Yesterday,  Memories

dhendry@davidhendry.com,   copyright August 1998

It's Saturday morning circa 1954 and we're off to the movies at the State Theatre (now the Village Playhouse). But first, I have to earn the quarter for admission to the afternoon show. The morning cartoons will be free, compliments of the Pure Oil distributor "Big Bill Billups".

Is it going to be mow the yard, rake leaves for Mr. Fuller or get firewood for grandma? I'll do the mowing if I have to (still have an aversion to that) but the best choice is Grandma's even though we'll have to cut wood with the cross-cut saw, split it and carry it in. It's still the best deal in town.

Boy is she neat. She makes that frozen cream in the freezer with cut up mangoes and sweetened condensed milk. Besides all that, there's just this warm feeling that she really loves me. Grandpa's sitting on the porch smoking his Between the Acts cigar and looking out over the river. He's getting kinda old and doesn't say much. Just rocking in the chair with the Book on a table beside him. The walk is nice and there is a gentle breeze as we jump along the rocks on the shore of the river, catching a blow fish or two (now extinct it seems) and scratching their tummies to watch them blow up. Mullet are schoolin' and manhaden are so thick they glisten like diamonds as the trout circle them and catch a slacker here and there. Life is easy, and should be. After all, we're just kids and not supposed to worry about grownup stuff. Along the way we see the "blue lady" with the electric car. She seems so dignified with her fancy clothes. What a car! the merry go round and play along the river edge (now the parking lot). We meander past Fisher Seafood and go out on the City Dock (which burned down a few years later), stopping to look down the clear water beside every piling for sheepshead and drumfish. The boats look so exciting. What possibilities!

Then we scoot through Travis Hardware and out the back dock onto the wooden bridge. There's a big string of trout hangin' over the edge and we're fascinated at the catfish schooling around the drain from Gary Bennet's Tackle shop. They look just too much like mullet as some of us will learn in later years with our cast nets from the bridge. We're looking over the ZaraSpook and Needlefish lures thinking if we just had one of those we'd catch a big one! Neat stuff and the smell doesn't even bother us with the seaweed piling up along the shore and all the fishy odors--too much fun to even think about it.

The kids are already lined up outside the theatre, as if a mini-riot of midgets. Inside it's "air conditioned". What a relief from the sticky, hot humid day. We'll later go into the 5&dime store to look through the stuff and get the cold air too.

I've found friends here and we go into Campbell's drug store after the movie to order a Cherry Coke from the fountain or maybe Chocolate Coke. They don't seem to mind us here, and the waitress is even amused watching us chatter and play among ourselves. The old men are outside sitting on the benches talking and going into the barbershop one at a time.

Everyone knows each other or at least which family they are a part of and it's great that whether you're a grownup or just a little kid like me you can walk the streets without fear

The few blocks to downtown take a while as we go through Taylor Park and just have to climb a tree, get on of any man. Old Man Morris is coming down the street with his big Ten Gallon hat and two pearl handled six shooters. They are studded with jewels and he looks like he came straight out of Wild Bill Cody's Wild West Show. That's because he did. Crazy Davis is coming to town with his rubber tired wagon loaded with fresh produce. They call him crazy but they eat his veggies.

Along the way home the folks are playing tennis on the red clay courts (Where Barnett Bank now sits) and going in and out of the Post Office (now the Historical Building). We stop in WJ Murdock's Grocery (now Cracker's Pub) to get a piece of gum, as if we haven't had enough sugar and head back home in time to gather around the radio and listen to "The Lone Ranger". It's been a good day

As I meander along the streets of Cocoa Village today, I am reminded of the folks who walked here before. It's still filled with friendly loving people. Just the faces have changed. We've gotten folks from all over the world to come and build rockets, enjoy the beach and share with us.

Yes, it's still a good day in Cocoa Village.