Episode 7: Remembering the Parker Street Spring
Temperatures this week in North Carolina have been hovering between 90 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit, and we are constantly seeking the cool comfort of air conditioning and a cold drink.
Back in the late forties and early fifties, summers in Youngstown, as I recall, were just as hot, and “air conditioning” was an ancient electric fan that managed to push the hot air around, giving us a false impression that we were cooling off. Windows were cracked open throughout the house, in hopes that a small breeze would help to cool things, and the shades were pulled down low, keeping our house in eerie semi-darkness. My brothers and I were constantly arguing about whose turn it was to stand in front of the oscillating fan, thus denying all others the cooling rush of air. Of course, the pushing and yelling only lasted as long as it took Mama to intervene and forbid any of us to come within yards of the fan.
At some point we would inevitably start to pester Mama for a cold drink, hoping she would make some Kool Aid, or even better, offer to open a bottle of Golden Age soda pop, in one of many delicious flavors. However, Kool-Aid (which required the addition of sugar) and soda pop were reserved for special times, or company. And Mama always came up with the same solution for our summer thirst: “Here’s two empty gallon jugs for each of you. Don’t run, walk slowly, and go to the top of the hill, to the natural water spring, have a nice long drink, and then fill the gallons with the cold water, so that we can all enjoy it.”
This natural spring—right in the middle of industrial Youngstown, Ohio—was on Parker Street Hill, in a wooded area, and the water was perfectly clear and ice cold. As a matter of fact, when I was 12 or 13, my father’s cousin Dominic came to visit, bringing with him two nieces a few years younger than me. I took the older of the two for a walk up to the spring. The little girl’s name? Marie LoBasso—now my wife of almost 60 years! And Marie remembers that I did carry an empty jug so I could bring back some spring water for my mother.
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Our special guest this week is Marie Zaza, who has been married to Marco since 1962.
