Into the woods

Whilst I did my 3 mile walk tonight I began thinking about the Woods. That's what we called the 10 yard wide strip of trees that ran along our property line by our house at 202 Crombie in Atlantic. On the east side of the woods, there was a steep hill that led to the neighborhood called Fairlawns that was near our house.


We wore a path through the Woods where we cut through (unless it was rainy - then we had to go around) on our way to school each day (and home at lunchtime for peanut butter and lettuce sannies). We'd make forts in the woods and pretend we were pioneers. Some of the trees were perfect for tree houses. One time Robbie Dob climbed up and freaked. Her Mom Jodi had to come rescue her by "talking her down". Betso ended up with stitches from ringing the pretend doorbell on one fort. The doorsill fell on her head.


We had a lot of fun playing in the Woods and our group of backyards. Of course we knew everyone on the block and across the street. Our next door neighbors were the Germaines, who eventually sold their house to the Reinertsons, Don and Rosemarie and their kids Bonnie, Donnie, Kathryn, Laurie and Annie. Across the backyards were the Freeses - Eddie and Bev, and their kids Kent (Kenner) and Barb. Next to the Freeses were the Mormans - Paul ran the grocery store (aptly named Paul's). They had grown kids and eventually adopted two more children.


Our yards were big and a row of those bushes with the little non-edible berries - orangish red separated our yard from the Woods. We were so lucky to have a playhouse - a really cool little building that our grandfather( a contractor from Cedar Rapids) had built and brought in on a flatbed truck. It was stained and had a flat roof just like our real house. There were working windows and a cute little latch on the door. The front porch had a roof overhang. We had cardboard kitchen set in it until the Mallon boys decided to burn it. Laurie Reinertson and I even took all our kids books out to the playhouse one summer and made the place into a library. Always the reader!


We were glad when the Reinertsons moved in next door. Their kids were close in age to all of us, and we played with them a lot - especially Laurie and me and Annie and Betsy. Their house had an attic above the single car garage. You had to climb up a ladder built onto the wall to get up there and it was like a clubhouse. Their house also had little cubbies built into each closet. The Morman and Freese kids were older so I didn't play with them much (though Kenner had one of those football games that plugged in - the players vibrated by each other, and he had the hockey game where the players spun around and wacked the puck).


It was a pretty idyllic childhood. The 6o's and 70's were a fun time to be a kid. No bike helmets, seatbelts or playground safety - I wonder how we lived thru it!