14 -1964 Summertime 1: Little Grand Canyon, Fishing, Rock Eagle and a Cool Train Trip
When summer rolled in, the town citizens were ready for fun and easy living. Family vacations, Bible School, week-long camp, swimming adventures, fishing, biking through neighborhoods, hikes in the canyons, freshly mowed lawns, and trips to the beach were common activities for many. Once again, I am sharing from my little-girl diary notes from 1964
We kids jumped full fledged into summer with no transition needed much from school year. We had all been going swimming since mid May, before school was out. The warm spring weather allowed for so many outside activities, as many of us had already been playing outside almost year round, whether biking around our neighborhoods, persuading parents to take us to the canyons for a picnic or seeking out a pond to go fishing.
I was extremely excited to have my brother home from military school for the summer. It was nice not to be the ‘only child’ and have a built in playmate or in case of brothers/sisters, a constant companion who shared in fun, but could frankly be an annoyance, too.
I also did not waste anytime with planning overnights with friends. I had several in-town friends and we all swapped times at each other’s houses for sleep-overs. Oh the fun of summer! Nan, Laurie, Debra, Etta, Sandra and Kay played parts in tons of fun that summer!
We also had an stunningly beautiful canyon area about 6 miles from town on a small road which curved through the rural countryside — in the early 60’s still a local hang-out and picnic area; a favorite place for family outings and school field trips! The canyons cover approximately 150 acres. Many years later it became the Providence Canyon State Park.
That summer in early June, a sizable number of us had a mega-sleepover at June’s Pond; Many of the town’s female children from around 11–13 got together with two to three parent chaperones and had a delightful sleep-over at one of the towns folk’s properties located on a large pond just outside of town. I recall listening to records until the wee hours, sitting along the pond’s edge with feet dangling into the water, and telling scary stories around bedtime. The adults provided hot dogs and hamburgers and plenty of beverages to keep us well satisfied.
The planning ensued to attend the District Meet for 4-H. We had to practice our 4-H demonstrations for the local chapter agent and get our “record books” up-to-date and prepare for an exciting trip with a couple of nights away from home. Destination 7–9 June: Rock Eagle, Eatonton, GA. I won 2nd place in canning that year.
On one fishing adventure in early June my brother and his best friend, Jack, set out to spend the entire day fishing. From the ponds’ bank they caught a few brim and catfish. The adventure was cut short when Jack got nicked by a catfish and we had to take him to the hospital, as the poison from the fin began to spread and turn his skin very blue. Thank goodness an overnight in the hospital and some antibiotics saved the day.
Other early summer activities included attending Vacation Bible School.
Many of us kids enrolled in the town library summer reading program. Mrs Hall was our town librarian. The library’s location was on the east side of the courthouse square nestled into a row of small businesses which included a service station on the northeast end, the town dry cleaning/laundry business, the doctor’s office, and a grocery store on the southeast end.
The Peagler family who lived a number of years on the street where I lived had a grandson, Hal, who lived in Atlanta. Hal visited that summer for a few days. He and my brother went on a few fishing trips together during his several day visit. His grandmother, Mrs. Peagler, made the best tea cakes ever. I annotated at age 11 that I wish I had been included on those fishing adventures.
On 14 June, the county veterinarian paid us a visit to check up on our four puppies; much to my dismay, he took the two females, as he relayed to my folks that a client had inquired about their availability for adoption. I had so enjoyed watching the puppies from the time of their birth. We were able to keep the two males, Buster and Champ. They were great playmates that summer. They enjoyed the outdoors so much. We only brought them indoors on cold wintry days.
I’ve been on a few trains during my life, but I remember the summer of 1964 provided me with the adventure of my first train trip!
On June 21, my parents put my brother and me on a train to Nashville, TN, not only our first train trip, but our first trip on our own so to speak. We boarded the train in Atlanta. My mom and dad checked us in and escorted us to our seats and said “Bon Voyage.”
I recall how excited we both were. The engineer came through and checked our tickets. Since the trip lasted several hours, we had time to get up and wander around a little. We didn’t leave our train car, but we did peer out the connector windows between cars. When the small snack wagon came by, we bought sandwiches and beverages. On the destination end of our trip, in Nashville, my brother Joe and his family met us and thus began our two week visit in Tennessee. We had a couple of aunts and uncles in that area, as well. We stayed with my brother in Lebanon, but were also able to visit our other relatives in Nashville, as well. The summer was opening up many exciting adventures!
