Hooper? Say What?

That's right--Hooper. Basically, Hooper is a sophisticated game of tag played in usually in the warmer months. Like most games, there are some rules and when I ran into Darryl, a childhood friend, he gave me the lowdown on how the game was played. This is his narrative.

"The game usually involved 10 or more participants; I've seen 20 at times. The more, the merrier! Two of those participants were needed to get the game started - one being the "spinner", the other the "chucker." There were sometimes loud and contentious (but brief) debates about who would get to be spinner or chucker. I cannot remember why these positions were held in such esteem. The participants would stand in a circle, legs slightly spread, with the shoes of each participant touching those next to him/her so there was an unbroken circle. Prior to gathering in a circle, a stick, usually a small tree branch was found and the bark picked off of one end to the be "point". Here's where the spinner's job started and the game got fun!

"Standing as one of the participants in the circle, the spinner would spin/toss the stick into the middle of the circle and the "point" would end up pointing either to someone's foot (a "shoe") or directly between their legs (a "through"). If a participant receive 2 "throughs" or 3 "shoes", they were considered "it". More about that in a sec...

"Depending on the number of players, the spinning part could take a bit of time, but this was fun too. Because of the randomness of the spin and the group's judgment as to whose shoe the stick might actually be pointing to, there was often cause for the spinner to get down on hands and knees and draw and invisible line in the grass from the stick to the shoe to accurately determine who had gotten a "shoe". And then there was keeping track of how many "shoes" and "throughs" everyone had. More spirited debates, more fun!

"Eventually after numerous spins, throughs, shoes, etc., someone would be deemed "it". At this point, the boundaries of the game were briefly re-iterated; the Community Center and the entire block around it were the boundaries. The was bounded by Sycamore Avenue, Willow Avenue, B-D Street and Graham Lane. Participants were not supposed to leave this block during the game. You could run, you could find a hiding place (Mrs. Manley's tree for me, when she did not see you), as long as you remained on the block.

"This is where the "chucker's" job came in. With all participants still in the area where the circle was formed (including the "it" person), the stick was handed to the "chucker" whose job it was to "chuck" the stick as far away as possible, giving all participants a head start to get away from the person who was "it". No one could run until that stick was tossed. Once tossed, all were free to run. When the "it" person retrieved the stick and broke it in half, the game was officially "on" and they were free to try and tag/capture other players. Fun facts" depending on who was "it", some chuckers through it amusing to feign throwing the stick and simply drop it in the midst of the group where the person who was "it" could grab it quickly and tag someone before the slower runners in the group dispersed. If you were a fast-running chucker, this was not an issue but to slower participants, this usually meant they were caught early.

"OK, so the game has started, kids are running and hiding all over the place. Once the person who was "it" tags someone, they are considered "it" also and their job is to assist in catching everyone else. The more people who were caught, the more difficult it became to remain untagged since that group outnumbered those uncaught. With the game spread out over the Center grounds and sometimes throughout the block, participants could not always tell who was "caught" and who was not. So your friend walking up to you with a smile might deceive you with "c'mon lets hide over here" then tag you when you got close. Once it got down to 2-3 people left uncaught, the "caught" folks would usually devise a way to the remaining players. Eventually, the group would determine who was left and there would be the winner!

"Other facts:
1. You did not want a Christopher to be "it", particularly Calvin. Extremely fast runner with endurance who would run you down because you would tire long before he did.

2. Some hiding places were good only once or twice. Mrs. Manley's tree was a good one until someone saw me climbing down after I'd won. In subsequent Hooper games, it became one of the 1st places people looked.

3. Mr. Berry's garage (when open) was a good spot!"

Wildlife in La Mott

A few days ago, I looked at the back door in the evening to see an opossum looking for food. The floodlight was on so I got a good look at this invader. I don't think it was an adult as it seemed a bit smaller than those I've been before. Actually, most of the opossums I've seen in the past were paws up on the side of the road and I don't think they were faking it.

Anyhoo, I thought this creature was pretty cute although many 'possums lean towards the not so cute side. The creature navigated the yard a bit before disappearing from my sight. Later, I look out again to see if the 'possum might have reappeared and here I am looking at a skunk's hindquarters! I watched it only for a moment before closing the door.

A day later, I was chatting with a neighbor and we talked about the creatures that we've seen in and around La Mott including chipmunks, pheasants, foxes, a small herd of deer including a buck, raccoons and groundhogs. As we've seen the various forms of wildlife, they each seemed to move as if they owned the neighborhood and who's to say that they don't. Then again, whose going to argue with a family of skunks walking across the community center's grounds or along Graham Lane as if they are on their way to some important destination?

There are times when the animals aren't moving freely in the 'hood. One early Sunday morning I was walking around Latham Park, the former location of Lucretia Mott's home Roadside. A small deer was stuck between two iron pickets. It had rubbed its hind part sides raw to the point where you could see flesh and blood. Two police officers responded to a neighbors call as the animal control officer wasn't on duty. One officer climbed the fence, went over to where the deer was stuck and separated the pickets. Don't know how much strength he had to exert since we're talking about a wrought iron fence here, but the deer was released, ran across Willow Avenue and scampered away.

Ruth's Grille and LaMott Ice and Coal

Making the decision to study local history seems to be full of more questions than answers. In the case of La Mott or LaMott (spacing apparently is everything), without those who have gone before me I am clueless. There is so much that was going on in the village at one time or another and I rely on the memories of others to assist me in my search for information. The challenge is finding someone who was alive "back in the day" and whether or not any photos or documentation exist.

In a program for Salem Baptist Church's fashion show hold Wednesday Evening, November 5, 1952, I see advertisements for Ruth's Grille and for LaMott Ice and Coal. The photos show the building where the Grille and Coal shop were once located. Looking at the picture above you have what is simply a home to a family in 2010. Looking at the side of the building is the outline of a staircase that has since been removed. My objective is to find someone who purchased a sandwich, ice cream or coal for their furnace from this address to fill in some of the details.

One thing that does occur to me is who takes photos of places like this? When I visit my old stomping grounds of Washington, DC or Horsham, England, I am aware of the historical significance of the buildings that my friend is standing in front of as I take the picture. But how historical is the local coal shop or grocery store?

Think about it, sometimes what is in the background of a photo can be later found to have as much historical significance as what is in the foreground of that same photo. For example, I read a biography about Teddy Roosevelt a few years ago. In the book's center is a section with personal and professional photographs. You can see one photo of President Lincoln's funeral procession as it passed through New York City in 1865. In the background is a picture of Teddy Roosevelt and his brother hanging out of a window, looking towards the procession. The photo centered on the casket, the dignitaries and the military and yet a future president was also represented.

I'm sure there are photos out there with the old post office or Mr. McConnell's grocery or my great-uncle's print shop in the background of a family snapshot or something similar. The question remains will I find the oral history of a place as well as a photo from the past?

A Stone in the Pavement

I'm sure each neighborhood has a few elements surrounded in mystery.

In order to make my blog a bit more interesting, I thought I'd walk around the neighborhood taking photos of this and that to illustrate my thoughts and others' stories. I wanted to take a few photos of the historical marker that indicates the entrance to what was once Camp William Penn, so I walked down Sycamore Avenue between Cheltenham Avenue and Willow Avenue looking for photo opportunities.

After taking a few photos, I noticed this marble stone in the pavement. I'm not sure that I ever noticed it before and even what made me pay attention to it at all. The stone looks like a little memorial placed in the cement perhaps even a century ago. I hope someone in the neighbohood has some background information about it. We shall see.

Have you recently noticed things in your neighborhood that you may have missed before?

Still newsworthy

In the Sunday edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 29, 2010, a journalist wrote an article on the anniversary of women's suffrage. Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) is mentioned in the article as her work pertained to the women's suffrage movement. I notice that she must still be considered revelant as I'll see her mentioned in today's magazines and textbooks. Wikipedia.com is a good starting place if you want to learn more about this amazing woman.

I see Lucretia Mott as a person who was way ahead of her time. I've read articles about her and one biography and I wonder how many other women during her lifetime gave speeches and traveled as much as she did? She also had the support of her husband which would have been critical at the time.

I think Mrs. Mott must have been something of an enigma in the 1800's. Several years ago, I looked up her details in the 1860 U.S. Census and noted that the space next to her name listing occupation was blank. Many women at the time of that census were "keeping house" and men were farm laborers, merchants, or bricklayers. I've wondered if the census taker had no idea what to write and so he didn't write anything. On the other hand, it's not like there was enough space to write abolitionist, social reformer and women's suffragist.

Due to her life's work she is recognized in having a village named after her (La Mott) and marker honoring her memory here in Pennsylvania.

Ellwood Ivins Tube Works Company

In the 1920 U.S. Census, I noted that several people in La Mott, including members of the Fields family, worked at a place called the "Tube Works." A couple of years before his death, I spoke with Mr. Fields about this business as I thought he would be able to give me some insight as to what this company was all about. The complete name of the company was the Ellwood Ivins Tube Works. It was built in 1993 and first put in operation in 1894 according to the Directory of Iron Steel Works of the United States (1939).

Mr. Fields recalled how the company was located at the corner of Valley Road and Coventry Avenue in Melrose Park. After doing a bit of research at the Old York Road Historical Society, the local libraries and some archival work for the Cheltenham Twinning Committee, I found additional information about the company to support what I learned in that informal interview with Mr. Fields.

According to an ad by the Ivins Company, appearing in an anniversary book about Cheltenham Township, three inch tubes were made and stretched and then were used to make helicopters, instruments, aeroplanes, refrigeration equipment, fishing rods and more. Mr. Fields' father worked at the furnaces (there were three) and Mr. Fields, himself, worked the soap tubs. All employess had to find new jobs when the Ivins Company filed for bankruptcy and closed in 1962.

Discovering Soda Recipes

My maternal grandmother and a great-aunt made root beer soda decades ago. After posting that story, I saw some soda recipes that seemed worth trying, although I think that recipes from from the 1930's and 1940's may have been more involved.

Reading this article and the accompanying recipes made me wonder what other beverages or other special recipes were made 'back in the day.' Maybe I'll find something worthy of a 'post.'