Thinking about the 'Good Ole Days'

Once again, we are on the verge of experiencing winter. Just when I think it is going to be winter, it warms back up. I am not complaining. I’ll take all the mild weather that I can get.

Maybe I expect too much from Mother Nature, but I am sure glad to have to a few more of those nice sunny fall days with that crisp, clear air and that special smell of fallen leaves. Hopefully November will bring us a little “Indian Summer.”

 

I hope I am not offending anyone by that reference. When I was a kid growing up on North Bridge, I attended Hammer School, where we started every morning with the Pledge of Allegiance. We had grades 1-3 in one room and 4-6 in the other; this is where we learned the three “R’s.” We were a close-knit group of students and parents where everyone knew everyone. It was an experience I am so glad to have had.

 

I can only imagine what it would have been like if people had been as uptight about everything being “correct” back in the '50’s as they are today.

 

Almost all of the boys in our school would have probably been in jail. We usually played cowboys and Indians or Army. We used sticks for guns and would choose sides. Now you can’t even point your finger at someone without getting into trouble. I always wanted to be one of the Indians because one of my best friends, whose name was Gerben Earth, was of Indian descent and I wanted to be on his side. It had nothing to do with wanting to be a Cowboy or Indian, but just wanting to be on the same team as your friend.

 

I guess that this doesn’t have much to do with the outdoors, except for the fact that our recess time was our own and we played together outdoors whenever the weather was nice.

 

There was this one year that we got into “Really Big” trouble. We were playing Army and decided to dig a Foxhole. Not just a token one, but a real one. At the end of recess, we would cover it with some boards that we had rounded up, so the teachers wouldn’t find out.

 

We must have labored away on that hole for about two weeks before we finally got caught; the teachers were not very happy campers. How they caught us was a mystery, but I think it might have had something to do with that growing pile of dirt that suddenly appeared on the playground.

 

As time went on the school was phased out and it eventually closed. Tearing down the building was kind of a sad reminder of how nothing remains the same and even though you can’t relive the past you can surely enjoy remembering it.

 

My son, Brad, and I spent a few days at the cabin a couple of weeks ago. We did all of the winter things, but it is still there in case my son, Brian, and I attempt a late fall visit.

 

This is the time of year when a person can be surprised by waking up to a layer of freshly fallen snow.

 

Fishing in our area should still be pretty good. Late fall always seems to be a great time to catch some nice perch. I have also had some good luck in early November fishing northern and walleye in shallow water using sucker minnows.

 

Please show your support for our troops who are now deployed. These service men and women are making that sacrifice, so that we may have the many freedoms that we enjoy today.