The Lighthearted Life of a Young Park Hill Boomer
After reading Vicki Reynold’s interesting and enjoyable article about growing up in Park Hill, it brought back many of my own happy memories living in this wonderful community as well.
I started working at age 5 when I sold seeds door-to-door to my welcoming neighbors. Their generosity enabled me to buy a telescope for exploring – my favorite thing!
In the 50’s, I recall going to “Candy Land”, a small candy shop on 22nd and Kearney, which was run by two elderly sisters who always cautioned us “not to touch the candy!” It was housed where Neighbors is today.
My brother, David, and I used to wait in a long line every spring at the Colorado Women’s College, now the Johnson & Wales University, to buy our pool passes for the summer, which was a real treat! We looked forward to it every year. In the evenings, we’d attend the beautiful synchronized swimming programs with Mom and Dad.
Mom shopped at Mecham’s Market on 22nd and Oneida and also at that cartoonish-sounding Piggly Wiggly grocery store on East Colfax. She sure did save up those green stamps, that’s for sure!
Having a British “mum” was extra special, and my little friends loved “popping in” to sample her famous Welsh cakes with a “nice spot of tea” (as she always said), or a swig of Bosco (a popular chocolate syrup) in a cool glass of milk, preferably in Mickey Mouse glass. So refreshing!
The neighborhood air was full of laughter. We played with hula hoops, Kewpie dolls, four square and popsicle stick houses, just to name a few. Such fun!
Who could forget the ever-popular local “Fred and Fay Show”, where you could celebrate your birthday and be on television, too. There were about 12 kids in the peanut gallery, laughing, waving and eating cake with a clown or two. You were practically a celebrity after your appearance, as was the case with David. Such prestige!
I wrote my first editorial in Miss Tipton’s 6th grade class at Phillips Elementary School. It was published in the “Phillips Highlights” school newspaper and was even front page news! What an honor!
Art, the milkman, always came by with a smile and a quick hello, while handing David and me a fistful of our favorite ice, as our eyes beamed. For some reason, we loved it, and always looked forward to his arrival. They had “milk chutes” back then, which led right into the house through the kitchen.
Oh yes, then there were the wonderful Saturday mornings; that magical day of the week filled with a cascade of cartoons, American Bandstand, comic books and practicing the twist.
The Barn was a dance held every Friday night at the Park Hill United Methodist Church on Montview. It was the place for local teens to congregate and enjoy dancing the night away under a glittering, twirling silver ball suspended from the ceiling, which was something totally new and exciting at the time. I sure hope I didn’t step on too many toes while discovering slow dancing! I went there faithfully every week with my friends from Smiley Junior High School. Nothing like good, clean fun!
I bought my first car, a 1960 Chevy Corvair, when I was a senior at George Washington High School. Dad loaned me the asking price of $300 and I paid him back every cent from my part-time job after school selling magazine subscriptions as a telephone solicitor. It was quite an accomplishment for me and my parents agreed. They were so proud of me. They instilled in us a strong work ethic and we loved making our own money. Besides, I thought I was pretty smart tooling around in it and boy it was fun. I started a carpool to take my friends from the neighborhood to school.
And what family would be complete without a few furry best friends? We had our share of lovely little dogs who we loved dearly. Mom was always rescuing stray animals, and soon teamed up with the notorious Mildred Martindale, the “dog lady of Park Hill,” as she was called. They were on a quest to save every animal in the area, possibly on the whole planet! She lived on 21st and Eudora in a huge house overrun with dogs and cats – she was cited for having too many at one point. We all became very close and it was so fascinating listening to her stories about her wordly travels and meeting such notables as Albert Schweitzer. What a colorful life she had. I miss her.
After college, before I worked for the State of Colorado, I was hired as the first woman security guard at the then Temple Buell College, which the CWC was renamed briefly in honor of the local philanthropist’s $25 million donation. This was such a unique job for a woman at that time and I loved it! My duties consisted mainly of securing buildings, patrolling the campus on foot, and even investigating a few crimes. The school paper even did a story on me! Shortly after that I became a store detective.
Such was the lighthearted life of a boomer. I was blessed with such a beautiful, loving family who made life wonderful. We all loved living in Park Hill, and I still do until this day.