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                          Growing Up in Vestal

 

 

When I first moved to Vestal in 1953, we lived a bit further (west)

on the left side of the Vestal Parkway, just about mid way between

Jensen Rd. (the road the bowling alley was on) and Meadow Brook

Lane. It was a converted barn and the Parkers lived in the farm house

a stone's throw away. They had 8 kids and with my families 3, it was

heaven on earth as far as playmates. There was always someone to

have an adventure with. It was really a cool place to live, because there

were creeks and fields in back of the house to explore with lots of chicken

"coops" that were our club houses.

 

I loved the smell of skunk cabbages in the spring down by the creeks, as well

as the milk week seeds that burst from their pods in the breeze. I remember

in third grade just loving to get up early on a Saturday morning to run down

the hill next to our house....arms outstretched embracing the wind! You couldn't

walk through the fields without having a zillion burrs stick to your pants. In our

front yard there were a bunch of cherry trees that we used to love to climb. I guess

I remember spring best with the smell of freshly cut grass, a new pair of saddle shoes

and riding my bike down into the Meadow Brook Lane as fast as I could. It was the

fifties! Outside of air raid drills in school, life was grand, as perfect as it could be

for a kid like me.

 

Bonnie Clarke Hyde (Class of '64)

Nov 20, 2002