERS – FRIES – WITH CHEESE AND ONIONS

and the homemade SHAKES!

Oboy – makes me want to go back one more time!

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

Where friends meet the family!

livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papa’s World – MARRIED – 6-25-1982 – life with SHERRY!

/ Tom / 2 Comments

This sums up our commitment to each other – our life is based on the foundation of the Church of the Rock –

That is what Pastor Dan – our minister who presided over that ceremony all those years ago said.

6-25-1982 – 42 years ago – the day we both said “I DO”!

Combining two sets of families into one – both divorced – her two daughters –

and my two sons who we had on weekends.

It was not easy – we had no money – both working for the same company –

but we had “FAITH”!

I converted to Lutheran from Catholic –

And we attended Bethel Lutheran Church in Portville, N.Y. where we were married.

Those were both hard years from the standpoint of money – but also fun years in trying

to take the kids on vacations – in a big passenger van!

Sherry – at the resort for our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic –

We had scraped and saved for a year and one-half to do this.

Neither of us had been out of the country and we drove from Portville, N.Y. –

to Toronto, Canada to fly out.

I shall always remember that week – and then back to reality –

Working and trying to save money.

Debby – Tammy and Sherry – after they went to college and started their own families.

My two sons after they started their own lives.

Our happiness is based on love for one another and those around us.

And now the grandkids – when they were little – love this picture as it was captured on vacation

at the beach – the way they sat all together.

Today – life with Sherry has gone 42 years of marriage.

6-25-1982 to 6-25-2024 – Happy anniversary my dear – it has been a whole lot of years –

and THE CHURCH OF THE ROCK still exists in our minds and hearts.

Thank you for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – MARRIED – 6-25-1982 – LIFE WITH SHERRY!

Papa’s World – Who am I?

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Papa – my niece Terri and my younger brother Mike.

I was born across the border in Olean, N.Y. at the Saint Francis Hospital –

To an Irish Catholic mother –

Mary (Aiken) Fitzsimmons and an Irish Protestant father Clarence (Bob) Fitzsimmons.

As you can tell – there were many dynamics in my family.

I had one sister – Donna – who was 15 years older than me –

A sister who died at birth –

and a brother – Roger – who was 10 years older than me.

Then there was me for over four years and then Mike came along.

We lived in Pa. – on the main street in a very small town called Eldred.

My father was a supervisor in the oil fields for South Penn-Pennzoil.

My mother retired from Alcas – which today is known as CUTCO –

A world leader in the manufacture of KNIVES.

My sister married and lived next door to my parent’s house – and my brother-in-law-

Bill – was both Mayor – Police Chief and drove a semi-tractor trailer for Ethan Allen.

Growing up I always had a dream of one day living on or near a beach!

Today – we have realized that dream – living in N.C. in OIB – Cameron Woods Community!

My mother Mary – my father passed away at age 59 from cancer – he was a heavy smoker –

my mother was almost 98 when she passed on.

Our home on North Main Street in Eldred – was a beacon to all my friends –

my two brothers’ friends and my sister’s friends.

Even after we had left and moved away – Mary had an open door to any and all of them.

I grew up there – when a senior was in a car accident not knowing if I would walk again –

I got married at 17 with my first son on the way in a wheelchair.

After I graduated from H.S. – with a child – no college for me – I had a family to support –

I started work at AMERICAN OLEAN TILE CO. – in Olean, N.Y.

For the next 32 years – I had another son – divorced – work many jobs in the plant –

and remarried to Sherry on 6-5-1982!

Above is our wedding picture we lived just outside Portville, N.Y. in the country.

We combined two families – her two girls and on weekends my two sons.

On our wedding day in 1982 – the boys had gone home. Debby holding her cousin and Tammy with her arms around her cousin.

We stayed in the Portville area until 1999 – when we both transferred within the company –

Sherry also worked for AOTC – which became DAL-TILE –

Our close friends Elaine and Steve during those years in Portville, N.Y. – to this day.

We golfed – played competitive Volleyball – took vacations together and raised families.

My two sons – Troy and Shawn – still live back in Pa. not far from where I grew up.

They have been down to N.C. and hoping they come back although it is a 16b hour drive!

1982 – our wedding day – growing up in Pa. and N.Y.S. –

beautiful in the spring – Summer and Fall – brutal in the Winter

as I am not a snow-cold and ice person.

We both retired from AOTC-DAL TILE – ARMSTRONG – MOHAWK –

With a combined 79 1/2 years!

Sherry and Papa – living our dreams at the beach –

Thank you for reading and as always HGD! My Site: PAPA’S WORLD: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – WHO AM I? SENIOR LIVING TO THE PLUS – ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Papa’s World – Ever changing life – Ocean Keyes – North Myrtle Beach – friendships

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Papa – walking from the beach to main street of North Myrtle Beach!

Along the way – we have friends – who after social distancing – come to visit!

And – we walk the gated community – through he gate –

and onto the beach!

The gentle surf of the beach – water and sand!

Our friendships go back years and years.

We all lived by one another – then we all moved away

but that friendship has endured time and distance.

Always from afar – but close when we make plans to get together.

Cindy – Sherry and Dottie
Jim and Buck – Jim and I played softball together in the mid to late ’70’s Buck and Cindy were our neighbors and they also knew Jim and Dottie!

We plan golf – card games and word games!

We drink a little beer – sing a few songs – do a shot – and laugh!

We would set up a get together every 4 to 6 months –

We lived near DC – Jim and Dottie Va. Beach and Cindy and Buck – Wilmington N.C.

Now we have moved further South

about 50 miles from Buck and Cindy.

It is easy for us to get together and golf every weekend.

Jim and Dottie are now the Northerners!

We all have taken up a new game – Pickle Ball!

This last time – we got together at our condo – played two days of golf –

and Pickleball has now become another game we shall play!

We all practice good health – Sherry – who is a certified Health Coach – leads the way!

She has her own website and for 15 years has been the one who encourages all of us!

http://www.sf.juiceplus.com HEALTH AND NUTRITION AT IT’S BEST!

We all come from WNY and SWPA area and are big Buffalo Bills fans!

Distance may separate us – but friendship is but a zoom call away.

Thank you for reading Papa’s World – Ever changing life – Ocean Keyes – North Myrtle Beach – friendships!

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY

FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!

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Papa’s World – Pictures in times gone by!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Our good friends from back in WNY – Elaine and Steve – have visited us once – hoping they come again!

We played on a team called THE BEACH CLUB volleyball in a 16-team league!

Papa – Sherry – Steve and Elaine – rest of the team – Debby – Steve – Chris – Mike. The BEACH CLUB!

Good memories – good times and a lot of fun playing volleyball!

When we go back to PORTVILLE-OLEAN to visit – WNY – we all get together to golf – the four of us have moved to N.C. while the two stayed in WNY!

MEMORIES OF TIMES GONE BY!

Little Cassidy and her MORMOR – Sherry – walking back from the beach on Oak Island.

Cassidy found Maddy in the window on Oak Island vacation.

Cassidy and Sarah – Oak Island vacation.

Taylor and Sarah – today Sarah is 5’10” at 17 – while Taylor is 5’71/4″ at 13!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – PICTURES IN TIMES GONE BY – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – PICTURES AND MEMORIES!

Papa’s World – into our lives – FRIENDS!

/ Tom / 4 Comments
Our volleyball team after I quit playing softball – Back row – next to me – Steve and in front of him next to Sherry – Elaine. This couple are some of our oldest friends – and we still stay in touch today.

We are blessed in that we have so many dear friends.

Some – for me – go back to childhood.

Sherry – Papa – PJ – and Bob!

We have been friends since first grade – Bob and I.

We played sports together – stayed at one anothers homes.

Ran the streets after dark – drank a few beers together

and still – to this day – meet up and share old memories.

They will stop in on their way back home to N.H. in May.

HUGS TO P.J. and Bob.

Fred and Lynda – Sherry!

Freddie and I go back to 7th. grade

Playing sports together – card games – there were four of us that paled around

Freddie – Bobby and Jon ( deceased)

Lynda and Fred are the oldest couple still together as our friends.

Sherry – Buck – Cindy and Papa.

We have traveled the World together –

Spain – Gibraltar – Morocco – Canada – and numerous states on the East coast and the West coast

and in between.

Always planning new adventures.

Friends as neighbors since 1987!

Papa Jim Sherry Dottie – they have been married 40 years – and I knew them both before that – Jimmy and I played softball together for two teams in the late ’70’s!

Jim – Dottie and I all grew up in the same town in Pa. called Eldred.

Jim -Sherry and I all worked together in Olean N.Y.

It has been a long and rewarding friendship all these years.

When all the kids were young – we would vacation together at the beach.

Carol and Mike John, neighbors for 12 1/2 years in WNY!

We were neighbors and they were Buck and Cindy’s friends.

We lived beside them for 12 1/2 years

We would race our ride mowers up and down the street! LOL

We would play jokes on each other.

It was a great time in our lives and the McBrides and us left the hood

shortly after they left and moved South.

The John’s own a painting corp that travels the USA

painting various structures and energy companies pipe lines.

We will spend a long weekend with them at the lake house in WNY!

The Browns and McBrides also.

Jo Paul Peterson and Sherry

Jo graduated one year behind me

Paul graduated with Sherry from Smethport.

We got to know one another through reunions

and have traveled to their home in Phoenix and them to ours before the pandemic.

We have maintained that friendship for the last ten years or so.

Here we are at the WALL in DC.

Reflections of the soul I call this.

Gerhard and Jennie – our son in laws parents

For the last 14 years or more – we have bonded with his parents.

Always visiting them when we lived in NVA.

They have come down to visit us in North Myrtle Beach.

In laws and friends – FAMILY!

Our little group get together to golf.

There are times we try to bring us all together to golf.

Wish it would happen more often.

But when it does – it is fun and guys vs. gals!

If we are not on our game – they will beat us! LOL

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY

FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!

Sherry’s FAMILY & FRIENDS of Juice Plus. Her network marketing business – http://www.sf.juiceplus.com SSC QMND

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Papa’s World – Wild Wings – Buffalo Bills – Barefoot Landing – “OH MY”!

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Sherry Dottie Jim Buck Cindy Papa – at Wild Wings in Barefoot Landing – to watch the Buffalo Bills football game – they put on special for us TWO TV’S!

It was a long – long time ago that Sherry and I were Bill’s fans!

Back in the late ’80’s to late ’90’s!

But then we moved and for three years we hung on –

But – to watch them we had to travel some 30 miles –

In D.C. traffic to find a sports bar that would show the games!

Sherry and Dottie

‘We eventually adopred the Washington DC team as EVERYTHING

was all about them – newspapers – radio – TV – and people!

Yes – we became fans – but our hearts where still BILL’S fans.

We would cheer for them from a distance.

However – our very close friends are still and have been

BUFFALO BILL’S fans – watching them every Sunday!

Barefoot Landing North Myrtle Beach S.C.

We searched out the area – and found several sports bars

a couple were Bill’s Bars – but I found out they would be packed

and they were small venues –

NO SOCIAL DISTANCING there even if we tried!

Speak no evil – see no evil & hear no evil!

Sherry and I had checked out Wild Wings the week before

and come to find out – THREE of their employees

had graduated in 2016 from the very H.S.

in the place we raised our families –

The McBrides and us –

PORTVILLE N.Y. !

Sherry Dottie Cindy

That was a omen for us and we went with it !

Plus – it was very large inside –

plenty of places to sit and they put two TV’s on with the Bill’s Game!

We did our morning walk on the beach –

then drove the less than twenty minute ride

and arrived about 1/2 hour before game time!

Cindy and Buck

We gave our orders to start out with and settled in!

Papa Jim Buck

We watched the game – the whole game from there!

22 oz. drafts and all!

It never got crowded – for this is a Brown’s bar –

we knew that ahead of time –

but they had a bye week!

Success – the BILL’S MAKE YOU WANT TO SHOUT! OH MY!!!!!

After the game we walked around –

enjoying the warm weather

and another “W” for the Bill’s.

Who knows – maybe we will once again

become fans – but down here it is all

Carolina Panthers!

But – we know where some Bill’s Bars are now

but Social Distancing shall prevail

BUT THE BILL’S DO WANT TO MAKE YOU SHOUT!

YEAAAA-YEAAAA- YEAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Thank you for reading Papa’s World

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY

FAMILY MEETS FRIENDS!

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papas World – Growing up in a little town – my family.

/ Tom / Leave a comment

We did not know that we did not have much!

We never talked about it – we had a black and white TV.

We had numerous cars – first one I remember was when we

brought my baby brother home from the hospital in 1954?

It was a green color and I remember being in the back seat

The upholstery was a fuzzy feeling

and Mom was in the front with Mike and dad driving.


We had the old rotary phone on the wall by the steps to the celler.

Back at that time – it was a “PARTY LINE”!

And you called the operator and gave her I think three numbers.

Then it changed and we got our own number

to which I still know to this day!

And next door my sister lived and I know that number today!

I remember riding with my father and little brother

Across the state line to NY State and to Portville

some maybe 8 miles away.

To a place called “WILSON’S FRUIT STAND”!

It was a treat for us as we always got something

maybe a apple or orange

And my dad always bought a case of Carling’s Black Label

once a week!

Mom and dad drank beer –

There was a group of friends

The Framptons up the street – the West’s out on the South of town

The Howells also on the South of town.

The Petruzzi’s – ( sp ) who was my dads best friend Elmer and Angie.

The Marones – they all bowled together – played cards

and went for vacations to fish in the far North of Canada.

That was before I was old enough to go

and then my little brother came along

But I saw the pictures – my older brother – not my sister –

I do not know why she did not go?

But – my brother was friends with Ron and his father and mother

Elmer and Angie and they remained friends until he passed away

four years ago.

We have our friends today just as they did.

We never had a color TV until 1968 – after I was gone.

I actually had roller skates for a long time before

I got my first bike – a Western Flyer

Then I was off to the park and all points of the town.

My mom was small – maybe 5’2″

and my dad just shy of 6’0

Back then that was tall.

But she ruled the roost so to speak.

We did not have much – no spending money as kids.

My older brother worked and my sister baby sit.

But – I did not know what I did not know.

My memories are good ones.

I remember the very first time I heard

” I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND”

It was the H.S. cafe and a childhood friend

from when I was perhaps 10 or 11

came into the cafe singing this song as he got in line.

But that is another story for another time

We did not have much in growing up

But I retained a load of memories rich in thought!

Thank you for reading Papa’ World

WHERE FRIENDS MEET THE FAMILY!

MY SITE: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog