I Remember...
by Carole Sue Frye
I remember the jingle the ice cream truck
would make every week in our
neighborhood and the thrill of running
home for some change before he left.
Even my dog, Muffin, got a treat,
The lemonade stands we had every
summer , and selling homemade cup
cakes,
Jumping rope, hop scotch, hide 'n go
seek, Simon says,
Hotdogs and hamburgers 5 for $1.00 at
the Hamlet Hub or the Chicken Box, their
weekly special! The car hops that brought
out our food,
Going to the Drive In Theatres on Battley
Dairy Road and US 74 Hwy. They had
family movies, and we'd enjoy popcorn
and drinks right in the comfort of our
own car, not air conditioned that is,
I remember the fun I had swimming at
McLean's Lake in the summer, and all
the tadpoles Nancy Hicks and I would
catch and take home - I know that gave
our parents grief,
Ed Evans from Sanitary Laundry
delivering our weekly laundry right to
our house,
The dairy trucks delivering our milk,
Dr. Garrison making house calls with his
big black bag,
I remember going to the Laundromat
every Saturday for at least ½ a day,
Riding my bike to school with no fear of
anything,
The great respect we had for our teachers,
Never having a choice for lunch at school,
and knowing you better eat everything on
your plate,
Reece's Bicycle Shop, and the many bikes
that must have gotten repaired there,
When everyone knew everyone and no
one would pass you on the street without
speaking,
Going to the Hamlet Ice Plant to get ice to
make our homemade ice cream,
I remember when we never locked our
doors, and slept with our windows up in
the spring and summer,
When the "Rooster Store" as I called it
(The Colonial Store) and the Western
Auto had toys on display for Christmas,
The thrill of thumbing through the
Christmas Sears and Roebuck catalog,
especially the toy section,
Trying on clothes for school at Mary
Janes Children's store across the street
from Fairview Heights,
Going to Ms. Conner's kindergarden
when I was 4,
Bobbie socks, and the bobbie pins
women used to make pin curls in their
hair,
I remember riding the train to Cheraw,
and all the passenger trains that came
through Hamlet,
The Rocking Chair Theatre, my first job
was working there, best seats in town,
When things were closed on Sunday, and
everyone came home from Church to a
big dinner of fried chicken, biscuits,
mashed potatoes, vegetables, and good
'ole apple pie and ice cream for dessert,
When all TV's were black and white, and
we couldn't get more than 3 channels
with our rabbit ears,
The ice storm that hit in '69, and how we
spent a week or more in our home,
without having to go to school, cooking
on the fireplace and the outdoor grill,
while friends without water came by to
take showers,
45 records and LP's,
I remember when the mailman knew
everyone by name, and if the address was
wron: he delivered it to the right people
anyway,
Life was simple and wholesome back
then,
A lot like a Norman Rockwell painting,
Yes, I remember and as I do I relive it all
for a while and I smile.
by Carole Sue Frye
I remember the jingle the ice cream truck
would make every week in our
neighborhood and the thrill of running
home for some change before he left.
Even my dog, Muffin, got a treat,
The lemonade stands we had every
summer , and selling homemade cup
cakes,
Jumping rope, hop scotch, hide 'n go
seek, Simon says,
Hotdogs and hamburgers 5 for $1.00 at
the Hamlet Hub or the Chicken Box, their
weekly special! The car hops that brought
out our food,
Going to the Drive In Theatres on Battley
Dairy Road and US 74 Hwy. They had
family movies, and we'd enjoy popcorn
and drinks right in the comfort of our
own car, not air conditioned that is,
I remember the fun I had swimming at
McLean's Lake in the summer, and all
the tadpoles Nancy Hicks and I would
catch and take home - I know that gave
our parents grief,
Ed Evans from Sanitary Laundry
delivering our weekly laundry right to
our house,
The dairy trucks delivering our milk,
Dr. Garrison making house calls with his
big black bag,
I remember going to the Laundromat
every Saturday for at least ½ a day,
Riding my bike to school with no fear of
anything,
The great respect we had for our teachers,
Never having a choice for lunch at school,
and knowing you better eat everything on
your plate,
Reece's Bicycle Shop, and the many bikes
that must have gotten repaired there,
When everyone knew everyone and no
one would pass you on the street without
speaking,
Going to the Hamlet Ice Plant to get ice to
make our homemade ice cream,
I remember when we never locked our
doors, and slept with our windows up in
the spring and summer,
When the "Rooster Store" as I called it
(The Colonial Store) and the Western
Auto had toys on display for Christmas,
The thrill of thumbing through the
Christmas Sears and Roebuck catalog,
especially the toy section,
Trying on clothes for school at Mary
Janes Children's store across the street
from Fairview Heights,
Going to Ms. Conner's kindergarden
when I was 4,
Bobbie socks, and the bobbie pins
women used to make pin curls in their
hair,
I remember riding the train to Cheraw,
and all the passenger trains that came
through Hamlet,
The Rocking Chair Theatre, my first job
was working there, best seats in town,
When things were closed on Sunday, and
everyone came home from Church to a
big dinner of fried chicken, biscuits,
mashed potatoes, vegetables, and good
'ole apple pie and ice cream for dessert,
When all TV's were black and white, and
we couldn't get more than 3 channels
with our rabbit ears,
The ice storm that hit in '69, and how we
spent a week or more in our home,
without having to go to school, cooking
on the fireplace and the outdoor grill,
while friends without water came by to
take showers,
45 records and LP's,
I remember when the mailman knew
everyone by name, and if the address was
wron: he delivered it to the right people
anyway,
Life was simple and wholesome back
then,
A lot like a Norman Rockwell painting,
Yes, I remember and as I do I relive it all
for a while and I smile.
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