Craig's City Park

Craig had one main city park. It was near the Liquor store where where Andy and I would cash in our treasure of empty bottles. The park was long and narrow and ran along the west side of Fortification Creek. Fortification Creek ran through the east side of Craig. I remember several things about the park from my childhood.

I remember there was a clubhouse of sorts that was located near the south end of the park. The clubhouse is no longer there today according to the Google street view program. It looks like a concrete slab is all that is left of the old clubhouse.

See the slab out there in the grass?



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But that's typical for Craig (run down or no longer there). The clubhouse, as I remember it, was just a large one room cabin structure about 30 feet wide and maybe 60 feet long. It had a front door and was just a large big open room. I think people could rent it for dances or meetings, etc. For some reason, I can't really remember why, every time I think of that clubhouse, I think of an old Smothers Brothers song about a woman who had a map of the world painted on her body. And the part of the song I always think of is the part that talks about 'Greece on her knees'. La la la..."and on her knees was Grease....(laugh) Greece on her knees!". Yes, I realize it sounds dumb, but perhaps if you could hear the whole song, it would be funnier. Or perhaps if you were 10 years old it would be funnier. The Smothers Brothers were classic; and they were funny to adults as well as kids. I still don't know why I think of that song whenever I think of that clubhouse. I did attend some event there one night. I remember being in there when it was full of people. I remember the open door, and some people loitering outside. Perhaps they were playing that song while I was there. Not sure.

Her eyes were Siam
Her nose was Hindustan
And on her knees was Greece
(grease on her knees)
Her back was Brazil
Her chest was Bunker Hill
Her hips they were Con-stan-ti-no-po-ple

Just then, I saw my wife
And to avoid a future strife
I let the rest of the world go by



Craig, like many towns across America had a Chamber of Commerce office that was in a Railroad Car. The Craig Chamber Train Car was located at the South end of the Park at Victory Way. It is still there today:


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A little North of the clubhouse was the City Swimming Pool. We went there a few times in the summer and would go swimming. I could not swim. so I would stay in the shallow end, or hold on to the side if I went near a deeper section.

Craig Pool:

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Behind the pool was the playground area. The modern parks have a small little section of the park that is usually enclosed by sidewalk and filled with wood chips or soft Pea-gravel. Thus protecting the little children from hurting themselves if they fall. Craig's playground area had no soft wood chips or pea-gravel. Just hard dirt area and the play area was spread out over a larger area. The park had a nice merry-go-round, teeter-totter, tall slide, swings, monkey bars, etc, I especially remember the slide. It was a tall slide, about 10 feet tall. A long slick metal slide that was great for sliding. One time, while visiting the park, it must have been busy. I say that because the line to 'ride the slide' was long. Kids were standing on the ladder waiting for their turn to slide down the ladder. Well, it became my turn to slide down the slide and I climbed into the slide position at the top of the slide and was ready to make my run. But there was someone ahead of me that had stopped midway down the slide. I don't know if they were scared or playing around or what. But the kid behind me was upset that I was not sliding down the slide and so he pushed me. He must have pushed pretty hard because I did not go down the slide...I went off the edge of the slide and down to the ground. It knocked the wind out of me. I don't remember all the other times I must have went down that slide. But I remember that time. I can still remember that feeling of having the wind knocked out of me. Gasping for air and not being able to breathe. I have no idea who had stopped ahead of me, or who pushed me, but I will never forget that awful feeling.

I also remember the park area.



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Surrounded by tall trees. No grass, just hard ground. The area was shaded, with playground equipment dotting the playground area. It's hard to explain, but I can close my eyes and remember the 'feeling of being there'. The smell, the shade, the sound of the kids playing, the agony of defeat (when you get pushed off the slide).

In the cold Craig winters, they would flood the area near the playground and make a big skating rink right in the middle of the park. I was never a skater, but it was still cool that they would do that. Lots of people (who had ice skates) would go down to the park and ice skate in the winter.

At the north end of the park, there was a road that crossed the creek, There was also a foot bridge that crossed the creek and opened up into the playground area.



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There were picnic tables and a parking area in the same area. On the North side of that street (I think it was 7th street) was a unmaintained area that ran North along the creek for some distance. We called it Sherwood Forest.




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(Funny...it seemed more wooded in my memory)

I don't know if that was the official name of the area, but that is what everyone called it. It was cool. Shaded by tall trees, covered by weeds and bushes. There were little dirt walking and riding trails that had been formed over time. Some of the trails were right next to the creek. Other trails would just wind around through the wooded area with no particular destination designed. I remember that one of the trails was so close to the bank that if a person fell off the trail, they would fall into the creek. It was like a cliff scene on a winding wagon road, only it was a walking trail. On the west side, the bank went straight up about 6 feet. Then the trail about a foot wide. Then a 4 foot drop into the creek. I remember we could not ride our bikes on that trail because the side of the bank was too close to the handlebars. We spent a lot of time in Sherwood Forest. Most of the times were fun, but one time I remember we met 3 kids that were evidently looking for trouble. I can't remember what happened, but I remember Andy got in a fist fight with one of them. I must have stood back hoping that I would not have to fight too. I was not a fighter...I was a chicken.

Well, that is the Craig Park. I have other Park stories. but will save that for a later date. Remember: Play Hard, but don't take a plunge off the slide...it hurts big time.

Small Town-Fast Food

In today's society, fast food joints line the street and play a huge roll in the size of our waistline's(pun is intended). Biggie size, super size, mega meals...it's no wonder we all weigh too much and have clogged arteries. But what if I was to ask you to think about a small town in Colorado in the early to mid 1960's. You'd probably think of an old run down restaurant filled with tables and chairs and ample cigarette smoke. And yes, Craig had a couple of those. But Craig also had some 'fast food' joints. They were not called 'fast food' joints then, mainly because they cooked everything to order, but they fit the profile. In fact, a couple of them even had names we're familiar with today.

My favorite was the A&W. It was on the corner of Victory and Green street and was built in the classic Drive-in format. A small one room building with a kitchen at the back and a service window in the front. The classic covered parking that ran the length of the parking lot. Complete with teen age car hops and the classic frosted Root Beer mugs.



Like any kid, I loved to go to the A&W. Still to this day, a frosty root beer is hard to beat. There are two things I remember most about the menu at the A&W, and neither is the root beer.

First, I remember the 'frozen cokes'. Nothing too special about that, but they were one of my favorites. Ten or twelve ounces of coke in a paper cup and frozen solid in a freezer. They handed it to you with a plastic spoon and you started 'chipping' away. They were better at the A&W than the ones I tried to make at home. I never could figure out why. I mean...its just coke...frozen...what could be so hard about that? Still, the ones at the A&W were always sweeter than the ones I tried to make at home. And why did they even sell them? In the last 40 years, I have never seen 'frozen cokes' on any restaurant or drive-in menu. I loved 'em though, and I think they were only 10 cents.

The second, was the hot dog. As a kid I was not big on hamburgers, I liked the hot dogs. At the A&W, I liked to order 2 hot dogs with ketchup and mustard. Emm, Emm good. I still order my hot dogs that way today. I like them with relish and onions and all the fix ens...but just the other day at the DQ I ordered my hot dog with ketchup and mustard only. Hmmm...reliving my childhood? I use to take my school lunch money, and sneak off the school grounds at lunch break (which was against the rules) and go down to the A&W (about 3 blocks from school) and buy 2 hot dogs with ketchup and mustard and a root beer. I did that a lot. Call me a rebel.

The A&W was not the only game in town. Downtown Craig, across from the courthouse was a little one room Drive in called the Tastee Freez. I had a favorite there too. But it was not the ice cream as you might expect. When I went to the Tastee Freez I wanted to get a 'chocolate coke'. I absolutely loved their chocolate cokes. I don't much care for them now. And to be honest, I can't imagine why I liked them so much then. But I did. Perhaps if I could go back in time and try one of the Tastee Freez Chocolate Cokes as they made them then...perhaps I would like them again. Doubt it.

There was the B&B drive in out east of town. I had no favorite thing there that I can remember. But I did not make it out there too often. It was east of town and would have required a car to go visit, or a long bike ride. It was the teen hang out I think. I think I got to go there when one of the older brothers or sisters got stuck watching little brother. "Buy him a chocolate coke, that will keep him quiet!" I'm assuming, I have few memories of the B&B.

There was the Easley's Hamburger place. Again, I was not a hamburger man (boy), but Easley's burgers had a sort of reputation. Perhaps it was the fact that they were the MacDonald's of Craig. Yes, Easley's put a special sauce on their burgers, kinda like Thousand Island dressing. I remember them being the 'burger of choice' around town. Perhaps it was because they opened a stand across from the High School and I had 3 older brothers and sisters (in High School or Junior High). The young are so easily influenced by their older brothers and sisters. Yeah, that's why I was a 'hot dog' man/boy.

Well, so much for my childhood 'fast food' memories. I think I'll go put a coke in the freezer and see if I can bring back a childhood 'favorite thing' memory. Now where were those paper cups....wait...we don't have paper cups anymore, now they are plastic....drat...they'll never taste the same now....