Precious Sounds From The Past

Good Monday Morning To You!!!

Last week I told you about more of the adventures of Johnny and Vic. I told you about the different smells we experienced and their origin. This week I want to reminisce a bit more as I take you back with me to Elmwood Place located in southwest Ohio. Elmwood Place is a Cincinnati suburb, but is not part of the Cincinnati City limits.

There were three distinct sounds that I remember: the trains, the Carthage Mills whistle, and the nine o’clock siren.

Johnny and I lived next door to each other, and our houses were sandwiched in the middle of two railroads; the C&O a block and a half to the west, and the L&N a block and a half to the east. Our street, Oak Street ran east to west. When we road our bikes to the C&O tracks, at the next block from ours, just past the second house, we were inside Cincinnati. In order to get down to the Mill Creek, we had to cross these tracks. We very rarely played on these tracks. I don’t know why we didn’t, we just didn’t. Maybe it was because we just chose to stay inside our own little village and not to cross into Cincinnati. On either the north, or the west of us, we were about a block from the city.

To the west, about the same distance as the C&O, were the L&N tracks. We did play on these from time to time. I remember one time putting rocks on the tracks to see what would happen. These rocks were small, not much bigger than a marble. That night we heard an awful sound: an L&N train had derailed. I knew I was going to jail! Those rocks had forced that locomotive off the tracks, and I was headed to prison. As much as I feared jail, I feared Howard Cooper even more. I knew that by the time he was finished with me, there would be nothing left to jail. I imagine the same thoughts were running through Johnny’s mind. We decided to keep quiet and only breathed again when we heard that the derailment was caused by a more serious problem, but not our rocks. My dad explained to me that a train’s wheel were made to throw debris off the track. He probably never suspected why I would ask a question about things on tracks.

The train’s sounds were wonderful. At night you could hear the trains roar past, and up at the L&N tracks, the engineer blew his horn when he crossed our street. Back then a train went by nearly every fifteen minutes. For the most part, we were so used to them, we rarely heard them. However, even now in my mind I can hear the horn and the train passing by. I’d love to hear that sound again, but I now live on an island in the Gulf of Mexico, and there are no trains here.

Two other sounds were the Carthage Mills whistle, and the siren located at the fire station. My dad worked at Carthage Mills, so I was always proud of that whistle. Its sound was a low, deep sound that could be heard for miles. The whistle sounded at 7:00am, 8:00am, and 3:30pm. Although its primary purpose was for signaling the beginning of work, and the ending later that day, the people in both Elmwood, and Carthage depended on that whistle. It helped moms know when to get the kids ready for school, and when it was time for them to go home. Years later I would bowl on the Carthage Mills bowling team, and one of our bowlers was John Smallwood. John was the factory’s boiler engineer; the man who so faithfully blew that whistle. That whistle is silent now, and Carthage Mills is gone, but I can still hear it if I really concentrate. It said, “AOOOOOOOOHH! AOOOOOOOOHH!”

The nine o’clock siren was also an unmistakable sound, and one that you’d better not ignore. It had a twofold purpose. The first was to call the volunteer fireman or the life squad people to the station. If it sounded one time, the ambulance was needed. If it sounded multiple times, it was for a fire. Whenever the fire alarm was sounded, we’d run up the street to the station and follow the truck to the fire. Elmwood Place was a small village, so seeing where they went was not too difficult. Even back then, you could see what they were doing, but the police wouldn’t let you get too close.

The second purpose was to signal the nine o’clock curfew. When it sounded it meant kids needed to be at home. You could play out past nine, and we often did, but you needed to be in front of your house. For most moms, it was the “time to go to bed” signal. I honestly do not know if today’s Elmwood citizens get to hear the siren. I doubt it, but I am not sure.

Even though these memories were fifty years ago, I still count them as some of my most precious. What I wouldn’t give to be able to reset the hands of time and go back to those days! Maybe one night soon the LORD will allow me to go back, even if only in a dream.

We had a good service at Friendship Harmony yesterday. What was really encouraging was our visitors. Our church is always so honored when people come. All three visitors have visited before, so I hope they continue to come. Who knows --- one day the LORD might direct them to become members. I hope so.

I’ll not tell you about the morning message, but I will invite you to hear it over the internet. It is at www.facebook.com/friendshipharmony. I will say it is about the transfiguration of Christ, and its significance for us today. You do not have to have a Facebook account to see the video. This week’s message is 12 minutes in length. We try to keep them at ten minutes, but I missed my signal and went over. I hope you will enjoy the videos.

Thanks for sharing this time with me. I really appreciate each of you. Stay safe and well, and I’ll see you this Tuesday with the video, and again next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!