Swinging High

A few days ago I saw on social media an old swing set. Someone ask if we remember them and I certainly do.

The swing sets I grew up on were two of them. One of them was at my elementary school and the other was at the city park.

The one at the park was in the same area as our little league baseball team had our home games. It was right next to where the seats were to watch the ball games. Now the park has moved the swing set. Actually it is a new set the old one has been gone for a while.

The swing set at school was next to where the teachers parked their cars which wasn’t too far away from the school building. The swing set is no longer there because the school is no longer there as well. I can’t remember how many years it has been now but the school district built a new school at a different location. Where the school was is now city hall including the police station.

I still have good memories of the school. When I went to the school it was brand new. It was opened when I started in first grade. My older sister Barb went to another school. At the time it was the only elementary school within the city limits. The other schools were outside the city limits.  Goodman Junior High where I went later was in the school limits however Peninsula High School where I graduated was in nearby Purdy.

What I remember most about the swing set at the park was seeing how high I could go without falling off. I was amazed by some older kids who could go really high and not fall off. I know later on when I got bigger I was able to go higher but I am not sure whether I did as much as those kids did. Usually I spent the time on the swing when we were at the park for a picnic. I didn’t do much on them before a ball game.

The one memory I really remember quite well on the swing at the elementary school our dad left my brother Jack and I off on his way to work. He did that often however this day was different. This day while we were on swings an earthquake hit. The largest one we have had for some time. Most of the other kids were on the school bus or still at home. Jack and I were the only kids at school. In fact not many teachers had come either yet. When the earthquake hit my teacher had just arrived. She was bringing things in for our popcorn and candy sale. This was to raise money for our trip to the Woodland Park Zoo up in Seattle. The next year was when we took the trip by train. It was the first time on the train for me and I never was another one until I took a trip to Europe as an adult. What I remember that day of the earthquake the doors of the school started swinging open and I went to help my teacher the best I could to get everything for the sale indoors. It was one of those memories you always remember even if not all the details.

I really enjoyed going on the swing sets. There is so much fun to do so and laugh a lot at the same time. I am sure most everyone has a memory of being on a swing set. Laughter is always good medicine.