Other Paths and Other Vines

You know, I never did go to that area along the path except for that one time. But I have heard that the area to the right of the path was a great place to explore. Such an interesting place for kids to play in those days.

I am familiar with another path near the Kelley's place where an old foot bridge crossed the creek by their yard. I always thought their yard was so interesting with the different elevations, trees and the creek running through there. One morning, I was riding my bike to school and crossing the bridge when I hit my foot on the frame of the bridge. That sure did hurt. I think the bridge was made of pipe or angle iron and I sure smacked my toe. But what a picturesque trail and setting that was for a kid to go through to get to school.

Just to the north of the Kelley's place I think was their grandparents house with a horse barn and a team of work horses in it. One of my favorite memories is how good I always thought the barn smelled when I would walk past it. There was something special about the hay, the harnesses, and those horses that I loved.

Most of the time, my cousin Bobby and I would walk to school along May Street from his house at 1211 South 7th after watching TV, probably Captain Kangaroo, in the morning. For quite a few years they had a TV and we didn't.

But we would walk along May Street to 6th Street where May Street temporarily ended. There we would climb through a fence and walk down to cross the creek and up an embankment along the south end of the Johnson's place. There wasn't usually anything in the field and we just had a path along the property line that took us back to May Street at 4th.

That was my main route to school in good weather during my years at Roosevelt and I have so many memories and stories that come to mind about the sights, sounds, and experiences in that area. I never did explore the wooded area near the path close to Bobby Lochery's house but did enjoy a lot of time along this other path and in the area known as Gilliam Springs. There was a rock or brick building there along 6th Street between May and Jefferson where an actual spring was developed and apparently used some years before I lived there. But by the 1950s, it had been damaged by neglect and vandalism to where it was just a smelly place but yet an exciting place to go as a kid; just a block from my house.

I used to enjoy swinging on the vines that hung down from trees along the creek. Those were fun. A few years ago, I was cutting away some bushes and vines that were growing in our yard along the edge of the pond where people from the neighborhood can walk along a path between our fence and Hidden View Pond. This young little red haired freckle faced girl, about 7 years old, came along and asked me to please not cut down the large wooden vine hanging down from one of the pine trees. She said that she and her friends loved to swing on it. Talk about something that took me back in time. That really did it. I assured her that I would leave it there.