February February 26, 2008

February 26, 2008
Tell about a favorite “hang out” place for you and your fiends in Jr. or Sr. High.

This will totally date me (which is probably what these memories are all about); When I was In Junior High, Southglenn Mall opened up. OOOH! it was cool. And there was a Record Bar, a Tie Shack (that sold T-shirts and novelty items) and Nautilus (the pinball, pacman emporium all in the Southwest wing of the mall where everyone who was anyone hung out). 1977, to 1983. Summer evenings though, it was the corner in front of our house, where the neighborhood kids gathered to play hide and seek, kick the can, etc. - Colleen (Gillis) Dobson


Summers, it was the churchyard, just west of the Presbyterian church in Woodstock, with our house around the corner, connected by a path past the raspberry bushes and the side of the church. Baseball was sometimes played there, but not by me. Hide-and-go-seek, kick the can, Red Rover, May I, Statues (whirl around and around until dizzy, stop, stay in whatever position you’re in) – Fran, what else did we play? There was one where we chanted “Thomas J Webb Coffee;” I wasn’t drinking coffee then, and don’t recall what coffee had to do with the game, if anything. Kids came from all over to play – Marilyn Young was across the street on the south – right now I can’t put faces or names on the shadows I see hugging the trunk of the pine tree, counting out loud to 100 before shouting “Ready or not, here I come!” The signal for ending was an adaptation of All Ye, All Ye ….men,” which I’ve read in scholarly books of folk lore – but Clarence Olson, known as Ole, the leader of band and orchestra from grades six to twelve was a much loved part of our childhood; my memory of the end of games was Ole, Ole, Olson, All In Free!” I was glad to hear that a school in Woodstock is named for him. - Jan (Gillis) Hansen


Hello Jan - how very interesting. I always thought I was yelling "Ollie Ollie Oxenfree!" which I assumed was a world wide hide-n-go-seek tradition, (Ollie Oxenfree could have been the first person to say hey, you hide, and I'll seek.) This is great! I was thinking today that our corner with the light pole is a good one for the neighborhood summer games. I'll have to make sure the kids are chanting some sort of tribute to Clarence Olsen.
Do you have any other shocking-but true stories about 1 potato, 2 potato, 3 potato 4 - "Not It" picking routines?