Bronze Years

These years include those from my childhood in Niles and Mineral Ridge Ohio, as well as those educational ones at Niles McKinley High School, from which I graduated in 1953. They also include my undergraduate education at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio (1953-57) and my graduate work at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (1957 – 61). The reader may access, directly, any of my entries by clicking on the appropriate KEY WORD given below.

My story begins in the middle of these years, with my first employment following graduation from Niles McKinley. This is my original offering for the Legacy in Words group at Eagle’s Trace, our retirement community in Houston. My early writing is based upon a diary I began keeping in 1951. Later tales, starting in 2018, are based on then-current recollections. Items found in the sub-menu tab, NILES OHIO, relate to those years prior to my life at Washington Junior High School; those under MCKINLEY HIGH continue my pre-college education.

Some “users” may not be familiar with blog navigation. An entry may be accessed in several ways. To go specifically to one of them, click on the corresponding red, word-phrase below. If access is made through the drop-down tab, e.g. Niles Ohio under Bronze Years, scrolling will reveal a maximum of ten entries. To continue reading, click on the < Older Posts label on the bottom of the page; the next set of entries for that age will appear. To return to the previous page, click on New Posts>. If access was obtained directly through use of a key word, further navigation can be made by clicking on the key words on the bottom of the entry.

The specific memories for NILES OHIO include:

THE GREEN FOOTSTOOL … PIMPLE ON HIS CHEST …  DANCING PINK ELEPHANTS  …  OPERETTAS AND GOOD SPRITES …  KNICKERBOCKERS … DEMOTION … ELEMENTARY PARTICLES … BATTLE OF THE BABY DOLL …  PLAYGROUND RULES … NOT MISTER ROGERS’ … LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION …   HOME DELIVERY … WAR EFFORTS … SOLDIERS AND SAILORS … WEIDA GIRLS … COUSINS BY THE DOZENS …WHAT’S IN A NAME …  PEDDLING UP, NO PEDDLING DOWN …  LIFE UP THE HILL …THE MUSIC ROOM …THE FARM …  LIFE WITH DUKE & BOOTS … COUNTRY ROADS … RAMS & DRAGONS…               

The specific memories for MCKINLEY HIGH include:

BACK TO OLD NEIGHBORHOOD … JUNIOR HIGH BEGINNINGS … YEAR OF THE WISE FOOL …NOTHING HAPPENED TODAY …BANK NITE … SIXTEENTH SUMMER …HOMETOWN… MT CARMEL & ST STEPHEN … MY YEARS IN THE NFL … FRENEMY TIME … SOUND & SIGHT OF MODERN TECH … HOUSE CLEANING… JUNIOR WISHES … “BUT YOU DON’T LOOK ITALIAN” … SENIOR YEAR STUDIES … END OF THE YEAR 1952 … MORNING MUSIC FIASCO … IT’S THE PRINCIPAL … SOME SENIOR YEAR EVENTS … NFL COMPETITION AND OHIO STATE … 18TH BIRTHDAY AND GRADUATION DAYS … VALEDICTORY SPEECH … TRIBUTE TO MISS GALSTER …WESTERN AUTO … A FEW OTHER VIEWS …SENIOR MID-YEAR REFELECTIONS … THE LAND OF HE … …

The specific memories for KENT STATE UNIVERSITY include:

LIFE LIVED AT KSU … ACADEMIC LIFE AT KSU … SOCIAL LIFE AT KSU … RELIGIOUS LIFE AT KSU … CARL OGLESBY … EARLY TRANSITIONS … SMOKERS … BECOMING A PLEDGE … PLEDGE BANQUET … PLEDGE KIDNAPING … LONG SUMMONS … HELL WEEK BEGINS … LET THE GAMES BEGIN … HELL NIGHT … BROTHERHOOD GLORIOUS … DORM BATTLES … SPRING EVENTS FOR HAVING FUN … MY 20TH BIRTHDAY … A COVERED DESK … SUMMER, WHEN THE LIVING IS EASY … FALL QUARTER – JUNIOR YEAR BEGINS … TONY VINCIGUERRA … THE MACEDONIANS … REBELLION … LIVING IN KENT … NEW YORK CITY WEEKEND … NEW YORK CITY – SNOWY SHOWS … WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN MEMORIES … CHRISTMAS 1956 … FIRST DATE … NEW YORK PINNING … FINAL QUARTER … PICNIC ON THE BEACH … SUMMERTIME, WHEN THE LIVING WAS NOT EASY … KSU: FOREVER BRIGHTER

The specific memories for CORNELL UNIVERSITY include:

HOUSING HUNT IN ITHACA … FIRST DAYS AT CORNELL … CORNELL COMEDY …A FORTNIGHT AT CORNELL … CORNELL SNIPPETS … THE ENGAGEMENT… THE WEDDING … THE HONEYMOON … FIRST APARTMENTS … LEFT TURNS … FALLING VOLKSWAGEN … MONEY AND MOVES … DEB’S BIRTH AND OUR EARLY YEARS TOGETHER … PH.D. IN BIOCHEMISTRY … CORNELL UNIVERSITY

This completes the “Bronze Years.” Next: the “Silver Years” (1961 – 1970) at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, NH; Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR; and The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.