World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American; World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, German
The ice truck came around in the summer with ice for everyone's ice
box. Mother would put a sign in the window for 25, 50 or 100 pounds
and they would chip off a piece and weigh it. While the driver took
the ice into the house, all the kids would run up to the back of the
truck and get loose pieces of ice. The ice man would yell and chase us
away when he came out.
During the Civil War there was an arsenal built at the top of what was
thereafter called Arsenal Hill. Weapons were stored there in the event
that the city had to be defended. Of course the buildings were gone by
the time we played there as kids, but we found the old foundations by
digging down a ways. There were a lot of old red bricks. The gully
down the other side of the hill had a creek running down it. Ray and I
would dig in the mud looking for cannon balls and one time we found
one, four to five inches in diameter. It was very heavy. We eventually
took it to the Historical Museum as a donation and I believe it is
still on display there.
Arsenal Hill (West Avenue) was a steep and dangerous hill. There were
many accidents at the bottom and near the corner of Pearl Street. We
could hear the crash of accidents from our house on Chapin Street and
the kids would all run down to see them. One time a truck load of
prunes tipped over and there were prunes everywhere. Another time a
load of butter in wooden crocks tipped over and the crocks rolled down
people's lawns. People were coming out and carrying them into their
houses, but we didn't know enough to get any. Once a car hit a tree
and the driver was thrown through the roof and landed on the sidewalk.
When we got there, he was sitting up and asked us for a cigarette.
Probably he wasn't hurt because (he looked like) he was drunk.
My grandfather, Peter O. Benson, was born September 12, 1831 and died
in 1931. Sometime in the 1920's there was a full page article and his
picture in the daily paper. It told of his attending the Ontario
County Fair for 90 consecutive years. The Fair was held in September
then so all the farm products were on display. The fairgrounds were
off Fort Hill Avenue where the present High School stands. There was a
grandstand, barns and a race track for harness racing. It was a big
day for us, as kids, as a picnic lunch was packed and we would park
the car in the center of the race track and stay at the Fair all day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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