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