Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Last week’s Porchfest, with huge numbers of people crowding the streets, brought back memories of when I was a kid and played in the neighborhoods. There were kids everywhere. Most streets were two-way back in the 60’s and 70’s. We played games like buck buck and Relieve E O.

I posed the question, what games and activities do you recall playing outside with the other neighborhood kids in the 60’s and 70’s? Not counted are walking while looking at your phone while listening to music!

We see basketball hoops on some low traffic streets. There are also hockey nets on a few streets.

Here are some responses from our fellow Somerville folks:

“Red light green light and dodge ball!”

“All those songs we sang as we jumped rope, drawing our dream houses on the ground at Burns School in chalk. Hi- low, medium wavy, walkie talkie blindsies pepper … red light, green light, so many.”

“MI – SS – I – SS – I with a double P – I.”

“4 corners.”

“Simon says, hide and seek.”

“Tag.”

“Building go-carts out of doll carriage wheels and scrap wood with you and Joey and riding them down the hill of Hall Ave. No helmets. Good times!”

“Red rover, rattlesnake, dodge ball, hop scotch, jump rope, tag, jacks so lucky to have been a child when I was!”

“Stickball at the old post office (now the parking office) and also at the Powder House School schoolyard.”

“Whiffle ball down at MW Carr. Basketball at the Western Jr. High School”

“Wiffle ball.”

“Street hockey.”

“Red Rover, dodge ball, hide and seek, hop scotch, Jax and, as a teen, cards (whist) at the park.”

“Statue man, hide the belt, Chinese jump rope, 4 square, kick the can.”

“Basketball at Trum field. We were all short girls but we loved playing hoops.”

“Pitching pennies.”

“Jump rope. Marbles Jack’s hope scotch”

“Street baseball with a rubber ball and a broom handle for a bat. The door handle of two cars were 1st and 3rd base. Chalk on the street were Home and 2nd base.”

“So many, red rover, buck buck, how many fingers do I have up, dodge ball, baseball, jacks, tag, jump rope, hopscotch endless.”

“Hitties out, relievio, stickball and half ball, kick the can, touch football.”

“Little League baseball and Pop Warner football.”

“Making necklaces out of gum wrappers, makings fortune tellers with folded paper with numbers and colors.”

“Also putting holes thru chestnuts and feeding twine thru. Having wars to see whose would fall apart first.”

“And of course, catching flying grasshoppers and fireflies.”

“Kick ball.”

“Putting playing cards and balloons in the spokes of our bikes to make a motor sound.”

Along with joggers, walkers, and bicyclists we now see many parents with kids especially pushing baby carriages. Could it be that our new Somerville will see more and more kids taking the streets back? In closing, I wish we could establish the correct spelling of Relieve E O.