Villa Park
Stories set here
- Karo Cans and Grampa's Free Berry PatchesAfter harvesting the black raspberry patch near the outhouse, the children wore long sleeves and followed Grampa to wild raspberry and blackberry patches in the woods. Empty Karo Syrup cans hung around their necks left both hands free for picking. One year's blackberry harvest was so large that Grampa sold berries house to house to rich people in Villa Park.
- Bike Rides and a Hideout with Ray RohrerBernard recalls his unlikely childhood friendship with Ray Rohrer, a boastful, tough-acting boy whose badness he admired. Ray claimed a fight had broken his tooth, though Bernard later learned he had fallen off his bike. Bernard speculates that Ray's domineering behavior reflected being bossed around by his older brother Dick. Ray introduced Bernard to dirty jokes, an “eight-page bible,” and profanity. On a tiring bicycle expedition through woods and along a creek, Ray led Bernard to a cardboard-floored cave hideout near Coaltown Road, where Bernard tried a strong homemade corn-silk cigarette that briefly burst into flames.
Events here
One year
A blackberry harvest large enough to sell
After an especially abundant wild blackberry harvest, Grampa sold berries house to house to rich people in Villa Park.
Family corrections
Notes sent in by the family and approved on review. They sit alongside the original record — the book's wording is never changed.
No corrections on file for this record yet.
Suggest a correction