8-8-2016
This story is about a crazy idea by kids to play and ended up in a major fire.
One summer morning in 1946, my friends and I decided to play soldier. There was a large vacant field behind the railroad property. We decided to bivouac in the field. We were having fun imitating the soldiers that we had seen on the movie screens fighting and relaxing during World War II. Mid-morning we got hungry. One of my friends went home and got some potatoes. When he came back, we told him that we did not want to eat them raw. Once again, just a few friends playing. We had to cook them.
I lived the closet, so I ran home, sunk into the house, and got the box of Ohio Blue Tip matches from the kitchen stove. Running back to the other kids, I said” I got the matches”. The rest of the day proved interesting as I describe what happened.
Now we had the potatoes and the matches. How do we cook the potatoes? Let’s dig a pit in the ground and cook the potatoes in it. The pit will contain the fire. Sounded good but as you will see, it was not a good idea to cook potatoes in a vacant lot. We dug the pit and put in a bunch of grass and twigs and them. The grass burnt down quickly and after a couple of go’s at the fire it finally caught. Next, we put the potatoes in the fire and let them bake. While the potatoes were in the fire, we played soldier. No one was watching the fire. Eventually, it started to burn the grass around the pit. We tried to put it out but the fire spread. What should we do as the fire continued to burn over a larger area? Panic set in and we were all scared, yelling at each other to put the fire out. Of course, the next thing was to run so we did not want to be there when the fire department came to put out the fire.
We decided to go up to the Square and hang out for the rest of the day. Soon the Fire Engines went by the Square and we knew that they were going to put out our fire. Next, another bunch of fire engines came from a neighboring town to help. We were really scared now as we knew that the vacant field must be a razing grass fire.
I was still in the square hanging out when my father got off work. I met him and we walked home together. My father’s intuition told him something was wrong but never said a word. As neared our home, we could see the black smoke rising from the fire. Upon arriving at home, we found out that the fire had leaped the road behind our house. The Fence that covered four properties was protected with creosote. The fire had leaped to the fence and like the fourth of July, the creosote caught fire and now four properties including our house was in danger. The firemen responded and put out the blaze right away. I am sure that the fireman found the pit and the baked potatoes that started the fire.
Nothing was said at dinned as my father and mother talked about their days work. About thirty years later I was visiting my folks and I told them that I had got the matches and was responsible for the vacant lot fire. My father smiled and said he knew I had done something wrong because that was the only day that I met him in the Square after work. My mother’s comment was OH that is why I could not fine the box of matches.
This is something that I am not proud of and have lectured my children that matches are dangerous and never to play with matches.
