Summer Fun - Memories

Nine year old Steve Murray in 1963.

I was thinking recently about the fun and carefree days of my childhood summers in the Wildwoods. Things were very different in the early 1960’s and in a lot of ways better, I believe, as far as children are concerned. Many things changed childhood as we once knew it, including adult structuring and over involvement of play time and sports, technology and a disconnect to nature and the outdoors.

I think the parents of us Baby Boomers had a whole lot of wisdom and common sense when it came to raising kids. We had all our important needs taken care of - food, clothing, education, church, parental love and of course, toys and playthings (not too many though). Our parents, unlike us, knew to live within their means.

As for our recreational activities, hobbies and sports, we were mostly on our own. Today there just seems to be too much structure to allow a child to be a kid. Too many camps, leagues, and too much parental involvement. Another big change that is a two edge sword, good and bad, is technology. Wii, computers, and video games keep kids indoors way too much, which is unnatural and unhealthy. Good for a rainy day though. (So are Books.)

We were always outdoors in the fresh air, exploring, constantly running around, having fun close to nature, pretending and imagining, competing on our own terms and even getting hurt once in a while (a good thing I think).

The late comedian, George Carlin, said “Sometimes all a kid needs to do is sit in the yard and dig a hole with a stick. Do kids today know what a stick is? Do they still make sticks?” We played mostly with simple toys, sometimes home made and very basic athletic equipment. We even played with, as George advised, sticks. An old broom stick could be many things with a little imagination. It could be a rifle and you were a soldier in battle, or a spear and you were a Spartan warrior. A stick could even be a baseball bat. A popular game we played (imported from Philly) was STICKBALL or HALFBALL. You would take an old deflated Pimple Ball and cut it in half. This served as your “baseball” and the broomstick was your “bat”. Hitting this wacky, flopping ball or trying to catch it was very difficult and a whole lot of fun.

Another game from the City was STOOP BALL. The “batter” had a rubber ball, not a bat. You would stand in front of and to the side of a high set of steps. Brick or concrete were better than wood. Foul lines were determined - a tree, fence, parked car, all worked just fine. Standing behind you were 2 “fielders”. You threw the ball as hard as you could against the “stoop” so that it would bounce back fast and high enough to get past the fielders. If it bounced once before they caught it, it was a single, two bounces a double, three a triple and four a home run. If it was caught without a bounce it was an out. Unfortunately, missed steps or a wild foul ball (automatic out) would sometimes break a window.

RUNNING BASES was my favorite game. This was a good one to play on the beach. You set up 2 bases about 50' from each other. A kid would be assigned to each base. A runner was chosen and he would stand halfway between the bases. The game would begin when one of the basemen threw the ball to the other. The object was for the runner to make it safe to either base while the ball was in motion. The basemen would try to tag the runner out before he could get to a base. When the runner was tagged out, he was put on a base and that man took his position.

Another beach game was CLAM SHELL PITCHING. This was played just like horseshoes but with clam shells instead and holes dug in the sand instead of pegs.

HIT THE BOTTLE CAP. Two players would position themselves on a sidewalk 10' apart. (2 sidewalk blocks). A bottle cap would be placed on the seam separating the 2 sidewalk blocks. The object of the game was to throw a rubber ball at the bottle cap and make it flip over on its reverse side. I remember we played until the first player reached 21 points.

There were many other games and things we played with back then - all simple, cheap and fun. Remember Tree Forts, Hide & Seek, Riding bikes around the block a hundred times, Wiffle Ball, Collecting Fire Flies and Frogs, Yo-yos, Marbles, Jack knives, King of the Hill, Dodge ball, Red Light Green Light, Tire & Rope Swings, Muckle and Baseball Card Tossing?

It’s good for the soul to visit the past once in a while. It’s 1963 and I’m nine years old and on the beach. WIBG is playing Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The ice cream man is reciting his fudgy wudgy chant. A young paperboy about my age is yelling out in a musical way “Get your Philadelphia Daily News - Daily News here!” A banner plane tempts everyone to get Zaberized. The powerful engines of the big Blue Sightseer roar as it passes by the beach. A southerly wind carries music from the Pirate Ship on Hunts Pier, 1/2 mile away - “Fifteen men on a dead mans chest ...” The smell of grilled burgers is coming from the beach stand and I’m covered from head to toe in sand and sweat, caught forever between 2nd & 3rd base.

Truth is, life is never going to get much better than this.