youth

Papa’s World – Memories from growing up!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

I was born on 5-7-1949.

I spent the first 30 years of my life in a little town –

Known as ELDRED in Pa.

Above are historical photos from 1889!

It is Main Street and looked much like this in my years of living there.

Even the flooded streets!

Every Spring – the river known as the ALLEGHANY –

Would rise from the runoff from the melting snow.

Spring rains would leave Barden Brook –

The little Creek – Stream in the middle of the town-

Swollen and overflowing its banks as the river slowly backed up!

It was a way of life for years and years.

One year, I was told not to go down the street and into the flood waters.

But – I DID!

I made a crude raft and had a long pole as a paddle.

The water was only a couple of feet deep –

So it was more like placing the pole on the hard surface of the road and slowly –

Inching my way through the water.

I was proud of myself until the morning the Bradford Era newspaper came out!

There I was –

Long pole in hand and am standing on my homemade raft.

Captured for my family to see that I did not listen and went sailing on –

Mainstreet of little Eldred, Pa.

When confronted with the picture –

I could only shake my head yes –

Not knowing if I would “GET THE BELT” or retrieve.

I was sent to my room – no dinner –

But – it became a family moment to laugh about years later –

And my mother saved that picture from the newspaper.

Here is an early picture of Eldred, Pa. –

Where I grew up!

The baseball field –

Had tall telephone poles with “LIGHTS” as I grew up.

Not shown here – and a chainmail fence that ran along the Elm Street side.

The home plate and the backstop were to the right center of this picture.

The outfield by those tall telephone poles was where –

The boys would have pickup tackle football games.

We would gather to watch the “TOWN TEAM” baseball games.

This was made up of grown men from the town and the surrounding township.

Most of the towns had such teams.

My father was the manager as I was growing up!

And Sunday afternoons were spent here at the park or traveling to other towns.

The park was my destination on my bike in those early years.

I had to be home before the street lights came on –

But also at dinnertime.

I had many grade school friends who lived close by.

And when I was in the fifth grade-

The new Elementary school opened just across the street from center field of the ballpark!

I remember watching ball games and the home run of the ball hitting the lawn of the school.

And if memory serves me right-

I faintly remember someone placing one on the roof of that school!

Back before I was born –

It was a busy little town.

Today – sadly –

Most of the stores are vacant.

Big box stores – Amazon, UPS, and Dollar Generals or Dollar Trees –

Have put them out of business.

At one time, there was a busy bus stop as shown here,

A train station that unloaded and picked up passengers.

Three car dealerships as I was growing up.

Gas stations in town and at either end entering the town.

Bars – restaurants –

Clothing stores and general stores, and drugstore.

Lively churches –

A movie theater and bowling alley!

Legion and VFW!

Masonic building and firehall.

Doctor and dentist’s office.

A little town set amidst the Allegheny Mountains and the river that ran North into NYS and then back to Pittsburgh.

I actually canoed down that river twice!

My first four grades were in this building-

Which I presume was built in 1835!

The high school gym sat on Edison Street behind the bank and close to the Ford dealership.

This building was made of wood and must have been a huge town project when it was built.

I did not realize just how old it was when I went to school there.

Grades one through twelve.

Many memories of playing outside in the front under huge oak and maple trees.

Watching the older kids on the front steps.

These are memories I have of growing up in a little town –

Near the NYS border, some 65 miles South of Buffalo.

Roller skating the sidewalks of North Main Street-

Then I ride my bike all over town and head for the ballpark.

Go to Slavins Furniture and ask for cardboard boxes.

They were waxed back in those times-

And cut open and spread out

Sliding down the hill across from our house, where the antenna for TV was.

I called it BLUEBERRY HILL!

These are but some of my many memories I have of growing up!

Welcome to PAPA’S WORLD-

My blog site: livinglifedoingitmyway. blog

A place of my memories – family and friends.

Youth- marriage and life in Pa.- NYS – NVA and now N.C.

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PAPA’S WORLD – MEMORIES FROM GROWING UP!

Papa’s World – A look at the past!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Although we did not have a wooden screen door-

We had a porch where we could sit and watch the world go by on our main street house.

Our little town is called Eldred.

Had a main highway for a main street, and it went right by my front bedroom.

Often at night –

I would fall asleep with the window opened and one of those sliding screens in place.

The traffic would slow down after dark –

But it still was the main way to come-

From NYS to PA. and beyond.

My mother, after she was older –

And lost her second husband to heart problems-

My own father died of cancer when I was nineteen –

She would sit on that porch every day in good weather.

Folks would drive by and honk their horns –

And yell a “HELLO MARY” as they went by after rolling down their car windows!

That front porch –

I had countless times of sleeping out with friends –

I had an old Korean War sleeping bag that belonged to my brother-in-law Bill.

It was not warm and had no padding!

Pa., back there was cool in the evenings-

A dense fog would roll up and over the railroad tracks from the Alleghany River!

The grass was always wet in the mornings,

And the sleeping bag was damp with moisture.

We had and still do a 10 o’clock curfew –

All kids off the streets.

Part of sleeping out was raiding the many gardens all over town.

Eating apples from the trees.

Upon the hill, across the street from our house-

Was a hill covered in blueberries!

Summertimes – we would take broken down large cardboard boxes and slide down that hill!

That porch has held its secret for countless years of the conversations that were said there.

Now today –

A new front porch of our own.

A place I go to sit and wave or greet neighbors going by.

No screen door – no childhood memories here.

No curfew – no sleeping out at night.

Still, a bedroom for guests sits right there.

Now we have Deer alerts with motion detectors.

They go off when the deer approach the flowers.

They also go off if it is windy or if someone is walking by on the road in the dark. LOL

This front porch is what I wanted when we selected the model for our home.

I guess it might reflect back to my youth.

All those years ago –

And now today aging to our 80s.

Both were raised in small towns with COUNTRY all around.

For me, today is having that place where I am comfortable-

Waving and saying hello to those passing by.

FRONT PORCHES have a way of doing that to me.

Thanks for reading –

PAPA’S WORLD-

My site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

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Papa’s World – Eldred – where everyone knew your name.

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Sherry and Pam – Bobby’s wife –

And Bobby was my buddy growing up.

I was born on 5-7-1949 –

and he was born that same year.

We played sports together-

we stayed at each other’s home.

It was a time of youthful experiences-

and I regret none of it!

Sleeping out – roaming the streets after curfew-

When a bit older –

sneaking a beer up on the hill.

Much later – there were four of us –

Jon – Freddy – Bobby and me.

Jon had a small car –

it was I think an NSU PRINZ or something like that.

Up the brooks, we would go –

“COLT 45 QUARTS!”

Also the hollows and Indian Creek.

Those are special memories.

Papa – Bob and Pam.

We did not smoke –

had a couple beers but was not in any trouble –

mostly away from everyone.

Sports – and a man called Bud –

a father of one of our buddies – Mike –

Formed a group called THE EXPLORERS –

sort of a step beyond the Boy Scouts.

We took canoe trips down the Alleghany River-

Went to a Steelers game in Pittsburg, Pa.

We organized the first public dances at the Boros Tennis Courts.

The money we earned paid for our camping trips –

and other trips we went on.

At one time we had around twenty members.

Growing up in a small town –

everyone knew your name and parents.

And I can remember “PARTY LINES”!

That was a long time ago!

This was the era of black and white TVs.

And you got three channels –

ABC – CBS and NBC!

And you got up off the couch to change the channel!

A time of TV antennas.

My father came home one day –

and said we would have COLOR TV!

And he put this clear plastic thing on the screen –

it was a band of green across the bottom-

A band of light blue across the top –

and a band of red-yellow in the middle!

That was our colored TV! LOL

Seeing the World when I was young –

I thought ELDRED was it!

The youthful eyes of innocence.

My parents would take us to the OLEAN MOOSE on Friday nights!

My mother was Catholic-

and NO MEAT on Fridays.

We would go to the Olean Moose for their BEER BATTERED FISH FRYS!

And – if we had been on good behavior –

they would let us walk to the movie theater-

to see a movie;

I remember seeing OLD YELLER there!

Growing up when young on the streets of Eldred Pa.

The dinner – Slavin’s Bar and Grill – Scotties and the Gold Eagle.

So many memories to be told in another blog.

1800’s dirt main street in my hometown of Eldred, Pa.

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD!

my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papa’s World – Growing up in a little town.

/ Tom / Leave a comment

The sun came into the front bedroom window on North Main Street – Eldred, Pa.

It was my room now –

before that –

my older brother had that room –

and I shared the side bedroom with my younger brother.

My parents had a large rear bedroom.

It also had a single bed and a crib –

back in the right hand corner-

where my brother would sleep until he was three.

Right outside that front bedroom was the sidewalk –

then the curve and main street.

There were a few times I would be awakened –

The sound of a car crash right outside my window.

A drunk driver would run into the cars parked on that main street!

I could look out through the screen –

you know those single screens you place in a window-

And I could see the crashed car-

and then the police.

In the summer when it was hot –

I would raise the window and take out the screen –

Climb out onto the front porch roof and sit there –

Looking up at the stars-

and watching cars come past the house.

When that sunlight came through the window –

it would wake me up – early!

I almost remember-

that is why I wake up early each day – even now.

Also the sound of birds –

often times there would be fog with sunlight coming through.

We had a side yard and a backyard with a big old red farm barn.

At one time on the way back past –

it was a working farm barn.

Underneath were stalls for cows –

and I remember an old black sleigh-

this was the type to be drawn by horses over the snow.

I have no idea why it was there.

There was a set of stairs that went up overhead –

must at one time have been a hayloft.

My older brother and his friends put a basketball hoop up there.

I do not remember them playing up there-

as he was ten years older than me.

But – I do remember all of them being in our cellar –

they had a club down there –

in the back room.

My father and brother had drawn Disney caricatures on the wall –

I wonder if they still are there?

I also remember them having me put on boxing gloves-

so heavy –

I had a hard time keeping my arms up.

They would put their hands up –

and I would try to hit them.

I must have been around five or six at that time.

I was so skinny –

my mom made sure I did not take my shirt off.

You could count every rib and bone –

and blue veins on the chest and front.

She said people would say she wasn’t feeding me!!!

Eldred, Pa. with the main street –

I was raised in this picture on the upper left side where the houses are.

The main street ran in front of the house-

It is still there-

and my Great niece still lives there!

And the railroad tracks behind the house-

where the old red farm barn was.

The far hills are the Alleghany mountains –

and the Alleghany River ran to the left of the railroad tracks.

What you see in the far distance is NYS –

and Portville and Olean are maybe ten miles away.

The hill to the right –

I spent many a night sleeping out there –

and we would take cardboard boxes from Slavin’s furniture –

open them up and slide down the hill on them!

Until the fourth grade –

I had to walk that main street to South Main Street –

which you can not see in this picture –

To what was then the High School –

Grades One through Twelve.

I believe it to be almost a mile walk.

Also out of the picture frame was a bridge –

that passed over Barden Brook Creek.

I had just gotten Davey Crockett Coon Skin cap with a squirrel’s tail.

I was not tall enough to see over the railing –

so I took my cap off –

set it on top of the cement railing –

and poked my head through the opening to look down.

Well – that was a big mistake –

because when I stuck my head through –

My ears unfolded and I was stuck.

I embarrassed my brother –

and they had to call the fire department.

Here I was –

stuck with my head through the opening and my –

DAVEY CROCKETT COONSKIN CAP WITH A SQUIRREL TAIL SITTING ABOVE MY HEAD!

I have so many memories of growing up

in a small town in NWPA!

This is but a little that I have shared.

Thank you for reading PAPA’S WORLD –

my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – GROWING UP IN A LITTLE TOWN!

Papa’s World – In my youth – Lassie – Lincoln logs – growing up in the ’50s!

/ Tom / Leave a comment
Good day everyone – thanks for reading!

My brother and I got for Christmas one year – stuffed Lassie dogs!

This dog went to bed with me every night – my comfort stuffed toy.

I know for a while before that – I had a blanket – strange how I remember that.

That was back when my grandma took care of me during the day as both my mom and dad worked.

Here is what the Lassie of my brother looked like.

Mike’s Lassie was a lighter color and mine was darker.

His also was not as curly as mine.

I do not remember any names we called them other than LASSIE!

This is what my Lassie looked like – darker and curly!

We did not fight over who’s was who – as we both knew.

After Mike was out of the crib in my parent’s room –

he moved into my room and we shared a double bed –

My older brother was still home and my grandma went to live with my aunt.

I had her old room.

Lassie became an important part of my life for years that I remember.

I often wonder as the grandkids came along

and they had their favorite stuffed animal –

what became of the two Lassies.

I know they were still there long after we had moved on to our own lives.

I had a Lincoln Log set just like this one.

This was my favorite toy – I would sit for hours in the living room in front of the gas furnace –

with these logs spread out – building a fort

and using the little log connectors as a cowboy or Indian.

That was when Hop Along Cassidy was on TV and Roy Rogers.

And of course all the Westerns – Indians attacking wagon trains or forts.

The Lincoln Log set.

Many a winter day I spent on the floor playing –

Mike never played with them –

He was four years younger and had his own toys.

The TV was also there – an old black and white – and one of the first shows I remember was –

COMMANDER TOM

This was a Buffalo show – as most of our programing came from there.

Romper Room – I Love Lucy and The Three Stooges.

The Red Skelton Show and the Ed Sullivan show.

And wrestling – Diamond Jim Brady – Fritz Von Eric – The Gallagher Brothers

Haystack Muldune – The Claw that you grabbed someone’s stomach and squeezed!

Rocketship 7 and Dave Thomas out of Buffalo N.Y.

My next blog will continue growing up in the ’50s.

PAPA’S WORLD

Thanks for reading – HGD!

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MY BLOG: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

MY CONTACT: fitztdf@aol.com

NEXT BLOG: GROWING UP IN THE ’50s

Papa’s World – Our granddaughters practice vocals in Inspire!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Taylors on the left and Cassidy on the right – practice vocals in the youth group band Inspire! At Community Lutheran Church – Sterling, Va.

They sing in front of a lot of people and I think that is awesome of them!

Performing at the Pancake dinner – they have been in the church choir since they were in First grade.

It takes courage to put yourself out there! So proud of them.

Taylor rides horses and Cassidy acts in plays and does gymnastics.

Both Play the violin and Cassidy the piano.

Papa’s World – livinglifedoingitmyway.blog Thanks for reading – OUR GRANDDAUGHTERS PRACTICE VOCALS!