Noodling and Canoodling Around

Back in those days, we swam in the nude by the station bridge at the convergence of Eight Mile Creek and the Little River. This activity was a way to stay cool during the "Dog Days of Summer." There was one elaborate swimming hole created by the older boys, which was located west of town and it had a deep pool of water made by damming the creek.

Quite often, we would ride our bikes to the "Big Blue" quarry on this side of Huntington. Towards the end of the journey, we would race to see who could get there and be the first in the water. Then, after rope-swinging, diving and swimming, we would race back to Roanoke. It had to be great conditioning for all.

Many times we would leave home in the morning and head off on a along bike ride to such surrounding towns like Columbia City. I doubt that our parents knew where we had gone.

Those guys who had cars were in big demand during the war years. During World War II, there was gasoline rationing and we devised some ingenious ways to procure gas for the cars. Draining the residue of gas from the hose at the gas station was a start. We became quite clever at stopping at a farmhouse and pleading with the farmer for some gas to get home. The farmer had a large storage tank on the farm and he was allowed much gas as an essential use to provide food for the war effort. After a few successful stops like that, we had enough gas for an extensive and fun trip.

We used to hang out and play in the old barns in town. We were not suppose to be in the grain mills because of the danger of suffocating should we fall into the grain storage bins. We spent much time at the railway station east of town. We knew the stationmaster and he was nice to us. We liked to see the mail in bags grabbed by passing trains. It is said that some kids would hop a freight and ride it for a while. The Interurban was another attractive nuisance for us.

On the day of the Indianapolis 500 Race, we would gather early on a porch and count how many Fords, Chevys and Plymouths passed through town on their way to the race, numbering in the hundreds by days end.

Today, it is a lost art to know how to make your own rubber shooting gun. We all knew how to make the gun back then. We took a piece of wood, maybe eight inches long by a couple inches thick and pounded a nail in the bottom near one end. We attached a clothespin on the very end. By stretching a rubber band over the far end of the stick then securing it in the opening of the clothespin, one could squeeze the pin, releasing the band. It would shoot accurately many feet and hit what you aimed at.

We had inner tubes from inside tires and we got the used blown ones and cut them up in strips for our guns. We would go for days on end chasing each other and shooting our guns. There were some big wars which developed between the Northside of town versus the Southside.

Music Lessons

Oren "Ory" Ogden came to Roanoke weekly to give musical lessons on many different instruments during the Forties. He was a very likeable, easy-going, understanding person and a good teacher. He had the patience of you know whom. He almost never criticized the fact that it was obvious that one had not practiced the assignment given to us the previous week, not that we had not progressed one iota. After all, he got paid whether we improved or not.

A great many Roanoke children took lessons from him. His room for giving lessons was on the second floor on the east side of Main Street, between First and Second Streets.

One day during my weekly clarinet lesson, I mentioned that my father had an Indian head penny collection. He said that he would give me a nickel for each one of them. Of course, this was more than I could resist. Every week thereafter, I would bring an Indian head penny and trade it for a nickel. This was "found money" and it would buy numerous different types of sweet treats at that point in time. I actually looked forward to my clarinet lesson!

Somehow, my father discovered my thefts. He was disgusted with my actions, but I was not really punished very strongly. I only got a verbal tongue-lashing and a lecture on being honest and trustworthy. Those were the days ... I learned my lesson.

Hazards of Smoking

As a kid, it was quite fashionable to smoke and to be seen smoking. We kids experimented with smoking at an early age. We felt that we would be much more urbane and older looking if we could smoke like the older men did.

We all heard and knew the warnings about how cigarettes were "cancer sticks" and could kill you one day. Youth does not believe that anything can happen to them and they are impervious to danger. These are the same young men that we send off to war to do our fighting for us. They expect to live forever.

Sometimes, we would steal cigarettes from an unattended package. The problem was to get a match with which to light them. We were asked what it was that we needed a match for and were told of the dangers of playing with matches. We would experiment with smoking almost anything that would burn. We tried dried coffee grounds, dry leaves and rolled up newspapers. Corn silk was a favorite and many other things were tried as well.

You all know that if you tell a young person that they are not allowed to do something, then most assuredly, they will do it. Most young men were introduced to smoking when they were in the service, during wartime. Whenever you had a rest break, you heard that the "smoking lamp was lit" or "smoke 'em if you got them." The cost was so cheap that most boys took up the habit and found it to be calming and relaxing to smoke. Sample packages of many different brands were passed out free of charge.

My first attempt at smoking was when my good friend acquired two cigarettes and one wooden stick match. We hurried excitedly out into a nearby secluded field and the test began. We stuck the cigarettes in our mouths. He being a gentleman, struck the match and offered to light mine first.

Not having ever done this before, not understanding the accepted procedure and with great composure, I blew instead of inhaling and the match went out! My friend was thoroughly disgusted and chased me all the way back to town and uttered some choice words about my ancestry. Ah, youth!

Summer Camp

Roanoke parents looked forward to sending their children off to a camp in the summertime. The YMCA Camp Dick Runyan at Lake Tippecanoe was a great experience for me. You got to meet and be with kids from Markle, Huntington, Andrews and all over the area. Crafts, swimming, canoeing, athletic competitions and camping out with big bonfires.

Another week was provided annually by the local churches. The Methodist church had a week at Epworth Forest at North Webster, Indiana. The United Brethren Church had a week at Oakwood Park on Lake Wawasee at Syracuse, Indiana. Many local children went to both camps and there was no restrictions due to your religious affiliation.

At Lake Wawasee, the girls and the older ladies who did the cooking lived in the Elizabeth Cottage. The boys, many years without adult supervision, lived in their own cabin up on the hill overlooking the campus.

Of course, we kids were expected to attend religious classes during the mornings and all w