Thursday, September 18, 2014
Signs, Signs & A Good Fence In Iron Gate
click on photos to enlarge
Wandering around old manors and run down motels makes a person hungry. Stopped here at this little park in Iron Gate to munch on our tuna sandwiches. The boys noted right away that there is NO teeter totter in this park. Not one.
This little house sits right next to the park. What fun for kids to have a park in your backyard. We had one right down the street from us where I grew up. Our bus picked us up there. We would play on the Merry-Go-Round till the bus came. In the summer there were lots of activities held for us kids there, put on by the parks dept. We played games, made Plaster of Paris hands and let balloons go with our names and addresses attached so that when someone found our balloon they would send our address label back and let us know where it was found. I remember mine came back. Someone found it either in the desert or mountains. I can't remember but I remember my label being all dirty and a bit torn up. It was pretty exciting to hear about where it had travelled! The name of my little childhood park was Bill Beck Park in El Cajon, Ca. My favorite thing in the park was this wooden fort that was made from big logs. They had tar on them I guess because I can still smell that tar smell in my memory! But I digress! I am linking with Signs, Signs & Good Fences :)
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Love the balloon idea, it's amazing where they can end up!
ReplyDeleteWe also had a park near my childhood home. It was always fun to spend time there with friends, although it was too small for the parks dept to organize things there in the summer. I've heard now lots of teens hang out there to get drunk and use drugs. Sad the way things change.
ReplyDeletePS: We always had those balloon releases on the last day of school. I never got any of mine back. I'm sure people would not want to give out their addresses so easily these days...
DeleteIn one house my family lived in as a boy, we had a desert across the street, making an absolutely AWESOME playground--rocks, snakes, horned toads, lizards, and more. :-)
ReplyDeleteA lesson in generic signs I'd say. Tom The Backroads Traveller
ReplyDeleteThat is a strange combination of signs, government in action.
ReplyDeleteYour boys are very observant. I liked the photos and enjoyed reading about your childhood memories.
ReplyDeleteFun memories! We had a playground at the school , just down the street from my old house. Happy Thursday!
ReplyDeletewe had an all wood playground when i was a kid. now i think they do plastic ... i would think it would be HOT on the butt. ouch!! sometimes i miss those days. ha. ha!! ( :
ReplyDeleteThe playground equipment is colorful...but I like the 'old school' style myself. The 'end of state maintenance' sign and teeter-totter sign...just made me laugh. Dunno why.
ReplyDeleteFun memories. And I'm hearing that they're taking teeter totters from playgrounds. We still have one in Sand Creek, WI. I hope they don't get drift of that and have it removed. I don't recall there being many deaths from teeter totters. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think State maintenance has already ended here. Punky Doodle and The Punks live right across the street from the school which has a playground. They spend a lot of time over there. Keeps them busy since mean old Punky has taken away their internet and TV in an effort to teach them to play pretend.
ReplyDeleteI think see-saws (teeter-totters) are a thing of the past. I haven't seen one in a playground for ages and ages.
ReplyDeleteLovely memory. I agree that the teeter totters don't show up much anymore. There is probably some legal mumble jumble that has ruled them out because of some unfortunate incident, so insurance won't cover it. Cynical??
ReplyDeletei like the way the kids on the the teeter totter look like they're so happy it is the end of state maintenance. :) i'd not want to live that close to a park, but i'm not a kid any longer, either. :)
ReplyDeleteCool. I've never seen a teeter-totter sign before.
ReplyDeleteI guess this sign is a recognizable one for a playground. Your childhood sounds so happy! I was born way before you, in Washington D.C. Not a playground around anywhere, back then there were not many. Only lots of politicians. And like a merry-go-round, they will spin a LOT!
ReplyDeleteThinking back, I would do very dangerous things in order to find something to play on. I was forbidden, but didn't care. It's a wonder I didn't break my neck.
ReplyDeleteAwwww...what precious childhood memories! How lovely that you got your note back from the balloon!
ReplyDeleteThe sign is "false advertising":-)
You had me hooked first at the sound of "old manors" delightful post.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to read about your childhood memories of the park you lived near. I found that sign to be confusing. Do maintainace workers usually use teeter-totters? - Okay I confess to looking this up just now. That sign means, Children at Play. Still it would confuse kids if there wasn't a teeter-totter on the playground.
ReplyDeleteYou have some wonderful memories!
ReplyDeleteThis brings back memories for me. First, I grew up next to the park in our little town. Whenever someone came over they wanted to go to the park. Of course, I didn't want to go with them since I could go anytime I wanted. Second, I visited Lemon Grove (?) and El Cajon several summers as a child. My mother had an uncle there and we visited him and his wife several times.
ReplyDeleteI remember that a lot of the playground equipment in the primary school I attended was taken down and replaced by something that was probably deemed safer- and less fun in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting misleading sign. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll have to take a photo of our chain link for a future good fences...
I grew up in Southern California so El Cajon sounds real familiar.
Have a great weekend.
So you call that a teeter totter.. we call it a see saw :) Love the idea of the balloon, might have to just try that one of these days and see what I get back!
ReplyDeleteI'm not looking too closely at playgrounds any more, but I don't think I've seen a teeter-totter in one for a long time. Which is a shame, next to the swings, I think I like them best.
ReplyDeleteThe memories that playground hold. Nice.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I see a sign like that!
ReplyDeletewell-well confused from across the pond here - teeter-totter - never heard them called that before - we call them see-saws. What does "End State Maintenance " mean? - - is it a protest call? does another type (non-state) of maintenance begin on the other side?
ReplyDeleteit just means that beyond that point, it is no longer maintained by VDOT (Viginia Dept of Transportation)..although the road did run out right there anyway, kind of a waste of a sign lol
DeleteHi Tanya, you have an amazing blog here....discovered it today through the 'good fences' party. I am enjoying your photos. Love the old painted lady house, we fixed up and lived in one for many years, raised our kids there.
ReplyDeleteWhat sweet memories of your childhood. I loved going to playgrounds and couldn't imagine having one in my backyard.
ReplyDeleteYep. Pretty idyllic to have a park near the house. We lived out in the country back when I was a kid. There wasn't a park for miles. Not so much country now, but still no parks. Your memories are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your nostalgic post. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteLooks like that house might have a tin roof. My grandmother had one and I used to love hearing the rain hit that roof, especially at night!
ReplyDeleteLove the teeter totter sign!
ReplyDeleteFence in Iron Gate, love it!
ReplyDeletehaha i didn't even think of that!
DeleteLOL! I guess that's supposed to indicate the park. I'm sure more than one kid has been disappointed about the teeter totter!
ReplyDeleteNice photos.
ReplyDeleteIf the state is maintaining the (non-existent) see-saw, I hope they do a better job than they do on the roads LOL.
ReplyDeleteI love the wooden forts!
ReplyDelete