Summer Vacation
This time of year brings back memories of summer vacations as a kid. Even though Mom & Dad never went on vacation together until 1966 due to the daily milking duties as outlined in this previous blogpost. As kids we would spend a week at our cousin’s place in Dayton. The timing was always late July once the last bale of straw was stacked away in the mow. What a treat to get away from the farm and enjoy city life. Plus no doubt it provided a nice respite for Mom & Dad as well!
Our cousins lived on the north end of Dayton in a big house several blocks off Main Street. Their younger kids matched up age wise almost perfectly with our family, especially my cousin Eddie who was my age. We had a blast doing all kinds of activities, especially riding our bikes to the establishments along that major thoroughfare, which we enjoyed immensely. I’d save my allowance money each summer specifically for that week.
There was the corner gas station, hardware store and general store that sold bubble gum baseball cards that we'd trade back and forth through the week until they were literally ragged. Plus we’d of course have to use the cards of least popular players (definitely not Mickey Mantle as pictured) as bike flappers to make a noise so we could pretend to be riding motorcycles.
Then about 1958, when I was 10, as Eddie’s Dad (my Mom’s younger brother) rose up the ladder at Dayton Tire and Rubber, the family moved out to the country near Clayton north of Dayton. They lived on a “gentleman’s farm” about 10 acres with a small barn and large house with a perfect yard for playing sports of all kinds.
The barn is now gone and the house is undergoing major renovations as indicated in these photos. If I recall, that was Eddie’s bedroom in the little dormer on the right. And down the street lived Eddie’s best friend, Matt, on a farm with a gigantic barn that was a blast to explore. His father, Matt, Sr. was the Montgomery County prosecuting attorney at the time, a position Matt, Jr. now holds while still residing on the family farm.
Eddie had several ponies, which we loved to ride around the field now overgrown with scrub. Probably our favorite pastime was playing home run derby with a wiffleball. Before those games, I could never throw or hit a curveball, but that ole wiffleball could really be maneuvered as it was pitched. Plus it also meant while batting to keep your eye on the ball and swing the bat where you thought the ball would go rather that where the ball was at the time. Great fun and safe as well for the younger kids to play. No, we never made the ESPN Top 10Sports Center like these guys!
Eddie played little league in nearby Trotwood, so we’d ride our bikes to the games. One year, they were short a player so his coach asked me to join in. What a treat, as by then I could hit a curve ball and vividly recall hitting a double to knock in a couple runs for his team. That was the best hit I ever had during my Little League career. We would also ride our bikes to the Trotwood swimming pool, which I swear to this day is the biggest pool I’ve ever seen. What fun!
Speaking of fun, I also recall playing spin the bottle with our "kissing cousins”.
Some years Eddie and his siblings would come out to the farm for their vacation, but those times weren’t as memorable for me, but likely so for our city slicker cousins!
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