It has been a lot of fun wrapping things up with my Project Pickle kids the past couple of weeks. As usual, we had farming trivia prizes, water balloon fights, hose spraying, and we ate a lot of watermelon – 32 to be exact.
The kids have been given instructions as to what they can harvest and when from their school farms as they cruise around on their bikes and scooters this summer. We will enjoy the main harvest when we reconvene in the fall.
I am sure we all have super fond memories of carefree summers as youngsters. Rather than worrying about food prices, gas prices, political unrest and interest rates, my youthful summer stresses typically revolved around when I was going to eat my next popsicle, or if I had enough air in my tires to ride to Spanish Banks.
Saturdays were the favourite day for me as a young summer explorer. This was generally “allowance” day for my buddies and I. In the late 60s I recall that my parents would give me .50 cents for walking the dog during the week and for keeping my room clean. If I cut the lawn during the week, my take would increase to $2. A fortune! Two dollars was difficult to spend on candy, so it was often saved for pitch and putt golf at Queen Elizabeth Park or a hot dog and fries down at the beach.
In riding our bikes to various destinations during these blissful summer weeks, there was always a corner store nearby to load up on supplies. The heat required constant access to pop, Freezies and ice cream sandwiches.
These classic neighbourhood stores are few and far between today, which is unfortunate. I almost get emotional when I think about these stores and their owners. The bell that would ring as you opened the screen door, the wooden plank floors, the water-cooled beverage containers, the cool Coke and 7UP signs and the penny candy tables!
My favourite corner store was “Tuft’s” at 41st and Carnarvon. When my bike gang and I showed up there on a Saturday, Mr. Tuft always made sure we got a couple of extra mojo’s in our candy bag. He was a smart man. He and his wife knew us all by name. Over the years we treated each other like family.
A nostalgic time for sure. Even though the bike gangs of today don’t have access to the corner-stores of yesteryear, I’m sure they have just as much fun as we did back then.
Happy summer everyone!
