That’s me over there on the left

It was always a big deal when they put off a so called “shot” which was a dynamite blast from the deep holes drilled down through the rock at my father’s York Center stone quarry.  Two of my dad’s working men would stand at each end of the road to stop traffic.  The other working men and some of my family would stand in the yard by the house.  Sam Manley, who worked as my dad’s foreman for his men, would press down on a lever on top of a wooden box causing the dynamite deep down in the holes to explode.  Broken rocks flew high in the air then settled down in the pit amidst a cloud of lime dust.

For this little girl, me, it was a sight to behold.  I was probably five or six years old as one warm sunny summer afternoon I waited and watched for all the working men to leave for the day.  Looks to this little girl like they have all gone home.  So I amble my way around the edge of the quarry pit to where they had several holes ready for another dynamite shot.  I squat down and am slowly creeping my way up to the first hole when I feel a hand on my shoulder.  I look up and around.

There was Sam Manley!  He had followed me!  He looked me right in the eye and said, “Do you know that if you fell down that hole the only way we could get you out is to blast you out.” He got my attention!!!

~

I told this story to my friend Betty.  After laughing she said she had a story to tell me.  She had grown up in New York City and after WWII had married a friend of my husband’s.  She said when she was little she could ride the sub-way all the way to the end for a nickel.  Then to save a nickel she would sneak between the divider bars and be with the people who had already paid, thus getting a free ride back to her home.

But……this time, as she is squeezing her little self between the divider bars, a guard  sees her…… Uh oh!      And he said, “You shouldn’t do that little girl.  Did you know that we had a boy in here last week who did that and to free him we had to cut his head off.”

Well…..no….she didn’t know that.  But she does now!  We were too daring little girls and those men knew how to scare daring little girls.

Me around age 7 with my brother Ernie & dog Sandy

FRF ♥