Firstly, among the outdoor activities for us boys, was baseball. We played on the field at the end of Farmview Drive. Due to the layout, the field did not have a right field but that didn’t matter too much since most of us were right handed. The home run line was the woods up above the Beale’s house. As we got older and could hit farther, we spent a fair amount of time searching for those home run balls. Until a backstop was built, we spent a fair amount of time chasing down errant pitches and foul balls on the hill behind home plate. Usually, there were not enough gloves to go around so those with no gloves used the gloves of someone from the batting team. The great thing was that everyone played; big kids and little kids. With no adults around, we learned how to settle our own disputes.
In the cold weather, we switched to football and used the same field. We played a form that was somewhere between tag and tackle; if you had a reasonable hold on a runner then we considered the play over. Again everyone played and we were our own referees.
Warmer weather also meant traipsing through the woods and fields in the immediate area. There were plenty of animals and birds to be seen; deer, raccoon, opossum, muskrat, black snakes, mud snakes, an occasional fox, crows, hawks, pheasant, grouse and once even a turkey. It also meant fishing in the stream for chubs and minnows. We tried releasing bluegills and sunfish into the stream but they were usually never to be seen again. David Brady would also set traps mainly for muskrat and sell the pelts. Mr. Hodil sanctioned this because he was afraid the muskrat would ruin his pond by tunneling through the dam wall. Farmers got paid for those ponds by the Department of Agriculture so they wanted them to stay in tact. I wonder if that is still true today. Some of us, led by David Brady again, also tried hunting. If you ever want to feel foolish, try shooting at pheasant with a bow and arrow! But for me the best part of the summer hiking was the berry collecting. There were plenty of black raspberries and huckleberries (we called them blueberries) to be had. Those that we did not eat were brought home in hopes that someone’s mom would make a pie.
Winter brought an entirely different set of outdoor activities. The hill in our side yard was big enough for sledding and skiing as long as you avoided the swing set at the bottom of the hill. There were also good hills in Hodil’s field and at the end of Farmview Drive past our playing field. The pond on the farm could be used for ice skating. Hockey was tried as well until some got hurt (Dan Ruby I think). In addition, the Borough of Fox Chapel used to flood a field at Fox Chapel Road and Powers Run Road and allow it freeze so that people could skate on it. There were usually 40 or so people there skating. The nearby Pittsburgh Field Club also used to allow anyone to sled down the first tee of their golf course. You could go at least 200 yards before coming to the access road. A fine toboggan run!
Winter also required more indoor activities. We used to play Square Mile (which we called Round Acre), a sort of real estate development game which Peter had. The favorite of Tom Ammons was Risk. Tom and I played a great deal of Canasta. Peter, Tom and I had a long running Hearts game. We were playing to 10,000 points or something. There were times we all gathered at someone’s house and read books. We started out with Tom Swift and Hardy Boys books but eventually moved on to James Bond. I remember a few other times where we exchanged stamps and looked at each other’s collections. The interesting aspect of this to me is that it was very rare that we did anything alone. Perhaps that is why I remember them all so fondly.
Well written. The typical context was that kids just went "out to play". No pre-arranged play dates or scheduled activities. It was rare for parents to be involved. You just went outside on the street, and played whatever with whomever was around. The very young kids were limited to their end of the street. As you got a bit older you could go 'around the bend' and then off to Farmview, Giels, Lawrences, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely a simpler time. You just wore whatever clothes you had on for whatever activities you did. No running shoes or hiking boots. And there were no energy bars or bottled water. When you were thirsty, you usually drank from someone's spigot or garden hose.
Those were the wonder years.
ReplyDeleteMy children were lucky to grow up on a street with a lot of kids their age. All was wonderful until . . . the parents got over-involved. The girls fell apart by about 10 or 11. My son (17), however, is still close friends with the boys he met before second grade.
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