Of all the streets, in all the towns across America, I found myself remembering Green Street. We never lived on Green Street. It was mainly a residential street in the small town of Craig. We didn't have any friends or family that lived on Green Street. Yet, here I am making a post entitled 'Green Street'!
Green Street ran North from Victory Way, on the West side of Craig. It was only 2 blocks East of Steele Street where we had lived during most of my Elementary School days. The first block, closest to Victory Way (the main East/West drag), was commercial property. The next couple of blocks were home to some churches. Next came an Elementary School, and the rest of Green Street was residential. Green Street was flat and level until just passed the Elementary School, but from there it began a slow steady incline all the way to the North end of Green Street. At the end, was the landmark overlooking the city of Craig, the Sandrocks.
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Everyone called them just that, 'the Sandrocks'. They sat high above Craig overlooking the small town below. They were a great place for kids to climb around and explore. Though, now that I think about it...incredibly dangerous. But Elementary age kids don't think about danger, we thought about having fun. The Sandrocks were called sand rocks because the rock was very soft, like sand. It was incredible easy to carve your name, or anything else' into the soft rock and 'leave your mark' as it were in the cliffs above town. Unless time has taken it's toll, on the soft rock, perhaps my name is still etched in stone above the small town of Craig. I never fell off the cliffs above town; thus I'm able to write this here blog today. Still it's a wonder I'm here! I am here...right?
Somewhere just below the Sandrocks was a house that belonged to one of the teachers at my Elementary School. I remember one spring, near the end of the school year, my class took the day off from schooling; we walked up the hill in the springtime sun, and had a playday at the teachers house. That house was on Green Street near the top of the hill. It had a large back yard, and the thing I remember most about that day was playing 'Red Rover' in the back yard with my class. Have you ever played Red Rover? The class divided into two groups, each side forming a line by holding hands. Then, the one side would scream, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Clinton right over"! Then the person they called would run toward the line of kids, looking for the weakest link (a couple of girls no doubt) and try to bust through the line. If the runner was able to break through, he could take someone back to his side to be on his team. If he didn't break through, he had to stay on the side that held the line. I had the best time. I still remember that day.
We would often ride our bikes up Green Street to the top of the hill to play on the Sandrocks. In order to make it to the top, we had to pedal our bikes with all our might to make it up the hill. One time, during a pedalling frenzy...the chain on my bike snapped. Clint had a major wipe-out in the middle of Green Street. I landed on my face on the asphalt. Major road rash on my face. Perhaps that explains my disfigured facial features. Guess what...school picture time!! The photographer did have me turn my face to the side...a semi profile shot. It mostly covered the huge scab on my face.
Also, on Green Street was my elementary school, Sunset Elementary.
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I attended Sunset from Kindergarten through the fourth grade. I had some good friends there. A few names come to mind: Andy Pleasant, Kent Cook, Tony Balleck, JD Jepkema, Chuck Steele, David Livingston, Steven Straight, Ann Stalen, Elaine McCandless, Edie Wilkins, Cindy Cook, and Nina Bishop. I remember playing kick ball at recess. That was always fun. As previously mentioned, I liked to sneak off the playground and go to the A&W (also on Green Street. Here is the A&W today, it's modernized a bit:
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Just South of the school, was a church.
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I remember that church for one thing. It was in front of that school that myself and another kid (can't remember who)confronted another kid on a bike. I honestly can't remember why we were mad at him,but the kid I was with pushed him. When he pushed him, he dropped his school books in the gutter and got them all wet. Next day...we were in big trouble at school. My teacher, Mrs Schmidt, and the other kids teacher were both going to spank us. The whole school feared the paddle of the other teacher. It was a long plank with holes drilled in it to cut down on the wind Resistance. Mrs. Schmidt was a tiny little woman, not much bigger than her students. She spanked with a little ping pong paddle. I'm here to tell you, the little ping pong paddle hurt the worst. OUCH!
Farther South was the Lutheran Church.
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My mother started attending this Church while we were in Craig after she met Ruth Pleasant. Ruth was attending the Church and so we started attending it too. At that time it was just the small building you see on the left with the zig-zag roof. Funny thing, I don't remember a lot about our attendance there. I must not have listened to the sermons. But how many 4th graders do? I did always remember one thing. When I got logical (that's a joke Spock), I asked the Pastor a question. I can remember what the Pastor looked like, but I can't remember his name. Anyway, I asked him: "If God created the world, and all that is in it...who created God?" Pretty Deep Thoughts huh? But I always remember his answer, it must have been a good one. He took off his wedding band and said, "You see this ring?" Then he took his finger and ran it around the circumference of the ring. "God is like this ring, He is eternal; he has no beginning and no end, he is everlasting." I'm sure those weren't the exact words, but that was the gist of it, complete with an object lesson. But it satisfied the inquisitive little 4th grader.
Well, there you have it, the bulk of my Green Street memories, save one. I suppose, in life, we all have done something we wish we could take back. You say: "I bet you'd like to take back that bike crash huh?" Or "How about taking back that pushing incident in front of the church, that would save you a spanking?!" No, those would not be the events I would like to take back. Here is the site of the old Safeway store in Craig. Perhaps if we could make it so the whole Safeway store never existed! That would probably have made a dramatic change to the life of all the Gardner's. Since that is not really an option, there was one other incident. I was at the Safeway store one day and was caught shoplifting. The Safeway store sat here where the Craig Library now sits:
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Stupid poor fourth grader living with a single mother trying her hardest to make ends meet. So, I must have wanted something my mother could not afford, and so I tried to steal it. I sit here now as an adult, and think about my Mother having to come down to the store and pick me up. How humiliating it must have been for my Mother to walk into that Safeway store. My Mother endured some hard times. That was no doubt a difficult day for her. If I could, I would take it back a hundred times. I'm so sorry Mom.
For some reason, Green Street holds a lot of memories for me...both good and bad. For the A&W hot dogs, to the danger of the Sandrocks. From a fun game of Red Rover, to the crash and burn bicycle wreck. From the exciting game of Kick ball, to the spanking by two teachers. From the eternal lesson from my Pastor, to the shameful theft at the Safeway Store. Highs and Lows...I guess, in the end, that is what life is all about.
