Elementary Games Played

     When I was in Elementary School, my whole world of friends expanded.  My parents bought a house on a dead end street with many children living there.  There were two boys who were teens who  ignored us.  The one boy lived on the defunct farm at the end of the street and the other boy spent his time there.  So, Patty & I were the oldest and Sandy was one year younger.  After us there was an age drop of five years which was my sister's group of friends.  Then there were various younger children.
     When Patty and Sandy decided to exclude me, I would gather my sister and her friends and we would have a parade up and down the street.  I was the head majorette and the others had to follow me!  Some of the boys pretended to play drums or horns.  As we got older, the boys would ride their bikes behind us, the majorettes.
     My mom taught me how to play jacks.  I would spend hours and hours playing jacks on the smooth cement of our side porch.  Sometimes mom would play, but mostly my friends and sister played with me.
     The best play time was after dark.  Right across from my house was a street light that was home base for "Hide & Seek".   We played for hours until our parents got tired of watching us from the front porches and called us in for the night.  We also played other group games like "Upset the Fruit Basket".  It was a great, fun time with many memories of all the children.  We never had any fears.  We knew our parents and neighbors would watch over us and discipline us if need be.  It was an accepted fun-filled way of life.