Muscatine

I'm a tad bit younger than you guys and I was raised uptown around Warehouse market (remember that place?! haha). I also remember Sandy's (Park ave. Hardees).

I've probably wrote this before, but Aldi's use to be an orchard with a farm house. When they removed it, the house still had an outhouse. The plaza use to be a big field and the mini mall across the street use to have a big barn. No McDonalds, no Wendys....etc. I remember watching a lot of stuff getting built (Cantebury inn, happy Joes, etc.) It use to be fields and that where we would fly kites/play baseball/football. I actually have pictures where it was dirt roads up there.

We use to play in mad creek and climb the fence at the citiy station and play on the sand mounds. We had a 1 mile by 1 mile radious to play. Just had to be home for supper and after dark, we had to be able to hear mom yell for us. Bb guns, snowballs, iceballs, mudballs, and bike ramps. No one ever got sued back in them days.

P.s. Private to Miss Iowa: I remember my mom talking about fun time. She said she was a good dancer and only got to go if she had her chores done and didn't get into any trouble.

Fun night on Friday nights at the YWCA. I remember those. The firestation was right across Sycamore street from the Y. Down Hershey Ave. out of town, past the Bandag plant, there was a spring on the bluff side of the road. A pipe was run under the road and the water ran into a stock tank beside a barn. People used to stop there to drink and fill water jugs to take home. They tested the water often. After it became polluted they closed it.

Kincade hollow was down near there too. A dark, deserted and lonesome road back then. Drank many a beer in that area.

HON used to store stock in the old Bowman livery building. A little Maid-Rite was around the corner on Cedar. We sometimes took our breaks there. One morning, the waitress dumped a cup of hot coffee in our boss's lap. Never saw him move so fast.

Ah, yeh, Fun Night!   Those hot sweaty summer Friday nights at the YWCA (and those hot sweaty girls!).  Sneaking a smoke out on the fire escape.   And the whole thing run by old lady McIlrath.   She was actually probably a saint to put up with all the shenanigans  and must have really liked kids.  It was the first time I ever had my arm(s) around a girl. 

I probably danced with your mom DF.  LOL.  Just kidding but truly all the girls danced with each other in the middle of the floor while the guys just stood around and watched the girls dance.  I remember one night this really handsome "older" guy finally asked  me to dance after I had given him the eye for quite some time.  I was so nervous, happy,  and giddy as I flitted out to the dance floor with him only to discover he must have had a tuna salad sandwich for dinner before he came to fun night.  As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, I fell totally out of love.  Alas.....

Keep that in mind guys, if you go out dancing.