Money’s Pond

~ crittersandcats

 

Augusta High School’s football field was known as Worl Field, named after a coach from the 1920’s. The school, built in the early 1920’s, and was located at the corner of State St. and Clark St. To find the football field, you went around the south end of the school and turned north to find the access road to the field. That road was located a few yards down the building and went downhill and to the west to reach the field.

 

The land bordering the road and football field on the north was occupied by a man named I.M. Money and his wife, both senior citizens. Mr. Money, by some called “Old Man Money,” was a nice old guy who farmed that land around him. Mrs. Money was a pleasant lady who was good to us kids. A few times, when we were cutting through their property on some expedition, she waved us to the house, and provided us with cookies.

 

The Money’s home was kind of in the middle of that adjoining land. Nearby, and not far from the road, was what we called “Money’s Pond.” I don’t remember if the pond was spring-fed, or if it was created by run-off. The pond was shallow, and its main inhabitants were crawdads. Also, this is where I learned to ice skate. Gary and Bill Casner, my neighbors on Cliff Dr., were usually with me. H.H.Robinson, the Superintendent of Schools, also a Cliff Dr. resident, was a frequent skater. Mr. Robinson, a man who enjoyed all sorts of physical activities, was a good skater and a good instructor. He taught us how to skate, how to play hockey, and how to just have a good time.

 

Gary and I had clamp-on skates. You know the kind; they had an ankle strap, and clamps on the front that were supposed to anchor to the soles of your shoes. Good luck with that! I don’t know where he got them, but Billie Bob Casner had shoe skates. Due to the shoe skates, and the fact that he was two years older than us, Bill was a much better skater.

 

Most often, we were skating in the evening after dark. We built a bonfire to provide light as well as warmth. Sometimes, there were as many as a half dozen other kids skating, but I can’t remember who they were. I just remember that we all had a good time.

Dave Thomas

March 21, 2019

 

7 thoughts on “Money’s Pond”

  5. I stumbled on your blog today because I did a search for Augusta and up you popped! My grandfather, Bill Stephenson, was raised in Augusta at 250 Clark Street, 2 blocks from the high school, where he graduated in 1928. His parents were R.W. (or Dick) and Alice Stephenson. Dick had a men’s clothing store in town and died in 1960. Did you know anything about my family? I wrote a blog post about my Grandpa a few years ago, using yearbooks I found online. Here’s the link: https://generationsofnomads.wordpress.com/2016/05/14/loving-the-yearbooks-part-i/

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  6. Hi!
    Nice to hear from you! I’m glad you found my blog! There are a lot of stories about Augusta listed in the category “Small Town.” When I was growing up, the clothing store which was located next door to the Prairie State Bank was operated by Paul and his wife. They had a son, Dick, who graduated with my class of 1954 at Augusta High School. The first suit I bought with my own money was purchased at Stephenson’s. Paul measured and fit me and had the suit tailored perfectly. I just remembered that in one of my stories that you would find in the category P5M Seaplanes I related a story of running into Dick on the island of Guam. Hope you have good luck with your searches!
    Sincerely,
    Dave Thomas

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  7. Dave,
    How fun! Dick and my dad were 1st cousins–my dad was four years older–and Uncle Paul was my grandfather Bill’s older brother. My fondest memory of Dick was when I was about 5 and he was still in the Navy (about 1962). He visited us in Baltimore (my dad, his cousin, had died the year before) and pulled out his guitar and sand me a song. I was in awe.

    I grew up on the east coast, and didn’t get to visit often, but loved getting to see Uncle Paul and Aunt Doe.

    I’ll enjoy reading more of your stories. Thanks so much for telling me about your post about seeing Dick in Guam!
    All the best,
    Kim

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