If You Grew Up in Philo, You Might Remember These.....

No story here; just a random list of 20 things you might remember if you grew up in Philo in the 1970s.

1. Climbing the rock pile.
2. The annual tomato war.  Not for the faint of heart.
3. Putting pennies on the railroad tracks.
4. The igloo house.
5. Climbing up, and sliding back down, the school's fire escape.
6. The kissing tree.
7. The merry-go-round and the swinging gate.
8. Walking barefoot in the road oil, seeing how many bubbles you could pop.  It was fun to do, but you paid the price later by having to scrub your feet with gasoline.
9. The noon siren.  Like clockwork, the fire department siren went off every day at noon (except Sundays).
10. The short-lived downtown pinball arcade.  A gathering spot for ne'er-do-wells and hooligans.
11. The Dog 'n Suds, later known as "The Root Beer Stand", and even later known as "Miles to Go."
12. Riding bikes out to Lovers Lane to pick up pop bottles.  And then cashing them in for candy money at the IGA.
13. The tadpole hole.
14. The Philo Celebration.  Held every summer, until culminating with the Philo Centennial Celebration in 1975.
15. Trees in the outfield.  Literally, there were huge trees in deep right field at the big diamond.  Luckily, the ball was rarely hit that far.
16. Patches the dog, lying in the middle of the street, refusing to move for any honking car or school bus.
17. The lighted Christmas tree right in the middle of the 4-way stop.
18. Ms Melohn inviting the St. Thomas kids down to the public school to watch reel-to-reel movies in the gym.  I vividly remember watching "That Darn Cat", "The Shaggy DA" and "The Strongest Man in the World."
19. The old jail by the railroad tracks.  By then it was used only to store junk.  But it still had bars on the windows, so it was cool to think of it as a real jail.
20. Population 900