My Childhood Memories: Skating, Fishing, and Summer Adventures

In the town where I grew up, there were two creeks running through it. In the 'winter', I'd trap muskrats, and we also skated a lot. Rocky Fork Creek ran a great distance, and we'd 'literally' skate for miles. Big Walnut Creek on the other hand was where more folks from the 'community' came to skate socially. It was a much 'wider' creek. We'd have bonfires there and had some great hockey games, too.

My friend, Zeke, had 6 'siblings' and every kid in the family had their own horse, so we'd go to Zeke's and ride through the 'woods' and meadows. Zeke would pull us on sleds using his dad's tractor. In the summer, we'd 'explore' the creeks, and I'd be 'catching' snakes and frogs, and fishing.

In the summer my family and I traveled to Butler, PA to visit my grandparents. We would play golf or at night we all played cards. Grandpa would take me fishing and he and I 'would run' errands all around town in his red old car. On Friday nights he and I watched the Gillette Fights.

My family and I also spent two weeks each summer at Conneaut Lake Park. There was a huge three-story hotel whose grounds were really beautiful. The park also had a small 'golf course', and a midway, and I recall we could ride all the rides in the amusement park for only $2 on Wednesdays. I'd get up and go fishing in a nearby canal before the rest of the family awoke.