Wistful Wednesday: Boys on Bikes

This old polaroid was most likely taken by Far Guys Dad.  It was probably taken in the fall of the year…maybe around 1961 or 1962.  Do they look 11 to 12 years old to you?

They must have been in a parade…maybe homecoming.  I dated both of them, but not till a little later in the 1960’s. 
This photo was taken in Park Rapids in the front yard of the house where Far Guy lived.  That is the forestry across the road.  The road was two lanes back then…now it is four lane with a fifth lane in the center for a turn lane.
Times change and so do towns.

This photos is for reference only. The Andrews, Larson and Taskey homes were bought up by Caseys.  Far Guys old home (gray with white trim) remains at the end of the block. 
In the old photo the boys would have been standing with their bikes just in front of the pickup that is parked at the Gas Station, very near that large shrub.

The trees behind them are gone also.
I took this photo from what would have been Emil Taskeys front lawn.

Only a few really old trees remain after the storm in 2011.  The area was replanted in 2012.

You can see one of the little trees poking up out of the snow.
In retrospect, I have to feel sorry for Emil, living in-between two families with boys. He and his wife had two girls.  Perhaps those boys made him nervous.

Note from my husband:
We took the front wheel off from Marks bike and installed it on the back wheel of my bike making a DIY bicycle built for two. I can still recall trying to learn how to ride it. I think we got a second prize in the parade.

Places I Remember

There are places I remember.  That song has been running through my head since yesterday. I believe it is correctly called "In My Life."  It was a hit for the Beatles.  I remember when the Beatles became popular, my Dad called them "Long Hairs" ..looking back they were pretty radical for the time. By today's standards they were pretty tame and harmless.  You have to recall that most guys wore crew cuts back then..so they were really "long hairs" in comparison.   I believe my Dad also called them girls, because of their long hair. 

 I remember the directions Far Guy used to give kids looking for his house.  "I live right across from the Smokey The Bear sign."  That sign has not been moved in over fifty years.

Although the color of the house has changed, it used to be white, Far Guys Mom would never have painted it grey.  The house is still the same.  Some have gone and some remain.  It is the only house on the block that remains.  The rest of the block was sold and a Casey's Gas Station and Convenience Store occupies the old neighbors space.   Someone planted a Forsythia and something pink flowering.    There is a new sidewalk out front, but the alley outback is still the same.  Far Guys Mom would have never allowed all that junk in her yard either.

All these places have their moments.  Moments of joy, and moments of sadness.  Moments that you can never go back to, bittersweet moments that you can never reclaim.  The little trees that were planted out front as a shield from the highway noise,  grew skyward every year until they filled up the entire front yard.   Only a memory now removed when the highway was widened.  You can now see the entire front of the house from the road.  Far Guys Mom would have hated that, I am sure that people have turned over in their graves for less things..after all they lived in this little house for forty five years together.  I will never lose affection for people and things that have went before, I'll often stop and think about them.  This is just one place I remember :)