Well, since you asked, I'm thinking.
I remember the Mercury outboard motor I got in '48 or '49, I think it was a Hurricane, 10 horse, but kicked more like 14. Chuck Rodgers, a friend, worked for Sports Afield Magazine, heard about it and sent me a hand-painted blue necktie with the Mercury painted on it. Would love to have that on Ebay now.
Had the motor, so we built a boat. Went down to Miamisburg, Ohio, home of the McGuire Sisters, and the Acme Boat Company, and bought a kit, for a 12 foot runabout. We built that in the garage over the Winter. Dad built a trailer for it, unique design, angle iron, and a suspension system he designed.
I used to take it out to Miami Shores, South of Dayton, saw Guy Lombardo and his boat there. I entered a few open class races, but never did anything.
Took the boat to Burt Lake in Michigan a couple of summers, ran it all over the lake.
Got a brilliant idea one weekend, in Dayton, painted in a bright Canary Yellow with Red Circles. I have no idea why, just the ADD at work. I think I was trying to impress Mary Bimm, and I recall her just sitting and watching me paint, shaking her head, not sure if we dated after that or not.
I always remember my chemistry set, it was a Gilbert, not sure of the year, probably during the war years, '42 or '43,the chemicals were in wooden bottles.
Oh, and that Lionel Blue Comet Train, sometime in the late '30's. It was a beauty, lights in the coaches. I see on EBay now, they are, eight to ten ...... thousand, and I had two trains that belonged to my brother, that were older than my Blue Comet.
Well, the old house at 319 South Brown Street is gone, a freeway runs right over where it used to be, the boat is gone, the chemistry set and all the trains are gone, but the "memories linger on."
On my Mother's Birthday each year, today, December 18, we would go to the Fairgrounds, and under the bleachers, Christmas Trees were sold, still can smell that pine aroma. We had very high ceilings on Brown Street, but Dad always managed to get a tree that was too tall. On this day, we decorated the tree, and I think I still remember my emotions that came with that ritual. Poor Mom never got a thought on her birthday.
She would get all the boxes out of the attic that held those "treasures" that decorated the tree. Dad had built a 4 inch white picket fence years before, and Mom would get cotton out of Dad's office for snow, and around that snow, the fence. At each fencepost she had various figures that she had collected over the years, each one was a memory for her.
Mom always did the "finishing touches" on the tree, she did the icicles. Originally they were like a lead foil material, then during the war they became some material different, for the war effort.
Looking back, I don't remember much ever happening for Mom on her birthday, it was always "tree day," a day to always be remembered, "Mom's birthday is on the 18th, one week before Christmas."
I remember the Mercury outboard motor I got in '48 or '49, I think it was a Hurricane, 10 horse, but kicked more like 14. Chuck Rodgers, a friend, worked for Sports Afield Magazine, heard about it and sent me a hand-painted blue necktie with the Mercury painted on it. Would love to have that on Ebay now.
Had the motor, so we built a boat. Went down to Miamisburg, Ohio, home of the McGuire Sisters, and the Acme Boat Company, and bought a kit, for a 12 foot runabout. We built that in the garage over the Winter. Dad built a trailer for it, unique design, angle iron, and a suspension system he designed.
I used to take it out to Miami Shores, South of Dayton, saw Guy Lombardo and his boat there. I entered a few open class races, but never did anything.
Took the boat to Burt Lake in Michigan a couple of summers, ran it all over the lake.
Got a brilliant idea one weekend, in Dayton, painted in a bright Canary Yellow with Red Circles. I have no idea why, just the ADD at work. I think I was trying to impress Mary Bimm, and I recall her just sitting and watching me paint, shaking her head, not sure if we dated after that or not.
I always remember my chemistry set, it was a Gilbert, not sure of the year, probably during the war years, '42 or '43,the chemicals were in wooden bottles.
Oh, and that Lionel Blue Comet Train, sometime in the late '30's. It was a beauty, lights in the coaches. I see on EBay now, they are, eight to ten ...... thousand, and I had two trains that belonged to my brother, that were older than my Blue Comet.
Well, the old house at 319 South Brown Street is gone, a freeway runs right over where it used to be, the boat is gone, the chemistry set and all the trains are gone, but the "memories linger on."
On my Mother's Birthday each year, today, December 18, we would go to the Fairgrounds, and under the bleachers, Christmas Trees were sold, still can smell that pine aroma. We had very high ceilings on Brown Street, but Dad always managed to get a tree that was too tall. On this day, we decorated the tree, and I think I still remember my emotions that came with that ritual. Poor Mom never got a thought on her birthday.
She would get all the boxes out of the attic that held those "treasures" that decorated the tree. Dad had built a 4 inch white picket fence years before, and Mom would get cotton out of Dad's office for snow, and around that snow, the fence. At each fencepost she had various figures that she had collected over the years, each one was a memory for her.
Mom always did the "finishing touches" on the tree, she did the icicles. Originally they were like a lead foil material, then during the war they became some material different, for the war effort.
Looking back, I don't remember much ever happening for Mom on her birthday, it was always "tree day," a day to always be remembered, "Mom's birthday is on the 18th, one week before Christmas."
