Reflecting on Growing Up “Back in the Day”

“Back in the day”, growing up in Arlington, VA in the 1950’s and 60’s, I was fortunate enough to have parents whose priority was ME and they provided me with a wonderful childhood. They created a family structure where there were expectations and accountability. They gave me the tools and resources to make good decisions and with every decision they taught me there were consequences. Within the structure was a daily routine which was the framework for me to be successful as long as I conformed and followed the model.

Growing up in Colonial Village living there from 1954 when I was a toddler 18 months old until 1977 when I was 25 years of age. My father was the GM of Colonial Village from 1954 until he retired in 1986. It was the first garden-type apartment complex in the United States and was built with the help of one of the first FHA loans after WWII. There were 1100 units spread over almost 60 acres. The many shrubbed and treed courtyards were surrounded by red brick 2- and 3-storied colonial style architectural buildings each containing 4-12 apartments. It was truly a park-like setting always immaculately pristine, with parks, playgrounds, picnic areas, and benches strewn throughout the entire complex–it was truly an amazing place to grow up. We lived in a 2-bedroom at 1707 N Troy #380 until 1966 when we moved to the next entrance at 1701 N Troy #376 which was a much larger apartment with 1 1/2 bathrooms and a working fireplace. Most folks worked in Washington “back in the day” and commuted into the city via many arteries which Wilson Boulevard was one and it was a two-way street in those days and very congested as I recall. My father’s commute however was a bit less stressful as he merely walked down 2 flights of stairs to the rear entrance of his office once we moved to 1701. Over the years I’ve been told many times that almost everyone in Arlington County once lived in Colonial Village. The residents, as I recall, were mostly young couples with small children or retirees. Across the street on the other side of Wilson Boulevard was Olmstead Oldsmobile where my Aunt Ruth was a bookkeeper for many years. Next door was the Colonial Village Bowling Center which was a multi-level duckpin bowling alley we certainly frequented growing up. Below that was a small Giant Food Store. It’s chain number was #6 which certainly indicated its age having opened up in the late 1940’s. Mr. Buck, an elderly gentleman who always wore a hat (one for every season), had a chewed lit cigar in his mouth, and a snarl on his face managed the parking lot helping people find a space and returning shopping carts to the store–you didn’t want to get on his bad side! Way back then my dad (since my mother didn’t drive back then) shopped weekly for our groceries at the A&P and later at Safeway using the little Giant mainly for things like milk, eggs, bread, and snacks during the week. Those trips to the store became one of my chores as I grew a little older initially having to march down to Rhodes Street to cross Wilson Boulevard at the light by the People’s Drug Store for safety reasons until I gained Mom’s trust that I could finally cross mid-street. We all had our favorite cashiers and I had a daytime fave and an evening fave. During the day, I loved Louise–she always had a smile on her face and made me feel special. In the evening, I was very fond of Art and his sense of humor. I still think of Art often as by day he was an Arlington County motorcycle police officer who so sadly is one of seven Arlington officers who have lost their life in the line of duty in 1964 when his motorcycle was hit at the intersection of Stafford and Washington Boulevard by W-L High School–so, so sad! Next to the Giant was Reines RV Center then the People’s Drug Store. Mom and I frequented the People’s for the normal “this and that” often eating breakfast or lunch at the small snack counter sometimes having to wait to get a stool seat. Miss May ran the counter where the offerings were very simple as there was no grill. Eggs could only be soft-boiled with toast or an English muffin for breakfast and lunch was a cold sandwich of some type with a can of Campbell’s soup (tomato or chicken noodle) poured into a metal container along with the appropriate amount of water plugged into some contraption to be heated. The lunch highlight though was the hot dog rotisserie going round and round which produced what I thought was a great dog on a heated bun! Miss May always made us feel very welcome as did the manager, Mr. Ward.

I attended Wilson Elementary School from 2nd-6th grades and Stratford Junior High School for 7th-9th grades from 1959-1967. During the school year, M-F, my routine was to walk to school (only about 4 blocks), attend school, walk home from school, do my homework, complete any required chores, then some playtime, know dinner was served at 5:30PM “on the dot” without exception, eating dinner as a family amicably discussing the happenings of our day. After dinner, I would take my place on the rug in front of the TV. Our B&W Zenith console TV was a large piece of wooden furniture that sat fashionably in the corner of our living room. My father thought there was nothing better than the Zenith brand and he always went to George’s to purchase his TV’s. Before color TV came into existence, I remember Dad buying some silly colored film that he placed over the TV screen (held on by static electricity) thinking we would then have color TV. The only problem was the colors on the screen never meshed with anything on the screen and everyone looked like they came from outer space–that experiment only lasted for two days (LOL)! But in 1964, he did go to George’s and purchased his first color TV (Zenith of course) having it delivered in time for the World Series. That was really a big, big deal! If any of our four channels (4,5,7, and 9) needed to be changed that was my responsibility. At times, the picture would a bit fuzzy and I’d have to adjust the “Rabbit Ears” in an attempt to sustain a clearer picture. We watched WRC-TV news on channel 4 at 6PM and the Huntley Brinkley Report on NBC at 6:30PM. After the news, the routine continued with my taking a bath, PJ’s, reading until 8PM, then one hour of TV with the folks until 9PM bedtime. Mom would always be sure I was tucked in and made me say aloud my bedtime prayer. I had a radio in my room and I was able to fall asleep listening to Top 40 music on WEAM (AM) where my mother would sneak back into my room around 9:15PM as I was usually asleep by then to turn the radio off.

The summer routine still was structured, but did include quite a bit of flexibility. Certainly, the expectations always remained along with the accountability and with the added flexibility there was the addition of substantial personal responsibility. No doubt, I always looked forward to the summers with the anticipated fun I’d have with school being out and the vast number of activities which were available.

My mom, like many of your moms, was a homemaker, wearing many “hats” and wearing them well. Two of her most important roles were that of wife and mother. The summers between 3rd-4th and 4th-5th grades (1961-1962), she played the role of “tour guide” thinking it was extremely important to embrace the history of our country as we lived within sight of the nation’s capital making certain we saw and appreciated every site there was to be seen. So, the means to that end was to spend every Wednesday visiting a historic site in Washington, DC. My mom didn’t know how to drive in those days as she really didn’t need to with our only owning one family car and Dad did all the driving. Eventually, when I was 12, Mom did get her drivers license and did, sorta, learn how to drive. For those two summers, we got to where we needed to go via the Arnold Bus Line. Living in Colonial Village, our bus stop was just a half block from home on Wilson Boulevard. As I recall, the buses looked like a rectangular box, were a light tan in color, crowded, and very hot since they weren’t air conditioned, even though the windows were down, it didn’t help very much. One thing I do remember is the bus drivers were very hospitable and professionally dressed in a tan uniform wearing a black tie along with their tan hat with a black bill–the Arnold Bus Line had a “dress code” which was to be followed. Come to think of it, “dress codes” were pretty much “modus operandi” “back in the day”. We even had a school dress code which we had to strictly adhere too. Well, my mom, always showing the utmost respect for our nation’s capital, would always “dress up” which included a hat from the many she stored in her closet in their original round cardboard hat boxes. OBTW, she would dress me up as well which meant dress shorts, white dress shirt, tie, blazer, knee-high socks, and dress shoes. With Mom, too, there was always a “caveat” built-in. In this case, after we visited the “site” of the week on Wednesday morning, we’d have lunch at one of the downtown department stores (Woodies, Garfinckel’s, or Hecht’s) so she could then shop the afternoon away (the caveat), being a compulsive shopper, as I was forced to endure her compulsion for what I felt for sure lasted for days on end and then so thankful when we finally boarded the Arnold Bus Line for the hot ride home in spite of the heat.

Elementary school summer weekdays were normally spent at Wilson Elementary School where the Arlington County Recreation Department would provide counselors who coordinated a number of activities for those in attendance. Counselors were strewn throughout the County at a number of schools as a means to provide these activities. We’d spend the day and either bring a bagged lunch or head across the street to the 7/11 for a snack or two. A favorite snack for many, but one I never could embrace, was a cold RC Cola and a snack size Planters Salted Peanuts which were dropped in the soda bottle and consumed along with the soft drink (YUCK!).

Nevertheless, activities were aplenty and included board games like checkers and Carroms (a favorite), artwork, storytelling, basketball, kickball, dodge ball, 4-square, and softball where we fielded a team which would compete against other rec centers throughout the summer and lead to a tournament where a champion was crowned.

My best buds back in those elementary school days were Gary, Fred, Bob, Eddie, Jose, and a Vietnamese fella whose name has escaped me. One of our other favorite summer activities was to pack a lunch and head to Arlington National Cemetary for the day. We would just explore the grounds of the cemetery, but the highlight always were the hours upon hours we would sit and watch in “awe” the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

As I entered Junior High School, even though I grew up with a “silver spoon” in my mouth, my folks, especially my father, wanted me to understand the importance of earning what you wanted. In fact, my first job (non-paying I might add, but much more rewarding than any pay) was that of a camp counselor for four weeks during the two summers following my 7th and 8th grade years at Stratford at a camp begun by my father and the Civitan Club called Camp Tapawingo which was located in Manassas. It was a free week-long camp provided to mentally and physically handicapped children in order to provide a respite for the parents of these very special children.

I had my eyes on a bike I wanted so my father suggested during my seventh-grade year I might look into doing a paper route in order to earn the money necessary to purchase this dream bike. The bike was an English racer by Raleigh called the Hercules in a beautiful brushed-gold color. Living in Colonial Village, I was fortunate enough to be able to secure a paper route delivering the Washington Evening Star which was the afternoon paper throughout Washington. My route covered the lower half of Colonial Village which were all apartments covering both sides of Troy Street, down both sides of Key Boulevard, and all of Rhodes Street from Lee Highway to Wilson Boulevard including what was called Queen’s Lane. It was a great route of 220 daily papers and 275 Sunday papers which I delivered throughout Junior High School.

Most importantly, it gave me the means to purchase my dream English racer and extended my range of freedom; that is, as long as I conformed to the rules and didn’t attempt to “buck” the structure that was in place. With extended hours of sunlight in the summer, my curfew to be home was 6PM. I could deliver my papers and head out to see some friends for a couple of hours just as long as I was home no later than 6PM. I would seldom venture out alone and we would head to the Stratford area to hang out which was really quite a trek from Colonial Village. The trip up to Stratford was 20-25 minutes while the trip home was less than 20 minutes as it was downhill most of the way.

Another great fun-filled activity during the summer was heading off to the pool for the day. We belonged to the pool at the Iwo Jima Hotel on Route 50 and that experience has left me with many fond memories. Yes, I was into sports “back in the day” and played summer baseball for a number of years first with the Civitan Club for 9/10- and 11/12-year-olds, then Pony League for 2 years, and finally Legion Ball Post 139 after our high school season was completed at Washington-Lee High School (W-L).

Weekends during the summer were reserved for family activities. Our family “back in the day” was very nuclear and extended as well with many of our relatives living close by vs the more global family dynamic which is experienced today. My father was from Alexandria and his parents still lived there as I was growing up. Sunday afternoons meant a trip to visit the grandparents and a homemade treat crafted by my grandmother consisting of a piece of cake, pie, or my favorite–pineapple ice cream. Once a month we were invited for supper and I loved the boiled cabbage topped with a combination of stewed tomatoes and fresh white corn–um, um, good!

Other relatives on my father’s side, as I recall, was my great grandmother, three sisters to my grandmother and their husbands who would’ve been my great aunts and uncles, my father’s brother and his wife along with their two sons as my cousins along with a host of other cousins.

Relatives on my mother’s side living in Arlington included two sets of my favorite aunts and uncles and two cousins in particular. My mother was from Marion, NC and was the youngest of nine children. Her other brothers and sisters would visit us regularly and one week of our vacation each year was spent in NC while the other week of vacation during that era was spent usually at Ocean City, MD.

What are some of your favorite reflections about growing up?