Visiting Park Street

The brick house was the only one of its kind on Park Street. The yard was big and green and child-friendly. In the back yard were big umbrella shaped Chinaberry trees that provided wall-to-wall shade in the summer. Just beyond the trees was a building called the “smoke house.” It was used as space for curing meat, storing dried fruits and vegetables, and stashing canned foods for winter use. All sorts of fruit trees were on the property: peach trees, cherry trees, apple trees, walnut trees. Apples and peaches were dried to make fried pies in the winter. Walnuts were cracked and shelled for making wonderful Christmas cookies! Then there were ½ dozen different kind of grape vines that provided luscious fruit in the summer and juice for the winter. The vegetable garden produced abundant produce for every season of the year. Even potatoes were banked for use in the winter; very little needed to be purchased beyond the home-grown food.


However, just in case, on the corner of West Main and Park was located a neighborhood grocery store. Access was easy – just run down the street to get there. As long as $1.00 was available, all sorts of things could be purchased: three pounds of beef stew for a dollar; a loaf of bread or a package of cinnamon buns for a dime; a pound of coffee for 15 cents, a quart of milk for forty-two cents, a candy bar for a penny; by today’s standards unbelievable! Going to the grocery store was a treat, and it was rarely done.

Beside the house was a steep drive- way that was great for riding wagons and home-made carts. The “street” was off limits however, and if the carts happened to go into the street, it was time-out for the rest of the day. Scooters were quite a challenge, because the slope of the drive was too great for control.

In the back yard, away from the house was the goat barn. Goats were raised for their milk. They were extremely fastidious. They didn’t like to eat food that had been touched by human hands. A platform had been made for milking, and the goats were milked twice daily. They produced rich, naturally homogenized milk that had a sweet taste, different from the other milk we were accustomed to drinking. The milk was quite good when icy cold. The homemade cottage cheese was also good.

A pen for pigs was located at an acceptable distance from the house. The odor could be offensive at times, so it of necessity must be located at the very back of the property- as far away as possible! The butchering of the animals occurred in the winter when the weather was the coldest. It was generally a two-day task with everybody in the family assisting in the preservation of the meat. Some was salted and cured, some was rubbed and sugar-cured, and some was canned. Generally the event provided enough pork for the rest of the year.

Nothing was wasted on Park Street, including scraps of cloth. There were often quilting frames set up during the winter months and several quilts were finished every year, providing cozy warmth for those fortunate enough to spend the night on Park Street.