Patricia Cramer

Written by Pat Cramer Goodin Published on Wednesday, 18 June 2008 21:46 Last updated on Monday, 20 April 2009 17:35

Patricia Ann Cramer

My Life as a Child – By Pat, June 2008

I was born on October 16, 1935 in Bellwood, Pennsylvania. I remember a little about living in Pennsylvania. I know that Daddy built the house where we lived. There was a creek behind it. I seem to think that I fell in there once, but don’t know for sure about that. Was there a little bridge across it? I don’t remember.

I guess I was a little brat. (Me??) The story goes that when Mom & Daddy left to go someplace, they had to stop at the store up by the highway to have them watch for me, because I would run after the car. I wanted to go too. I kind of remember going at times to a baby-sitter’s house once in a while, where I kicked and screamed when Mom & Daddy left. Again, I guess I wanted to go too. I also think I heard that one time I was going to run away from home when I was a little kid. Don’t know – don’t remember that.

We moved to Niagara Falls when I was about 5. When school started that year, they decided to put me in Kindergarten. I wouldn’t go, so they decided to put me in 1st grade. I went there peacefully. Did I think I had to work in a garden? I don’t know. (Although I don’t like gardening even now). I think my teacher’s name was Miss Few. If not, I don’t know where I got that name.

I remember a house in Niagara Falls, but mostly remember sitting upstairs (or I think it was upstairs, but maybe not), in the dark when there was an air raid. I think there was a siren when it started, then another one when it was over. I think somebody came around checking to make sure all lights were out. I remember a driveway at the side of the house. I don’t remember a big tree in front, but Bob says he remembers one because some bullies tied him to it once. When he got loose he said they ran away, because he was throwing everything he could find at the boys.

We were only there a year I guess, because I started going to Wilson Central School in the 2nd grade. Carol Croop and Shirley Beutel - both lived on our road, were in my class at school, and we went through the rest of the years together and graduated in 1953.

I remember driving to Pennsylvania every so often to visit both sets of grandparents. There were 5 of us kids. I wondered where we all sat in the car. Bob said 4 of us in the back seat, and one up front with Mom & Daddy. When Carol came along, then I guess 2 of us must have been up front.

I remember Uncle Jack & Uncle Bill being in the service, and Mom cutting out news articles about the war. I don’t know what happened to that scrap book. Both came home safely, but Jack had malaria off and on the rest of his life.

I remember playing “Mother, May I”, Andy/Andy Over, Hide & Seek, and other games in the front yard. We also played croquet. We played softball down at Croop’s sometimes, but I wasn’t good at that, because I was afraid I’d get hit with the ball. I did like basketball though. We had a team from East Wilson called the East Wilson Bloomer Girls. That was fun.

I remember picking tomatoes all day long in the hot sun to make spending money. I got all green – hands, shoes & everything. I hated it. Also – picked cherries, berries, strawberries and everything else – except peaches. I drew the line at that fuzz.

I remember walking to the store in the evenings and buying a small bag of red cinnamon hearts for a penny. Or sometime we got other penny candy. I think the store was called Reith’s Store, and was about a half mile down the road. Sometimes I even had enough money to buy a Dixie cup of vanilla ice-cream. That was really a treat.

I remember Cousin Ann coming to stay a few weeks every summer. We always had a great time. I guess we actually didn’t do anything different than usual, but it was nice to have her there anyway. We would walk to the store as usual. Sometimes some of the guys we knew would come along. Some were Mike & Leo, Roger Goodman & Bob Thorsby. We would talk a while and either get a ride back with them or continue our walk. We gave them different horn codes such as 1 long & 2 short beeps or something like that, so if they went by after we were home, we would know who went by. How ingenious we were!!

We would play the “bag game” some nights. At this point in my life I can see that it wasn’t a nice thing to do, but hey, we were kids! Looking at today’s kids though, I think we were pretty mild in our actions. We never knocked over out-houses either – at least I was never there if the others did it.

One of my best friends in school was Margaret (Margie) Evans. We would spend the night at each other’s houses quite often. It seems like every time she spend the night with me, Mom would make a salmon loaf, which Margie didn’t like. Later, I started checking what we were having before inviting her over.

I liked riding the school bus. I really loved our driver – Lee Ward. He was the greatest. I think he liked me – each year he would give me the job of taking the bus census. I would write down the names of everyone who got on at each stop. If we were the early run, then I would ride along on the late run to do “my job”. Lee had complete control of the bus. Kids rarely acted up, or if they did, Lee would stop the bus. You could hear a pin drop then. He would walk back to whomever he saw doing something wrong, tap him (or her) on the shoulder, and the person would walk up to the front, where he would seat the “bad” person in the front seat where he could be watched. If someone was in that seat, that person would move. Great guy!!

I worked a little - I think it was in my senior year - for an insurance company. I don’t remember the name of it, but it was my first “real office job”. I liked it – mostly typing forms. My first job after graduation was for Williams Brother’s Store. I did well there, but soon got a job with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company which was in the Bewley building (I think that was the name of the building). I think we were on the 4th floor, but don’t remember for sure. There I met Peggy Balmer, who was to become a very good friend. She lived in Lockport. We had some great times together. The job was very busy but good. I learned a lot there.

My last job in Lockport was at Norton Laboratories, where I worked in the Production Control office. It was also a neat job. I really liked it. Lots of us played euchre, so many times some of would take our lunch to work and eat while playing euchre.

Many other memories come to mind:

Bob & Gordy playing and Gordy’s arm got broken

Dot broke her arm jumping off the porch

Bud getting lock-jaw and Helen coming to stay with us. When Bud finally got home he could hardly walk

I got poison ivy every year – not fun, but one year it was so bad it was all over my body. I got a shot every night for 5 nights, but then never got it again.

Daddy eating oyster crackers with peanut butter

Regents exams at the end of 8th grade, then in my high school years. Yuk. They were horrible

Carol breaking a little window in the storm door and saying “That’s just the way I wanted it”. Jack called her “dynamite”

My boy friend Tubby – he had a nice convertible

Standing over the floor furnace in the winter and after the heat got up under by skirt (we wore skirts in those days), then going to sit down and get warm all over
Many more memories come and go, but this is enough for now.