Last week I mentioned I collected patriotic antiques. The photo with this article is a patriotic kite, titled “American Beauty.” It would probably date between 1958 and 1962. I remember being a boy and wanting one.
Ruth’s Gifts
Ruth’s Gifts came before the Charthouse. This is the circa 1900 place next to the library. It was run by Ruth Bruce. She carried all sorts of novelties kids like me wanted. Do you remember handshake buzzers, party poppers, and marbles? Ruth’s Gifts carried these and other fun novelties. Exploding cigarette loads were a lot of fun, although my mother didn’t think so. “Wait till I get my hands on you, you little bastard!” Time to run!
Some may know Steve, Patty, or Cindy Bruce. Ruth was their grandmother.
Ardis Clark
In my earliest memory, Ardis Clark ran a yarn and novelty shop just down School Street on the right. She later moved to the old freeze locker, now Newsbank Conference Center.
Ardis had a fun shop for kids like me. She too sold handshake buzzers, but she also bought and sold old coins. Coins were of interest to me.
I watched my change closely, looking for a coin I could sell for more than face value. I still do.
One summer day in the late 1950s, my mother sent me to Al’s IGA for something she needed. I had all coin dates memorized for value. There was no better Mercury dime date than the 1916D – very rare. I received one in my change that day. It was really worn. You had to look close to make sure the date was 1916. To see the “D” on the reverse of the coin, you had to look even closer. But it was the 1916D. Ardis paid me $3. Replace my mother’s dime and I was up $2.90! Today this is equivalent to $31.72. Not bad for an eight year old.
Bruce Clark
Bruce was an odd duck, and son of Ardis. Bruce and my brother Brian were friends. Brian nicknamed Bruce “Castro.” Bruce was always dressed in olive drabs, with black leather boots laced up. He always wore an olive drab “Castro” style hat.
Flying a kite
Springtime was kite-flying time. The problem was always having enough airspace. Treetops and utility lines caused many tangled crashes. Kites, such as you see with this article, had a three-foot-long tail. This helped stabilize flight. You had your line on a spool. Through the center of the spool, passed a round dowel. This dowel stuck out a couple inches on each side, just enough for your hands to hold to regulate how fast you let out the line.
I thought there had to be a better way. I got my spinning rod with 200 yards of line. It was real easy to let line out, and a cinch to reel it in.
Balsa airplanes
Do you remember the balsa airplanes that came in cellophane packages? I remember the basic glider was 10 cents. But the deluxe model cost 25 cents.
The glider you tossed into the air. You could slide the wings back for a loop-to-loop flight, or forward for distance. They were fun.
The deluxe had landing gear and a propeller. There was a rubber band under the fuselage that was wound by turning the propeller clockwise. It was only a matter of time before I modified this plane.
Remove the rubber band. Next, glue a bottle rocket on each wing next to the fuselage. Light the bottle rockets and off the plane took. What fun, until the plane burst into flames, crashed, and set the dry grass on fire. Stomp, stomp, stomp!
Gypsy moths
Do you remember in the mid-1950s when we had a Gypsy Moth infestation? I remember men walking along Main Street, beside a truck with a tank, spraying an insecticide fog everywhere. The sidewalk was covered with caterpillars. There were millions of them. You couldn’t take a step without stepping on them. I don’t always trust my early memory, but I seem to remember a biplane flying over Main Street spraying insecticide. Does anyone remember?
This week’s old saying I heard growing up. I used it one time. I was told I was out of line at a better antiques estate sale in Ludlow. This was about 45 years ago.
“Go suck an egg,” was my reply.