It seems that a lot of my past now only lives inside my fattish head. It is really amazing that I can remember so much about my childhood days in Craig, but I can't remember stuff that happened last month. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that when you're a child, your mind is learning and can remember mass amounts of data during the 'learning years'. Certainly, I don't remember everything about what happened in my elementary days, but I can recall a lot of memories about the life and times I experienced in Craig.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to return to Craig with my sister Lynn to attend a High School Reunion. I had passed through Craig a few times over the years, but had never really stopped and spent any time in the area. On that visit back, we were able to spend a couple of days in town.
It was really kind of sad for me. I had all these memories of the little town that had been such a huge part of my life from Kindergarten to 5th grade. But I guess from 1966 to 2005 a few things had changed. In most area's, a town grows, expands, and prospers as the years pass. And true, Craig is bigger than it use to be. They had to change Victory road into a one way street to accommodate the increase in traffic. But overall, I left with the impression that Craig had shrivelled up and was less of a town than when I had lived there all those many years ago.
When we first came into town, we came upon my Grandfathers house at the North end of Craig. It was still there. No one was living in it. When my Granddad lived there, it did not have indoor plumbing. There was an outhouse out back that they used year round. Brrrrr! The house was still there, but it was not surprising that no one lived there...I think people these days feel that indoor plumbing is important.
The next stop was the Yampa house, which was, as I mentioned in a previous post, now a bank parking lot. We drove around the corner to the last school I attended when I lived in Craig... gone... Breeze Elementary is now a city park.
A drive down the main street was about the same. Many of the old buildings that had lined Yampa Street were now totally gone. A vacant lot now sat where a store had been. A parking lot where another had stood. One had a false front where a business had once stood. The town that had been my childhood playground, was mostly still there, but everything was just 40 years older.
We drove out south of town, to the house where we had first lived when we moved to Craig. That house was also gone. Torn down and removed with nothing but a few trees to indicate that there had ever even been a house there.
Next, we went out east of town to find the little house where we had lived next. It took a little looking, but we found it. There is no driveway that goes to the house anymore. Just a shell of a building out in the barren hills east of town. There was a deer resting in the shade of the house, who was quite annoyed when we walked up to the house. I doubt he gets many human visitors. The roof was gone. The only thing left standing were the walls of the building. Of course, the place was not much of a house when we lived there 40 years ago. So, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it was no longer livable. You can sort of see the place in this present day Google Street View:
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It is funny, and sad, that all these memories are in my head; but reality paints the picture of a dying little town that has changed little; and is now part of my 'disappearing past'.
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