Keeping Busy At Mauthe Park

Mauthe Park in Struthers, Ohio was dedicated in the early 60's. A large park by small-city standards, Mauthe filled a niche in the west end of the city for a recreation area. Little League Baseball fields were created and the park became the focal point of Summer activity, sun up to sun down.

A large playground with the usual assortment of equipment was available. Teeter-todders, a Jungle Gym (better known as Monkey Bars), a Merry-Go-Round, and swings that were suspended from sixteen foot poles kept all the kids busy trying them all.

The city version of Horse Shoes, Ringers also was played there. The Ringers game for the uniformed, was similar to tossing horse shoes except large washers were used and thrown towards a five inch piece of pipe that was buried to ground level. I remember getting many a bruised shin bone from the washers bouncing off the pipe and banging into your leg. Many a boy derived extra pleasure in beating an opponent and causing a few bruises to their shins in the process.

During Struthers' good economic years when the steel mills and industry was going strong, the Parks and Recreation Department hired playground supervisors and held craft and activity classes. I'm sure there are still some Popsicle houses, plaster crafts, and vinyl braided key chains laying around some one's basement. I remember my dad using a key chain I made him well into his Golden Years.

The City Fathers acquired a retired fighter jet and mounted it on large concrete pilings in the park. Many a boy spent countless hours sitting in the cockpit pretending to shoot down enemy aircraft. Unfortunately, the jet fell victim to senseless vandalism and it had to be removed after a couple of years. I never did or never will understand the mentality of kids to destroy things for no good reason. I guess our high school principal was right when he said it the two percent that ruin it for everyone else.

Back in the 60's, I encountered one of my life's biggest disappointments at Mauthe's Baseball practice field. I was "cut" from the Little League team I tried out for, The Fifth Street Plaza Cardinals. I cried all the way on my bike ride home. It was tough to take as an eight year old. My father consoled me and immediately took me to the batting cages at Riley's Fun Spot to begin working on making the team next year. It paid off. I made the teams I tried out for every year after that. No one gets left off the roster in baseball these days. I can see both sides of it, but in my case, I thinking it created ambition in me I didn't know I had. Learning to live with rejection builds character, too. There was no coddling, just perseverance taught by our parents.

A new municipal swimming pool was built at Mauthe Park in the 70's. a rather non-descript Z-shaped pool with a nice size bath house. A lot of children learned to swim there with morning lessons and cooled off on those sweltering Summer days. Unfortunately, The pool was permanently closed when it developed large cracks in it and loss of water. Investigation revealed that the pool was built over abandoned coal mines and the ground had collapsed beneath it. I don't know if anyone took the blame for that mistake, but the kids of Struthers are now left with running through their sprinkler in the back yard.

All the neighborhood city parks have been closed. Economic factors and population shift is to blame. I'm so disappointed for the area youth. I spent many hours of my formative years in the city parks and it helped keep me out of mischief I'm sure I would have gotten in to if left to my own entertainment. The Mill Creek Park Commission of Youngstown took over ownership and maintenance of Yellow Creek Park which is the last vestige of nature left in my home town. I hope that the citizens of Struthers continue to use and appreciate the beauty of what's left in a once proud, thriving city.

My Special Education

Funny how kids get Pigeon-Holed into group classifications in high school. Just about everyone was a member of one Click or another. Let's see how many I can remember: The Jocks, Hoods, Motorheads, Preppies, The A/V Boys, Special Ed. Kids, and The Future Teachers. I guess I belonged to a few of the groups at different times, depending on the events in my life.

When my athletic endeavors ended after my Freshman year due to permanent injuries, I drifted between groups for a while. Never really comfortable with any group initially, I was used to The Locker Room Mentality. You know, loud and boisterous, snapping towels at each other and making fun of other boy's misgivings in The Shower Room. Swearing wasn't optional, it was mandatory to fit in.

Fortunately for me, I befriended The Special Education teacher, who happened to be my Freshman Track Coach. He asked me to help out in his class instead of going to any Study Halls. All I did in Study Hall was play Table Football with a triangle made out of notebook paper anyhow. Little did I know, the next three years would change my life. This teacher and those kids had a profound effect on me.

To say I was energetic in high school is like saying Speedy Gonzales jogs down the road. I was downright Hyper, OK? Always looking for something to do and always asking the Special ed. Teacher for my next task. He finally became exasperated with me and said," Look, I brought you in here because I trust you. You can do whatever you want, within reason, if it benefits these students or the welfare of this class. If you bend the rules sometimes to get things done, don't worry about it. I'll back you up." That was Music To My Ears! An Adult, let alone a Teacher, completely trusting me! I promised him I would never let him down.

One thing led to another and we discussed the idea of taking the kids to Disney World, since most had never left the confines of The Mahoning Valley. After months of planning and fund-raising, four cars pulling tent trailers, left Struthers for two weeks in Florida, including two days at The Magic Kingdom. What an amazing trip it was with the kids being on their best behavior and we all had a Blast!

In retrospect, I learned a lot more in Special Education Class than the students. For the first time in my life, I felt proud of myself. I gained the respect of others and truly felt the warmth of volunteering to help others. More than once, I jacked up a kid in school for making fun of a Special Ed. Kid, telling them those kids were my friends. Hmmm...guess I wasn't the Hardened Bad Ass I thought I was.

What's A Boy To Do?

To this day, my family teases me about my incredible memory of my early years growing up in The Rust Belt Suburbia of Youngstown. Don't ask me what I had for dinner last night, but I remember a rat running across Shady Run Rd. when I was 4 years old. My family uses this example to explain how incredibly weird I am when it comes to recollection.

I grew up in Struthers, a block from the high school, 3 blocks from the elementary school, and 6 blocks from two great city parks, Fifth St.and Yellow Creek. These areas were pretty much my boundaries as a pre-schooler. Can you imagine a little kid traveling that far today, let alone out of a parent's sight?

Both my parents worked. Mom, all day until 5 P.M. and Dad was gone from 7 P.M. until 4 A.M., often not waking until Noon. My two older sisters were either at school or with friends elsewhere. I was usually on my own most of the day. that's where boredom often over took me. As a pre-schooler, 1 or 2 years difference is quite a deal. Younger kids' moms didn't want a corrupt 5 year old playing with Precious and older kids didn't want a Brat hangin' with them.

As a 5 year old, I went into The Bank one day with my Dad. Must have been pay day at the Steel Mills, the lines snaked to the door. Pop grabbed me by the shoulder and stood me in front of a support pillar saying his famous line,"Move and you're Dead." I dutifully stood at rapt attention, looking straight ahead. After a few minutes, a man walked by, stopped in front of me and said," You Poor Boy, how sad that you're Blind at such a young age." He then pressed a dime into my hand and left. Apparently, he mistook my staring off into space day dreaming as someone who was blind and not focusing on anything! Eureka! I think I was on to something! Money!

I couldn't wait to get home! I immediately ran next door to 4 year old Mary's house. I about dragged her down the street telling her what happened at the bank and how we can make a lot of money. All she had to do was act as my guide person and we would go door-to-door asking for money for me, since I was Blind. Brillant, eh? Of course, I promised Mary a 50/50 split.(yeah, right.)

We put our plan into action a few blocks away. Even a 5 year old knows you don't pull off a scam in your own neighborhood! We went to the first two or three houses and pulled it off without a hitch! Woo hoo! Money for penny candy and Freeze Pops at Papalia's Corner Grocery! Then the Jig was up. At about our fifth house, a lady said she was sorry she didn't have any money, but she would ask her Son for some change. As luck would have it, her Son was a classmate of my Sister. "I know him, Mom. He's not Blind!", he said upon coming to the door. That's all I needed to hear. I was yanking on Mary's arm as we High- Tailed it down the street to the safety of our neighborhood. My Crime Spree was over and I prayed I'd never do something like that again if my parents didn't find out. They never knew and I lead my life 'On the Straight and Narrow".