Quint:
My memories of West Side Park are:
Playing in the sand boxes, sleigh riding, sailing my model sail
boat in the lake, my first baseball game on a real diamond, flying
my kites in the park, see-saws and swings, lover's lane with the
abundance of lilacs blooming in the spring, concerts in the park,
playing tackle football while getting coaching tips from officer
Strong, Ken Strong's brother, ice skating on the frozen lake, collecting
fall colored leaves for school projects.
It was a great place!
Jule Spohn:
My most important memories of West Side Park were in the winter
time bringing my sled over there and sliding down the hill toward
the lake, and in the summer time fishing in the lake. That whole
area is a disaster now. The lake is gone, most of the beautiful
trees are gone - a real disaster area. It's too bad. That whole
neighborhood was pretty good back then. I had cousins who lived
in that area.
Joan Niven:
When I went to 15th Ave. school our gym class would go over to West
Side park and play kick ball. How about the dances on Tuesday nights.
Oh I forgot about Lovers Lane. I wonder if I were to go there nowadays,
would I be able to find some of the secret spots we had there.
Kathy (Boyle) McEvoy:
I lived a block from West Side Park and also remember sleigh riding
on the hill in the winter and rolling down the hill in the summer.
The hill seemed so high in those days, but I guess everything seems
so much bigger when you are just a little kid. I remember ice skating
on the lake, playing in the sandbox and riding on the swings, seesaw
and merry-go-round. We were so lucky having these things right at
our doorstep. I remember hearing that someone with a horse and wagon
had drowned in the lake long before I was born. I wonder if that
could have been possible since there is no longer any sign of a
lake in the park. It couldn't have been very deep, even in the deepest
part. Remember the summer arts and crafts classes in the school
playgrounds. South 17th Street School had a big playground back
in the 50's. When I moved to the Vailsburg section of the city at
the age of twelve, I really missed my old neighborhood.
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