by Clyde Whitaker

Who doesn’t love July! The month holds some special memories for me, so I thought I’d share a few.

One big memory in July was my dad’s birthday, July 22. Dad wasn’t a big party guy, but he did enjoy the special treats he received, not to mention all the hugs. He always smiled big when we sang “Happy Birthday.” 

Friday nights usually meant clay pigeon shooting at the Munith Road and Gun Club across the field from our house on Territorial Road. It was a constant “bang, bang,” well into the night.  Sometimes my buddy John Stanfield and I would go over and shoot off a couple of boxes of shells. It was so fun dusting those pigeons!

Friday nights in July also meant “cruising the ave” in Jackson, with our cars all polished up. We were always ready to cruise up and down Michigan Avenue, joining the many others doing the same thing.

Memories of July in the hot baking sun on the Krummrey Farm are always on my mind. You could not escape the heat coming off the black muck in waves. Walking on it ensured the bottoms of your feet felt like they were on fire, and it could get brutal.

July was often a time when my dad would take us on a vacation to escape the heat for a short respite. We usually packed up the car and headed north. We would enjoy sightseeing, then find a small motel to spend the night. We thought it was fabulous!

I remember the times my Aunt Emma and Uncle Frank Spradlin would come and visit us from McGuffy, Ohio. It was always a fun time, especially seeing and running around with our cousins. There were times, as well, that we made a trip to McGuffy to see them. I can still remember waking up at their house to the smell of bacon cooking downstairs; Aunt Em was a great cook. Later in the day, Uncle Frank’s favorite saying was, “Let’s have a little fun,” which usually meant a trip to the ice cream parlour!

We played a lot of baseball and went fishing down by the Pine Croft stream. Growing up in the country there on Territorial Road, I felt I had the world by the tail. Good neighbors and always fun stuff to do outside. Really, what more could a guy ask for!

Clyde Whitaker is a 1973 Stockbridge graduate. He and his wife, Mary, raised four children in Stockbridge, and they still reside in the Stockbridge area.

All photos provided by Clyde Whitaker.