The Simple Pleasures of Summer

Well, the month of July is behind us and families will begin to wind down the summer season. Many will jump into their vehicles for a last-minute long weekend family fun time before school starts.

For me, it brings back memories of growing up in a small community in New Hampshire. Unlike here in Florida, we would be in school until the middle of June. Our local parks would open about a week or so after school closed and stay open until the week before the Labor Day holiday. School would then reopen immediately after Labor Day.

For us kids, Rolfe Park in Penacook was the center of the universe during the summer months. We would descend upon the park by 9:00 AM each morning and jump back on our bikes by 4:30 PM in the afternoon. My mom would pack our lunches each morning with a sandwich, a couple of cookies, and a piece of fruit.

We would secure it on our bike handlebars for the ten-minute ride over to the park. My favorite was bologna and cheese with French yellow mustard. She would always cut our lunch in half, for on occasion, we might trade with another kid in the park for half of their special sandwich.

If we were lucky, we might find an empty soda bottle or two that week and rush to return it to a local store for the deposit money. This would bring us a couple of pennies for our efforts. We would save up those valuable coins during the week and possibly have enough to buy a snow cone or a Popsicle when the ice cream truck would visit the park on his rounds each afternoon.

For those of us who couldn’t wait to save up enough for a treat from the truck, we might peddle our bikes from the park down to Dinah’s Penny Candy store. Their store consisted of an enclosed porch that had several large glass cases full of the most delicious candy any child or adult with a sweet tooth could want. 

By 2:00 in the afternoon you could usually find at least two to three kids standing inside the store with their fists tightly clenching three to four cents and mulling the big purchase of the day. A photographer would have a field day taking photos of kids descending down the steps from the entrance with smiles on their faces and a small brown bag in their hands.

For us, the park was the center of our universe. We had baseball ballfields, an outdoor basketball court, soccer fields, tennis courts, swings and a jungle gym to climb on. We also had two swimming pools which were donated by a family right after World War II. One was a kid’s wading pool, and another was a larger pool that we all thought was as large as the ocean as we were growing up.

The aspect of the park that made it special was the summer Recreation Leaders. Usually, college kids home for the summer, they compete for those coveted jobs. They were divided between pool guards and activity coordinators.

We certainly weren’t a rich community, but the city leaders understood the necessity to provide this type of service for the residents and their children. If we were kept busy in the parks with wholesome activities, we wouldn’t be on the streets carrying out mischief. There was a total of six parks located throughout our city, but we always thought ours was best, as we would hold friendly competition between them all throughout the summer months.

Each week, you would sign up for a favorite activity or function. Twice during the summer there might be a field trip to go to Hampton Beach or somewhere else that was special. There would be a minimal charge and transportation would be by bus with the appropriate chaperons.

We also competed against the other parks in the city in various sports, and each year there would be a city-wide swim team contest. Rolfe Park always hosted the annual affair because of the layout and size of our pool. Because I swam somewhat like a rock, I never did well in those competitions.

As we got a little older, we’d still go to the park, but several of us might go fishing for the day at the river and would most always end up on the rope swing behind the SPCA or down to the old Contoocook River Park. It was there where we would explore during the day along the riverbanks and the many trails throughout the area with our friends.

Yes, summer was a special time for us. We loved the park and the freedom our bikes would give us. They would transport us on these special adventures during those warm summer days giving us unbridled freedoms.

As we grow older, we begin to appreciate those simple times and the wonderment that came with being with our friends for the day at that special place in town. Unfortunately, a number of those friends have passed, either due to accidents, sickness or lost during battles protecting our freedoms.

The creativity of those park employees and the excitement we’d feel when the facilities opened for the summer was very special. We’d feel equally sad when the park would close towards the end of August. We would understand this marked the end of that special time each year and we’d be returning to school shortly.

As I’ve walked through Mackle Park here on the island over the years I’ve lived here, I see that same excitement in the eyes of so many children as they participate in the many activities there during this summer break. Children can be seen climbing all over Kids Cove, running through the spray park or participating in the many activities we sponsor during the summer months between Mackle Park and the local YMCA.

Let your minds wander back to simpler times, and when a friend asks you why you’re smiling so much tell them your story. Pretty soon we may have a whole island of smiles walking around, instead of frowns and disappointment or with heads buried in an electronic game or gabbing on one of those electronic leashes we call a cellphone today.