Growing up in Alex -- Part I

Alexandria was a great place to grow up. I had a unique perspective on the town, having lived there for the first 21 years of my life, and then moving back in 1987 as editor of the Herald. Now it's a rare occasion when I get through Alex anymore, and although not that much has changed it seems to have shrunk a little more each time I'm there.
The latest visit was during Mom's funeral in January. It used to be -- back when I lived in Canistota and Montrose and when the kids were much younger -- our free Saturday afternoons we packed up and went over to Mom's apartment where we kicked back and relaxed, and caught up on visiting with her and Roger. Our visits always ended with a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce. Yum!
Growing up in Alex, I lived just one house away from corn fields on the west side of town. It was an ideal location. We were right next door to the Sunset Motel, where sometimes we would help Len and Mary Egland watch the office or check travelers into one of the motel's six units. And we lived only a block from school. I could walk home at noon and eat with Mom and Dad, and then walk back to school.
A small town is a great place to live. My friends -- Lee Thomas, Chris Hauge, Rollie Pitts, Mike Wenande, Rod Huber and others -- would put together baseball, softball or wiffle ball games. There was a large, open field next to Mike's grandma's house on the north edge of town and that's where baseball was often played. And Rollie's back yard worked well for our wiffle ball games. The "real" ball park south across the highway and just south of Dad's elevator was a great place to explore too. I would ride my bicycle out to the ball park 30-45 minutes before practice began and sit in the dugout, listening to the wind whistle and whip the long grass.
Some will remember Alex's other softball fields. We used to play softball on the lot where St. Mary's parish center now stands. That field was bordered by large hedges along the first- and third-base lines. Another softball field -- and a popular gathering spot -- was where the apartment four-plex sits south across the street from the Methodist Church. There was a bandstand there too. That was a popular gathering spot, particularly during the week that the Methodist kids held their summer vacation bible study.
And of course if we just wanted to ride our bikes, we could set out for Lake Hanson -- two miles south of town. And if we had lots of time and felt like exploring we walked around the lake. Or sometimes we biked out to the rock quarry a half-mile east of town. Later in my high school years, both the lake and the quarry were popular destinations established by our track coaches for us to jog out to and then jog back.
The lake was a popular summer spot. I never learned to swim; it interfered with baseball practice, but Lake Hanson was (and probably still is) a popular beach area, and our teen-year "cruises" usually included a detour lap through the spillway parking area with a short side trip down to the beach and around the band shell that was there.
There is so much to remember and write about. Next time I will write about some of Alex's businesses. Back then there was Pitts' Dry Goods, and I barely recall a drug store (Rourke's?) along with Folsom's, Clancy's Discount Store, Bake's Barber Shop, the pool hall, Burlew's, RoseBud Cafe, Haines Hardware, Schmitt Meat Market, and more. And when I was growing up there was also (Jim's) Stoltz Standard Service. That's for my next blog.