"MY BACK PAGES" the byrds

Want to feel extremely old? Spend a morning with a group of third-graders from Maple Elementary School. Ms. Valvoda invited some long time residents to be interviewed by the students about what it was like growing up in Painesville or living here for a long period.

First, these minds were eager to hear stories about their hometown.
Then we got on what is not here any longer and what was not here when I was their age.

1959… Sorry, no McDonalds, Burger King, Arby’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s.
No K-Mart, Wall Mart, Home Depot, Lowes. How did you ever survive?

Television… yes we had T.V. but it was in black and white. You mean those gray shows I see sometimes. Yes. You only had three channels! Yes. No remote control? I was the remote control in our house.

No cell phones? No, we had phone booths.

I told them about Toyland of Painesville, Grants Department Store, Kresge’s, and how going downtown to shop was a real adventure. When asked about the Mall in Mentor I told one fellow that at that time there was no mall… his look was that of an empathetic funeral director sizing me up.

That's a picture of your dad's 59 Chevy Impala. Wow, it’s big! There were no Kias, Toyotas or Nissans then? Yes, but not in the United States. We did have foreign cars… VWs Jaguars, Fiats. Mr. Cimaglio, do you think JLO really drives a Fiat? No!

No Internet, no video games computors that were the size of a football field.

By the end of the exercise, I thought maybe, they thought I came over on the Mayflower.

I left them with a thought… that someday they will be asked questions about growing up here by a future group of young students and telling them about the changes they do not even know are coming yet. Study hard, take advantage of the opportunity that you have with an education and never stop dreaming.

What's that? A milk bottle? Milk came in a glass bottle?

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On another note, I will be spending November 4th and 7th with the SRO officer at Harvey and I will report on what I see on those days. This came about with the approval of the Police Chief and Superintendent. Thanks again to both for their cooperation.