Thanks Bob Looney and Ronnie Walters!
Sam
I am just finishing my eighth book, Bob. It takes a while to do a book, normally a year. None know how many years are left in our lives.
My earlier years were shared with neighborhood kids around McConnell ave. and Vinton and normally at Mound Park just up McConnell from us. Ronnie Walters was on his crutches from an early age and he moved faster on those helpers than most any of us could run. Skip Beekman and his sister Nancy, Walt Rowe and his sister, Barbara Swishelm (Married Carole Howell, the Trojan and Ohio State star). Nancy McFarland (Schlichter), the Tannions and others lived there. Our 1227 McConnell address was just above the flood marks of 1937. Jack Duschinski was your immediate neighbor on one side where Lovell Meadows and his beautiful olive skinned sister lived before. On your north was Pidgy and Jim Zeisler. C.A,. Hartley lived on Vinton later with his mother and sisters. Bob Staley and Don Ginn lived up the street a bit. Bill and Nancy Thomas, the Gemperlines and later Boomer with Bill and Nancy Thomas and Bill and Fred Colliers and their brood also lived closer to the park.
After you passed all of those kids you arrived at Mound Park, the true "Cultural Center of Our Universe".
There the Clark twins, Jim Smith, Don Flowers and I, kids in my grade at Highland School, played king of the hill and football and other things from dawn to dusk. Later we met 'Looney and Lyles' a seemingly inseparable pair, the Moseleys, Steve Clark and his brothers, and played baseball in the deserted dirt court tennis courts. We were Babe Ruth, Hank Sauer (Cincy Reds), and Eddie Miller as the towering hits soared 100 feet or so over the eight foot fence in left and center field and gave us the 'star' thrill.
Dick Klitch and his dad were often coaching (Dick was a coach on the field even then) the Grandview Cubs. So many urchins shared the fun of that park. My faded memory tells me that Mr. Labold, who donated Labold field down by the stadia, donated the park and had willed it to the kids who played there. The local power people in Portsmouth politics reportedly won that away from us, but, even if the will came to million bucks, there were so many of us urchins we may have received a nickel apiece. :)
I had a few fist fights in the park and I know many others did. There were always instant audiences for the fisticuff events that happened on the spot. Ray Benner had the most, no doubt. Ray was tough but he tried Don Thomas, our resident giant and Dave, Mary, and Earl's brother, but never could beat Don as Don tells me now, matter-of-factly. I missed all of those Thomas-Benner events, but they were mainly on their way to school. Shorty, whom Ray protected as a little brother, probably witnessed all of them. Ray was a neighbor of Shorty Vallance and his sister, Wayne Widdig, Donnie Widdig and sister(s) on Logan extending westward from the park and Highland School. We hardly saw Wayne through the early forties when I was 8 to 12 years old. He, my brother, Ted Dunham, and so many others were fighting in WW II, the Big One, which hasn't stopped all wars as was hoped and died for. When he returned though and they had the great softball tournaments in Mound Park, Wayne became that unbeatable fast pitch pitcher, almost in the class of Eddie Feigner, The King of 'The King and His Court".
Mound Park was like Highland School's home turf for grade school ball games and Sunday afternoon football games. Our A, B, and C teams played there a lot.
There Bob. You got my memories flowing a little. There may be a few books from the park and our neighborhood. Jack Plymale, Frank Hunter, Blaine Bierley, my deceased brother-in-law, Don Lundy and many others could tell of the Mabert Road people, such as the storied Ray Pelfrey, east of us park urchins. Al Oliver, Larry Hisle, and the many fine black athletes of Portsmouth dearly love their kid days at Bannon Park and the Fourteenth Street Community Center. It isn't only for me to tell. My brothers George, Jim, and Paul have tales of their park eras. It was mostly a 'boys park' as parents probably didn't want their young girls among us rough necks.
Gib Lakeman and Gus Thompson and their ilk came later after 1945 and the wars end. We heard many war stories, some gruesome, in the park during the 52-20 days. The vets received $20 a week for 52 weeks, a full year, which afforded them loafing days in the park. They had terrific baseball pepper drills with line drives and hard grounders. Lee Brady, Don Delaney, Red Glasgow, Laken Warnock, Gib, Gus, and so many fine athletes hit and fielded the line drive shots in rapid succession. Of course, Lamoin Elliott, Ray Pelfrey, Walt Young, and Gib Lakeman liked to boot punts from the Sugar Bowl west side of the park towards the tennis courts on the east side.
How lucky we were, Bob and Ron! Besides that we had the Terrace Club Swimming Pool and stories there.
Now, you guys tell some ... ,
Sam
----- Original Message -----
From: GolfJL@aol.com
To: skegley@columbus.rr.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 9:46 PM
Subject: Re: FW: Quiz on Our Country--SAM-SEE IF YOU CAN BEAT RON ON THIS TEST
SAM--I ENJOY IT WHEN YOU WRITE ABOUT THE GREAT TIMES WE HAD AT MOUND PARK. WHAT MEMORIES WE HAVE. GIB LAKEMAN WAS "ONE OF A KIND," WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO GROW UP THERE. THERE WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON. I WISH YOU WOULD WRITE A BOOK ABOUT THOSE TIMES AND GIB LAKEMAN AND OTHERS.
BOB
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