Whitford Avenue, my wife Ann in her senior year Mt Pleasant Class of 56 parked her car there. Ann left in her yearbook her parking spot on Whitford Avenue. Yes, I believe Duva's is still there.
Great post bringing back many memories, thanks Ed! We didn’t have any sleds but there were a bunch of collision and car wreck shops along the stretch of Valley St from River Ave to the CocaCola Bottling Plant. We would hunt around for Studebaker Champion hoods which looked like rockets! We would turn these over and then slide down the steep hill dodging between the car wrecks below until we finally crashed!
Yet another shared memory. My first sled actually had wooden slats, very, very slow, then a speedway, much better, I longed for a flyer, never happened.
Actually as I think back my fondest memories of sledding, are when I took my young children. Never realized then what a treasure those time were.
I remember sledding behind St Vincents on Mt Pleasant Ave with my Flexible Flyer.
We would enter through Whitford Ave. I too remember going back to my house on
Home Ave. Mom would be cooking dinner and the house would smell good. It was always
warm and cozy those winter nights long ago. I would lay on the living floor propped up on a pillow, hot radiator on one side, my dog Lady on the other side and watch T.V. Channel
56 or 38 if either channel was coming in clear enough, until Dad got home from work and Mom
would announce dinner was ready. Yea, those were simple times for me in the early 70's!
Only got rid of the sled about 10 years ago, hanging on to it all those years for the nostalgia....
Ed, you're a conjurer of thoughts. Though I grew up in Denver, we had our share of snow, but living in a plains state meant the winter snow could be gone in a day or two when the winds changed. I, too, remember going to a neighborhood park to sled and have snow ball fights. Growing older it was both downhill and cross country skiing in the Rockies. Blowing my knee out in an accident ended my ski days. Experience all four seasons to the fullest mirrors our lifecycle...Winter's introspection and vulnerability, Spring's rebirth and renewal, Summer's excitement and adventure, and Fall's assessment of the past and preparation for the future. New Englanders know how to live life.
I love this, Larry. You capture the seasons beautifully. It's the reason why I love New England; the crisp change of seasons. Thanks for your comments. I'd love for you to write a guest essay for my blog one day.
OH YEH! I REMEMBER OUR FLEXIBLE FLYER. IT WAS LONG ONE AND MY BROTHER AND I HAD TO SHARE IT UNTIL WE FIGURED OUT HOW GO TOGETHER. MY BROTHER DROVE THE SLED ON HIS STOMACH AND I RODE ON HIS BACK. WE HAD ANY NUMBER OF STREETS WE COULD SLIDE DOWN ON BUT THAT MEANT TOO MANY CARS TO LOOKOUT FOR. WE HAD A MUCH BETTER PLACE TO GO. IT WAS A VACANT AREA THAT WE CALLED "THE LEDGE". WE USED TO CLIMB IT TO GET BACKTO WINDMILL STREET SCHOOL, AFTER HAVING LUNCH AT HOME (NO LUNCH ROOM AT SCHOOL THEN).THE LEDGE WAS VERY HIGH AND WITH A LOT OF PATHS LEADING UP AND DOWN.THE BOTTOM OF THE LEDGE HAD A HUGE,FLAT AREA ANDMADE A GREAT PLACE TO LAND AND SLIDE. MY MOM USED TO TELL US NOT TO CLIMB THE LEDGE.BUTWE ALL DID IT ANYWAY. THOSE WERE GREAT RIDES AND WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT GETTING COVERED WITH THE SNOW. WE WERE ALL SUCH DARE DEVILS IN THOSE DAYS. WE DID NOT HAVE CENTRAL HEAT, BUT A HUGE STOVE IN THE KITCHEN WITH A LARGE FLAT SECTION FOR PLACING FOOD IN THE OVEN THROUGH THE DOOR MY BROTHER AND I USED THAT AREA TO PUT OUR COLD FEET ON TO WARM THEM UP. MY MOM USED TO PUT POTATOES IN THE OVEN FOR US TO HAVE WHEN WE CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL. SOMETIMES THEY WERE SPECIAL SWEET POTATOES..MMMMMMMMMSO GOOD! I AM SO BLESSEDTHAT I CAN STILL REMEMBER ALL THOSE GREAT TIMES,AFTER LIVING TO 93AND SOON TO BE 94 ON FEB192026!
Sorry I’m so late to the party here Ed. Great memories! Like you and my LaSalle Academy classmate Biagio I too was saddled with an IN-FLEXIBLE Speedway. I lusted after my friends Flexible Flyers to no avail (parents “Depression”
mentalities?). In the ‘80s I became a flea market/yard sale junkie looking primarily for old banjos and mandolins. In the course of doing so over the years I have purchased four Flyers of various sizes which now adorn the walls of my mid-1850s icehouse. My compromised 85 year old bones remain reluctant to take a running start, flop down on one of these babies and take some flexible turns but I can dream can’t I? Purtroppo la vita passa in fretta….tante belle recordanze Ed ! Tom
Thanks for sharing the beautiful Monet picture, expressive poem, and fun adventures. As you conveyed; while we need to brace for adversity caused by weather patterns of a season, it is important to embrace the opportunities that nature provides. Sledding, ice skating, making snow angels or building snowmen are all happy memories of childhood winters in RI. Later in life, no school "snow days" were a time to look out and marvel at the beauty from the storm, enjoy a book with the warmth and glow of a wood burning stove, or just hang out indoors.
I am using this week in SW Florida to embrace opportunities caused by cold weather… have cancelled golf, gym and social events to just spend time at home.
My Flexible Flyer with wooden skates had originally been my father’s (born in 1913). It was higher off the ground than then sleeker more modern sleds but gave a wonderful ride down Murray’s Hill in Chartley MA. Great memories. Thanks again, Ed
Great fun. I lived in N. Providence and they would close down a section of a side street for the kids to use for sledding. It had a slight hill-nothing too dangerous!!!!
My winter memories are the best. Love your description of your wet feet and toes. I could feel that sensation as I read it. Or perhaps it was just my neuropathy!!!! Hahaha.
This beautifly captures how childhood transforms adversity into adventure. That shift from 'bracing' against winter to embracing the trudge back up the hill shows how physical effort became the currency of joy. I remmeber similar cold feet moments, and honestly the discomfort made the warmth feel earned. The sensory details here are pure nostalgia.
No, but there were (are?) alot of Conca's around. Just last week the librarian at the Sockanosset
library here in Cranston asked me if I was related to a certain Conca (I wasn't). Speaking of
gas stations, do you remember Duva's at the corner of Whitford and Mt. Pleasant? I used to
go there whenever I needed air for my bike. I think its still there
Whitford Avenue, my wife Ann in her senior year Mt Pleasant Class of 56 parked her car there. Ann left in her yearbook her parking spot on Whitford Avenue. Yes, I believe Duva's is still there.
OK, thanks. Yes, I certainly remember Duva's
They were advertising in the Italian Echo few years back. A cute place.
It's been there for at least 40 years, Eh?
Great post bringing back many memories, thanks Ed! We didn’t have any sleds but there were a bunch of collision and car wreck shops along the stretch of Valley St from River Ave to the CocaCola Bottling Plant. We would hunt around for Studebaker Champion hoods which looked like rockets! We would turn these over and then slide down the steep hill dodging between the car wrecks below until we finally crashed!
Wow, great, Jim. We never did that, but on occasion, when we dared, we used cardboard boxes. HaHa.
Yet another shared memory. My first sled actually had wooden slats, very, very slow, then a speedway, much better, I longed for a flyer, never happened.
Actually as I think back my fondest memories of sledding, are when I took my young children. Never realized then what a treasure those time were.
Wooden slats? Now that's an old sled loaded wth memories. As are those with your children. Ditto
Ed,
I remember sledding behind St Vincents on Mt Pleasant Ave with my Flexible Flyer.
We would enter through Whitford Ave. I too remember going back to my house on
Home Ave. Mom would be cooking dinner and the house would smell good. It was always
warm and cozy those winter nights long ago. I would lay on the living floor propped up on a pillow, hot radiator on one side, my dog Lady on the other side and watch T.V. Channel
56 or 38 if either channel was coming in clear enough, until Dad got home from work and Mom
would announce dinner was ready. Yea, those were simple times for me in the early 70's!
Only got rid of the sled about 10 years ago, hanging on to it all those years for the nostalgia....
Thanks for sharing your memories, Tom. We must have crossed paths often. Did you go to West?
Ed, you're a conjurer of thoughts. Though I grew up in Denver, we had our share of snow, but living in a plains state meant the winter snow could be gone in a day or two when the winds changed. I, too, remember going to a neighborhood park to sled and have snow ball fights. Growing older it was both downhill and cross country skiing in the Rockies. Blowing my knee out in an accident ended my ski days. Experience all four seasons to the fullest mirrors our lifecycle...Winter's introspection and vulnerability, Spring's rebirth and renewal, Summer's excitement and adventure, and Fall's assessment of the past and preparation for the future. New Englanders know how to live life.
I love this, Larry. You capture the seasons beautifully. It's the reason why I love New England; the crisp change of seasons. Thanks for your comments. I'd love for you to write a guest essay for my blog one day.
OH YEH! I REMEMBER OUR FLEXIBLE FLYER. IT WAS LONG ONE AND MY BROTHER AND I HAD TO SHARE IT UNTIL WE FIGURED OUT HOW GO TOGETHER. MY BROTHER DROVE THE SLED ON HIS STOMACH AND I RODE ON HIS BACK. WE HAD ANY NUMBER OF STREETS WE COULD SLIDE DOWN ON BUT THAT MEANT TOO MANY CARS TO LOOKOUT FOR. WE HAD A MUCH BETTER PLACE TO GO. IT WAS A VACANT AREA THAT WE CALLED "THE LEDGE". WE USED TO CLIMB IT TO GET BACKTO WINDMILL STREET SCHOOL, AFTER HAVING LUNCH AT HOME (NO LUNCH ROOM AT SCHOOL THEN).THE LEDGE WAS VERY HIGH AND WITH A LOT OF PATHS LEADING UP AND DOWN.THE BOTTOM OF THE LEDGE HAD A HUGE,FLAT AREA ANDMADE A GREAT PLACE TO LAND AND SLIDE. MY MOM USED TO TELL US NOT TO CLIMB THE LEDGE.BUTWE ALL DID IT ANYWAY. THOSE WERE GREAT RIDES AND WE DIDN'T THINK ABOUT GETTING COVERED WITH THE SNOW. WE WERE ALL SUCH DARE DEVILS IN THOSE DAYS. WE DID NOT HAVE CENTRAL HEAT, BUT A HUGE STOVE IN THE KITCHEN WITH A LARGE FLAT SECTION FOR PLACING FOOD IN THE OVEN THROUGH THE DOOR MY BROTHER AND I USED THAT AREA TO PUT OUR COLD FEET ON TO WARM THEM UP. MY MOM USED TO PUT POTATOES IN THE OVEN FOR US TO HAVE WHEN WE CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL. SOMETIMES THEY WERE SPECIAL SWEET POTATOES..MMMMMMMMMSO GOOD! I AM SO BLESSEDTHAT I CAN STILL REMEMBER ALL THOSE GREAT TIMES,AFTER LIVING TO 93AND SOON TO BE 94 ON FEB192026!
This is a beautiful story with wonderful memories, Natalie. Thank you for sharing it with us. Hugs.
Cento!
Sorry I’m so late to the party here Ed. Great memories! Like you and my LaSalle Academy classmate Biagio I too was saddled with an IN-FLEXIBLE Speedway. I lusted after my friends Flexible Flyers to no avail (parents “Depression”
mentalities?). In the ‘80s I became a flea market/yard sale junkie looking primarily for old banjos and mandolins. In the course of doing so over the years I have purchased four Flyers of various sizes which now adorn the walls of my mid-1850s icehouse. My compromised 85 year old bones remain reluctant to take a running start, flop down on one of these babies and take some flexible turns but I can dream can’t I? Purtroppo la vita passa in fretta….tante belle recordanze Ed ! Tom
LOVE it, Tom. I forgot about the run flop. Still collecting, Eh?
Thanks for sharing the beautiful Monet picture, expressive poem, and fun adventures. As you conveyed; while we need to brace for adversity caused by weather patterns of a season, it is important to embrace the opportunities that nature provides. Sledding, ice skating, making snow angels or building snowmen are all happy memories of childhood winters in RI. Later in life, no school "snow days" were a time to look out and marvel at the beauty from the storm, enjoy a book with the warmth and glow of a wood burning stove, or just hang out indoors.
I am using this week in SW Florida to embrace opportunities caused by cold weather… have cancelled golf, gym and social events to just spend time at home.
Thank you, Lora, for this lovely note. We need some fun things to 'brace' for these days.
Yes, indeed we do.
My Flexible Flyer with wooden skates had originally been my father’s (born in 1913). It was higher off the ground than then sleeker more modern sleds but gave a wonderful ride down Murray’s Hill in Chartley MA. Great memories. Thanks again, Ed
Thanks, Roger. Wow, I never saw one with wooden skates. Do you have a picture?
Ed, a true 'Rosebud' moment!
HaHa, hadn't thought of that in years. Thanks
Stay warm! And have a good rest of your week and keep those stories coming!
No Ed. My oldest sister graduated from Framingham High School (Mass) in 1966
and my other sister graduated from Mt Pleasant High School in 1968. They are my
oldest siblings. Two of my brothers went to West also: one from 1967 to 1969 and
another brother from 1970 to 1972. I am the youngest of 7 children
Thanks, Tom. Deep in my memory, I recall a Claudia Conca. And was there a Conca who owned a gas station?
Great fun. I lived in N. Providence and they would close down a section of a side street for the kids to use for sledding. It had a slight hill-nothing too dangerous!!!!
My winter memories are the best. Love your description of your wet feet and toes. I could feel that sensation as I read it. Or perhaps it was just my neuropathy!!!! Hahaha.
Keep posting.
Thank you, Virginia. I agree, we had good winter memories.
Great story, brings back similar memories. Davis Park was our favorite spot, occasionally Trigg's Golf Course.
Both were destinations for us also, Ed
Yup, though later than you! 1973 to1975. But I always like reading your threads....
reminds me of my youth growing up in Mt Pleasant in late 60's to late 70s.
Tom, did you have a sister who might have been in my years at West?
This beautifly captures how childhood transforms adversity into adventure. That shift from 'bracing' against winter to embracing the trudge back up the hill shows how physical effort became the currency of joy. I remmeber similar cold feet moments, and honestly the discomfort made the warmth feel earned. The sensory details here are pure nostalgia.
You have blessed me with these lovely comments; every Writer's wish; to put the reader in the scene.
Eloquent.
Thank you.