Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

The Rockies - When Dad played here there were no
trees or grass.

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

In the interim, I played football and this was a tough way of playing. No uniform. [ed: No protective gear] Our ball was a bag in which paper was stuffed and we played. Every now and then we had to stop when a car came by or a horse and wagon. Most the playing was at night. Weather permitting [ed: Dad and his friends played in the middle of a cobblestone street]

At this time, I began to box. My first bout was down on my street called The Rockies. It was at the end of the street and not much good for playing. During the building of the houses on the street a lot of the steps were rock steps during the building process or had ordered more than needed. So they remained where they were delivered. There was a lot of rocks. Rough granite. [ed: As a kid visiting the aunties who still lived in the old neighborhood, I saw the Rockies. Rocks were piled behind an old G.E. factory building. Kids threw rocks and broke windows in the abandoned factory]

Bobby was the last child. Olga was to care for him. I would take the carriage downstairs and she would take him down the stairs. One day, she made him fall [ed: she dropped him] So I told our mother who made sure he was ok Just crying. That I would take Bobby for his daily outing with a milk bottle for him. The boys called me mama's boy, sissy, so I showed them I was not that. I beat them up if they called me by that name. It [ed: fighting] worsened by character.

These episodes brought more fight. I also had one of the older boys train me. I would practice with him.

We also played baseball at The Rockies.

In the winter when it snowed we would pile snow up against the fence pounded into a solid big block and then we would begin to clean the front out until we had an igloo, well something like one. At times some of the gang would jump up to the top and try to push the roof down on those inside.

We also used to have rallies with other streets across the [ed: railroad] tracks. We threw rocks at each other. Until we heard that the police was on the way. And we ran away.

School got a little interesting when I completed the Samuel Adams School to the Donald McKay in the 7th grade. Which was very close to home.