From our house on Morgantown Road to Adam's Corner was probably two miles, (+ -).
I remember riding my bicycle there once, stopping for a soft drink and candy bar. I went into the store and the Adams' son, (was his name David?), was at the cash register.
I asked for a Snickers and some Chuckles.
David looked straight at me and said,
"Nyuk, nyuk, snigger, snigger, snigger. That'll be 20 cents!"
And I still remember that almost 50 years later.
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GB, I just checked the weather down your way, sorry for all of that heat and sun you're faced with. Actually it's supposed to be really nice up here for the next few days.
Adam's Corner: Yes his name was David; I can't remember his older sisters name but I can sure recall her face in the yearbook, they looked a good deal alike.
We didn't move to the Valley until summer of '58', I was soon to enter the 6th grade (Miss Hicks) in the old middle building. We used to go back to the old neighborhood in Indy on the weekends because we still owned the old house (a double that we rented out) and our Aunt and Uncle and another Aunt still lived next door. Mom and Dad had moved there before any of we kids were around. It used to take 20 minutes to get from our house on Morgantown Road to the old place in Indy which was at 1800 S. Delaware St. That's just a block north of where Bluff Rd. and Meridian St. come together and about 3-4 blocks east.
As compared to today, in '58' there was just a flashing caution signal at Southport Road and the red stop signal at Smith Valley Road and 135. The rest was clear sailing, and Dad usually drove around 5o miles an hour until we hit the city limits. Of course, the city limits were still just south of old Barringer's Tavern and I remember the city limit sign just south of Southern Ave. by the cemetery.
I do remember 3-4 guys showed up in our driveway soon after we moved to the valley, they had ball gloves and bats in hand and were ready to go over to the community center to play ball. Amazing! There was actually a real ball field to play on. We had played little league on a diamond, but our practice field had always been the alley behind the house and you had to be pretty careful if you ever slid into a base (usually a mistaken step/fall that you tried to conceal as an effort to slide) because the alley was covered with gravel and mostly cinders.
One of those 'guys' was in my brothers class (year ahead of us) and his initials were D.W. The others were all in our class, and two of them I recall for sure had initials of R.G. and S.S. and I think there was a fourth, but I'm not sure who it was. Maybe I can get some help from someone on that.
I do recall that the valley "shopping center" was the furthest we normally went on Smith Valley Road (bought my first timex watch at the drug store) and used to really like to go to Jack's ? hardware store with Dad on the weekend. It was great just to look around at all of the "neat stuff". I was always amazed that he actually knew what all of those "things" were and how you used them.
Bicycles, (single speed wide tread) what a way to get around. I use to ride mine over to the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery for a summer job I had mowing the grass. We always looked forward to funerals because we had to stop EVERYTHING and be quiet and reverent until everyone had left the cemetery. And we still got paid just to stay hidden from the goings on. However, one time it really backfired. The guy with the backhoe couldn't get it started and we ended up having shovel the dirt by hand and cover up the dearly departed. After that, I was much more content just to mow the grass and forget about the 'paid time off' for the funerals.
Anyway, just a few memories of the Valley . . . . . . . What a time . . . . . . . Didn't know how lucky we really were . . . . . . What a time . . . .
dj
I feel like such a ditz! I can't for the life of me remember where Adam's corner was. The name sounds familiar but not the location. Please refresh my memory.
Ferdy
Ferdy,
Adam's Corner was on the S.E. corner of the intersection of Smith Valley Rd. and 135. It was about the only thing there when we moved to the valley. I don't remember whether the gas station was across (diagonal) from it or not or whether it came later.
dj
Southeast corner of Hwy 135 and Smith Valley Road, Ferd.
At the time I wrote about in my post it was a Standard gas station and small grocery store. I wish I could remember when it closed.
Ruel W's Philips 66 opened directly across the street, (Southwest corner) and I think there was a Sinclair station that opened catty-cornered from Adams'. As I recall the other corner eventually had a discount gas station open on it, so there was a gas station on all corners there for a while.
Help me folks. Is my memory faulty?
DJ, I rode my old single-speed, balloon-tired Schwinn from our house to Beech Grove and back twice...
Up 135 to Southport road, and from then on I cannot remember the street names, except that I ended up on 9th Street out of Beech Grove, then on to my cousins house where I spent the night before returning home. I think that ride was 28 miles each way.
How many kids would do that today?
How many kids could?
Thanks for the refresher, guys. I remember the intersection (of course), Ruel W's gas station and Mr. Bemis having the gas station on the NW corner. But, geez, I still can't remember a grocery store there. I must have a mental block about that. We moved out to the Hiatt Addition when I was five. So, if DJ can remember it I should be able to remember it.
Hope to see you all at Echo's on the 25th.
Ferdy
Barbara Adams, now Barbara Underwood, is Superintendent of the Carmel school system. Her husband, Bob Underwood, is a professor at Ball State. Barbara was in the class of 61. Her older brother David is a professor at the University of Kentucky. Bob and David both played basketball at Center Grove, and were decent players. David and former Johnson County Prosecutor Charlie Gantz formed a band, while still under age, but were able to pass themselves off as old enough to play in some rather high risk bars and clubs around town. No one in the band could actually fight but did know how to run fast when things went bad.
You know you're old when you can remember the week that you watched, from the front porch, as they changed Smith Valley Road from gravel to black top.
Okay, anyone other than me think that information is wonderful?
Thank you anon for that comment.
Can you give us a hint as to who you are?
I may be a little like you. I have a commercial with instrument rating, albeit single and multi engine land, and have flown part 135. That brings me to this question. At a function last year the Army had a helicopter demonstration team do a series of maneuvers. One helicopter at less than 1K agl did what I swear was a hammer head. Could my eyes have lied to me or can a helicopter actually do that and at such a low altitude?
Probably.
Depending on the type rotor system on the machine, they can do some pretty amazing maneuvers.
Are you a schoolmate?
That amazing video answered my question. My part 135 flying was well over thirty years ago but continued flying my own planes and during those years my best friend was altitude. I spent twelve years at CG but you folks were still puppies when I graduated.
That makes you an honorary "Vandy's Kid" anon.
I'm glad you found us... glad you took the time to comment.
I'd be interested in hearing stories of your Part 135 adventures!
My 135 flying career was short but it was hauling cargo, with occasional trips hauling people. In those days, unlike today, the auto industry sold more cars than they could make. Production lines needed parts that sometimes couldn't arrive fast enough by ground. Indiana made a lot of parts used by assembly lines across America. It got so bad that we flew charters between New Castle and Detroit for Chrysler just to save on the 5 to 6 hour road trip. The 121 carriers did their share, but more was needed. This was especially true when weather was bad and the airlines had to reduce weight and the fuel load to reach, if landing at the intended destination was not possible, the extended alternate and the 45 minute reserve requirement. Not sure about helicopters, but in fixed wing the alternate had to have a forecast above minimums before and after the ETA. When a large area had bad weather the alternate could be stretched far from the intended destination.
This was before the lower visibility and ceiling requirements that exist today with the new equipment.
Bad weather meant they called for additional charters to fill the gap.
Filling this gap, usually at night and in weather, brought out all kinds of mysterious bumps, noises, and occasionally a real problem. Those bumps and noises grew in size while over something like the Alleghenies. Flying into weather at 2 AM with few current pilot reports, usually without onboard radar, and depending on center to switch to primary to paint and make a good guess at what they were seeing filled some pre dawn summer mornings. An IFR cockpit can be very busy when the weather is rough, you're on the gauges, and they clear you for a back course approach to an airport you've never seen.
When summer's building cumulus came to an end, winter's ice began. Depending on the kind of ice, Boots could deal with it, most of the time.
Anyway, the 121 operators had huge waiting lists. They liked military pilots that had flown transports or other heavy aircraft, and there were a lot of them starting to come home from Vietnam.
With a 121 job somewhat remote, my days as a commercial pilot came to an end when I realized why you don't see a lot of old charter pilots.
When I'm flying a patient late-night, I often hear freight dogs landing at our downtown airport, knowing they fly in weather I can refuse to fly in. (We are a VFR-only program.)
I have great respect for their skills and courage, but like you, wonder how long it will be before they "push the envelope" just a little too far.
Thanks again for commenting.
Hope to meet you some day and exchange lies.
Anonymous, Interesting to hear the stories. The one - 'remember the week that you watched, from the front porch, as they changed Smith Valley Road from gravel to black top' - got me wondering. Ha - I wonder (or is that wander) all the time... I have some 2nd. cousins that lived on Smith Valley Road and one of them retired from the Air Force as a Col. I think he would have been a few years older than Barb/David Adams & Bob Underwood - but, don't know for sure. He had two brothers and lived on the south side of S.V. rd. just west of the old McCarty farm. My Dad's older sister married an Adams. Do you know who I am talking about? Just curious... Could we be related?
Sorry, I don't think we are related, I was in the Navy. Smith Valley Road was changed around 1948/49.
My mother and father felt comfortable getting me a bicycle for Christmas the prior year, hard to ride a bicycle on gravel. 1948/49 changed all that.
Anonymous,
Don't be sorry. Most of my 'real' relatives don't claim me, either..
I remember several road in and around the Valley that were gravel. Some did not get paved until the late 60s. You are correct - hard to ride a bike on gravel w/o skinning your knee.
As Greybeard has said - Welcome to Vandys Kids. Chime in any time you feel like it. We are - for the most part - a friendly bunch!
The gas station on the sw west corner was owned by a guy that lived just north of the bridge on Paddock Road on the east side. His name was Howard or Harold, can't remember which.
Since we're tripping down memory lane, I'll tell a story about the night when I cut off the entire bottom half of my "left great toe" (well that's how they described it at the hospital). I was grubby dirty, bleeding profusely when my parents cleaned me up, wrapped up my foot and tore off to the hospital.
Turned out, we didn't have any gas in the car and my dad didn't have any money. You know, this was back when people used cash for paying for stuff, not credit cards, and no one had even heard of ATM's.
We raced into the gas station, Dad filled up and then told Harold/Howard that he couldn't pay him, that we had an emergency and he would pay his as soon as possible.
H didn't blink an eye. I suppose Dad felt he just couldn't take the chance that H wouldn't give him gas when I was literally bleeding to death if he had told him beforehand.
God Bless him, wish I could remember his name.
And, of course Dad paid him as soon as he got the cash.
I was thinking of Hiatt Street and Smith Valley Road, for some strange reason. That was where Harold had his gas station.
I can't remember the name of the market before it was Hamptons (which is now across the street), but I do remember going there with my mom and be able to get the small books. I think the small ones were 19 cents and when we had more money I could sometimes get the 29 cents ones. I'm pretty sure that's where we bought the That Was the House that Jack Built which I read endlessly.
Does anyone remember Effie's on old Smith Valley Road?
Oh and of course, The Beehive.
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