Growing Up in Circleville, Ohio in the 1960s                            

This is the house I grew up

I grew up in a small town in Ohio with a population of 10,000. Circleville is located 23 miles south  of Columbus, Ohio and I think the population hasn't grown much above 13,000 in 39 years since I left. It is the where the annual Pumpkin Show is held, which is the largest street carnival in the state perhaps the U.S.  I am proud of the town where I grew up where I lived there for over 21 years of my life.  Those 21 years were probably the most memorable years of my life and I often reflect back to that time.  I am retired and now live now in the Dallas, Texas area but I do miss the old home town but certainly not the cold winters.

 Ted Lewis was also born in Circleville and unlike some other celebrities, he was proud of his small town roots as I am of mine. He was famous for his top hat and his clarinet and singing the song "Me and My Shadow" during the vaudeville days.   He never missed an opportunity while on stage or in a movie to plug Circleville, Ohio into his act or movie. So even though I am not famous like Ted Lewis, I think it would be appropriate here to mention my roots. I graduated from Circleville High School in 1966. Here is my picture as senior from Circleville High School and of the high school I attended.  Of course it is no longer the high school but the middle school now.

We always found a way to keep ourselves entertained in our little environment of Town Street, Circleville, Ohio. Our town was small but as many small towns, Circleville had its share of memorable characters and ideal hangouts. I recall that we had our own Barney Fife type of police officer. I remember his name but I will not divulge it for the sake of his family and his memory.  I think all small towns had their own Barney Fife or at least could relate to somebody like that.

Growing up in a small town in the 50s and 60s had its advantages which may or may not be evident in many small communities today. As already mentioned I live around Dallas, Texas and have lived here now for 13 years.  I know my neighbor on my left and right and across the street. That is it. While growing up in Circleville we knew everybody on the street where we lived.  The families knew the kids and kind of watched out for us and even snitched to our parents if we weren't in line.   What is so different today then yesterday? I don't have the answer.  I just know most people seem so preoccupied with their own lives to care about anybody else that isn't family. In the 60s, families only needed one income to make ends meet. (Click here to check out the economy and 

I recall the games we made up and perfected as we grew up in those fun years.  One that comes to mind is foil ball.  I know what you are thinking "what the heck is foil ball?"  It is a game patterned around baseball.  The ball is actually a tightly rolled ball of aluminum foil.  The teams were one man teams.  The bat was a small wooden one, the souvenir type about 18-24 inches long. I know you have seen them.  The ball is pitched from about 15 feet away and thrown as hard as you can.  You have three outs.  A strike is an out and a foul ball is a strike of course.  A hit ball is a run.  Very difficult to hit a pitch.  Most games were low scoring.  We started having tournaments with all our friends around the neighborhood. We played this game well into our teens.  My friend Ron's mother would always go berserk because she supplied the foil.  The foil ball had to be replaced quite often as it became battered up.  When she wouldn't supply us anymore, we would rip it off her planters she had wrapped in foil. Of course Ron ended up in the doghouse over that.

Then there were our wiffle ball games. Again these were one or two person teams played similar to foil ball but the distance you hit the ball determined of what kind of hit it was (i.e. single, double, triple or homerun). We had teams and tournaments.  Since my home had a driveway with a large street light, my home field games were under the lights. What imagination we had then! Today kids are so involved in video games and other things with their friends that does not include getting out moving around and getting the heart rate up.  Here in the neighborhood where I live now,  I seldom see pickup games of baseball, football or basketball as we always had.  This may explain the obesity in our children of today.

Reminiscing back to the 60s I will always remember a man by the name of Bert Mulhberger.  Looking back and thinking about those days I think he may have been homeless or stayed with relatives or acquaintances.  Back then you never even considered anybody being homeless, although they probably existed. What was strange about this guy is that his old beat-up black 1949 Pontiac was loaded down with clothes and sports equipment.  Every kid who played sandlot sports knew Bert.  He would make his rounds to different parks and locations to get a pickup game of whatever sport was in season at that time.  He just played with the kids.  This may be scary by today's standards but there was nothing pedophile about Bert and I never heard anything bad about him except he could use a bath now and then.  He was very good at playing these sports and was he so quick for a man his age.

 We had an old canning factory in my town and he would work there during the summer season but always found the time to play.  I wonder what happened to him? I am sure he has passed away by now. Perhaps every small community had its own Bert, but looking back and thinking how insignificant of a person he appeared, he played a large part in some young boys' lives. I think he played a large part in mine also.

I was just recently thinking of my childhood friend Ron, as I quite often do.  We grew up together from young boys to young men. I was at his home more than mine and his parents were like second parents to me.  I graduated in 1966 and he in 1967.  We were always close. He went into the Navy and I chose the Army. I made the United States Army my career and retired in 1994. He continues to work today and lives in a community around Columbus.

As we entered adulthood we went our separate ways.  Both of us got married and started families. We communicated for awhile and  now our contact is nearly non-existent.  I try to make it a point to call or see him when I go home to Ohio. It seems like friends we make today very seldom matches the friendships we developed when we were kids. Although these friendships fade like an old photo, no friends I have today compare to those I had when I was growing up. Gee I miss the 60s, the friendships, the laugher and crazy fun. Who doesn't?

Check out another fond memory by clicking here.

Read about my Jade East adventure.

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