The Dark Ages of My Youth: And Times More Recent

The Dark Ages of My Youth: And Times More Recent

When Ward Degler graduated from journalism school, his mother speculated he would become a world-famous war correspondent or, at the very least, editor-in-chief of an influential newspaper. He did neither. Instead, he became a columnist, giving him the opportunity to write about subjects that interested him while avoiding everything that didn't. The Dark Ages of My Youth and Times More Recent By Ward Degler iUniverse, Inc. Copyright © 2011 Ward Degler All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4620-1998-4 Contents Foreword..........................................................xiiiPreface...........................................................xvAcknowledgments...................................................xviiIntroduction......................................................xixThe Dark Ages of My Youth.........................................3Changes in My Hometown............................................5Playing Marbles and Rolling Hoops.................................8Saturday Matinees at the Princess Theater.........................10When the Carnival Came to Town....................................12Selling Scrap Metal...............................................14Neighbors Worth Remembering.......................................17Banana Nut Bread, Fudge, and Making Taffy.........................20Revisiting Big Rock...............................................22What the Heck Is a Skate Key?.....................................25Breakfast Never Changes...........................................28Camping...........................................................30Forest Fires......................................................33Lilacs—My Favorite Flower...................................36Remembering Charles Kuralt........................................39Put the Brakes on Road Rage.......................................41Decoration Day....................................................44Firecrackers......................................................46Lawn Mowers.......................................................49Dog Days..........................................................51End of Summer.....................................................53Canning...........................................................55Labor Day—the Last Hurrah...................................57Fountain Pens—They Sometimes Leaked.........................59Buddy Poppies.....................................................61Mom's Wash Day....................................................63Spring Cleaning—Grandma Style...............................66Telephones—Yesterday and Today..............................68Trains and the War Effort.........................................70Working My Way Up at the Greasy Spoon.............................73Summer Jobs.......................................................75Libraries Were Like Monasteries...................................78My Favorite Comic Strips..........................................81Salting a Bird's Tail and Other Tall Tales........................84That First Bike...................................................86Litter Bags—Where Have They Gone?...........................89Thinking About Cars...............................................91We Once Had Fans..................................................94Spring Break—Pioneering the Long Trip.......................97I'm a Winner—So Was Mr Duggan...............................99Gasconade River...................................................102My Love Affair with Rivers........................................104More River Thoughts...............................................107A Mute Wedding and Another I Survived.............................110Once We Wore Galoshes.............................................114Snow Forts........................................................116Christmas Marches On..............................................118A Christmas Story.................................................120Making Peace with Winter..........................................122White Christmases I Remember......................................125High School—Looking Back Fifty Years........................127The Project.......................................................129The Project Begins................................................131I Have Created a Monster..........................................134The Project Becomes a Teaching Tool...............................136Learning by Swinging a Hammer.....................................138The Project Endures...............................................140I Learn About Wiring..............................................142The Roof Leaks....................................................145It Was Almost Like Escaping from Prison...........................148Next Stop, the Sewer..............................................151The Greatest Invention—Ever.................................154The Problem with Time..