Personal Memories Of Boone Iowa

 In looking on the internet this morning I came across one of those photos that jogged a memory from many years ago.

Around 1950 my family lived on 4th street in Boone, Iowa. In 1956 the street had a name change to Mamie Eisenhower Ave. The reason for this was because she, his wife, and Ike came to town for a visit with her uncle. Anyway, at the time 4th street was also known as Old Highway 30 which stretched across the United States as a major highway. It is more commonly referred to as the Lincoln Highway. Living on that street as a small child was actually quite dangerous considering semi-trailer trucks were constantly passing our home which was situated about 25 feet from the curb. Interstate 80 which was constructed thirty miles south of us in the Sixties replaced 4th street with massive traffic; semi-trucks included. In the early Fifties with a U.S. population of only 150 million my street certainly saw its share of vehicles of every strip and variety.

I vaguely remember testing fate with our home/street situation. My dad always bought Studebaker's and on this particular day it was parked in the driveway. As a four year old I climbed in the front seat and pulled the emergency brake and said car rolled out onto highway 30. Evidently, God did want me to wreak havoc on society in some future form because I not only survived but I jumped out of the Stude and safely made it to the front porch. 

The reason for the inserted picture is because two houses away from us right next to Jimmy Littel's home was an open field and on the backside was a shack looking exactly like the one pictured. The resident was a former hobo who found his eternal home in said shack. The guy even had me for lunch one day. I don't recall the fare but I do know it was cooked on an open flame in a pan. One day a fire truck came screaming down 4th street directly to the owner's home and put out a blaze. Sadly, said former bum met his demise in that place. Gosh, childhood memories are so much fun. 

Maybe my next life reflection will be about the time a puppy ran in front of a steam roller. Ah--- childhood memories can be so soothing.