LABOR DAY: This is a tip of the hat to all those nurses,
firefighters, disc jockeys, gas station attendants – and so many
others – who are on the job today while the rest of “celebrate”
Labor Day with a day off. Our special thanks to newspaper employees
putting out tomorrow’s edition.

LAST DAY: It’s Labor Day, of course, the last “official” day of
summer. Having said that, we take a look back not to this past
summer but one from the 1950s.

Our thanks to Clif Hastings of Rew for writing a little essay
about, “The Ol’ Swimming Hole”:

“My, how times have changed! You look around and so many
countless families struggling to keep backyard swimming pools up to
snuff. There’s an endless supply of chemicals to stir in. Endless
cleaning to keep out leaves, bags, algae and whatever may come
along. Keep the filter and pump going! And guard against leaks.

“All of this for a couple of dips each summer if you can find
the time. Anyway, it’s great for the neighbors’ children.

“Back in the 1950s at the general store in Rew, a quarter’s
worth of gas in Glenn Baker’s Model A Ford Roadster with a ‘rumble
seat’ in the rear was the most preferred method of transportation.
We’d coast down Coleville hill to save gas to get back up to
Rew.

“First thing, at Crossmires, we’d check the location of the herd
of cows and temperament of the old bull. He was the sole monarch of
Crossmires’ pool, between Smethport and Farmers Valley.

“I’d like to swim at Crossmires because there was no chloride in
the water to bother my eyes. Heaven only knows what all could have
been in that water. We all must have had good body immune systems
because no one ever got sick.

“Drying towels and swimming trunks was no problem. We just hung
them on the sides of the ol’ Model A and headed for home.

“To top off the afternoon, we’d all stop at the famous Farmers
Valley Dairy Bar for a 5- or 10-cent ice cream cone, then continue
on.

“Nowadays, where could five or six people have a great afternoon
for less than a dollar?”

Less than a dollar? No way!