Day: February 1, 2019

I remember the tree that stood only yards away from my grandmother’s front yard when I was a child. I called it ‘the berry tree’. I’ve since learned the berries I loved to pick and eat where I stood were actually mulberries.

I’ve been wanting to do a history book relating to the section of town where my fondest memories of childhood exist. The street where I grew up is no longer considered a street. Trees on the hillside have grown where the houses use to stand. The street is currently blocked off with concrete barriers. Its name is only referenced on historical maps of the city.

I came across an online forum where people were commenting on various city streets’ history. The area where my grandmother’s house stood was mentioned. The consensus was that it was a forgotten street and houses probably never stood on the street. The comments had to be from people too young to remember or ones that didn’t research. I had to set the record straight, of course. I commented that people did live on the street. Cars actually drove up and down the street that served as a connection to a busy avenue. The huge sinkhole or “cave-in” as we called it back then, closed the street off to thru traffic. That event was the beginning of the end. However, people lived on the street on the street for another twenty-five years or so after the cave-in.

At some point, I’m going to dig through old pictures I took as a child/teenager who loved cameras. I hope to find snapshots that show the house and street that’s forgotten. Most adults that lived on the street at the time are long gone from this earth. If the pictures can’t be found, I have my memories which are still clear enough to tell the story.