Thursday, July 13, 2023
My sister, Kay, and I grew up as neighbors and playmates on White Oak Street in Utica.
He got us both in trouble in the second grade. He thought it would be fun to cut holes in our blue jeans, for no apparent reason. So we did and Ms. Starnes caught us and we had to stand in opposite corners of the classroom, nose to the wall.
We learned to ride bikes (M.B. taught us), shoot BB guns, throw pears over Ms. Foster's house and listen for the sound of them hit the garage roof. Who builds an airplane cockpit with instruments with dials and all the controls?
And, we only flew "the plane" on Saturdays...its only scheduled flight each week.
Harold was the lucky kid because every day after school, his mother had a PB&J (crust trimmed away, pls.) and a glass of sweet tea ready for him. Kay and I had to scrounge for what we could at home...never as nice as what Harold had.
When we reached the age for a learner's permit, Harold was ready to have access to one of the coolest cars of the era...the 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Aire 4-door coupe in black. OMG. Only in later years did we come to know this was one of a kind.
And, as the teen years advanced, he would take the car out at night, find an empty lot and disconnect the tailpipes from the manifold. Oh, baby, what a sound. He would be on Reed Town road and let it wind up. You could hear the noise all over town! You could literally track him by the sound.
He was a great childhood buddy, a classmate and one with whom we shared so much.
Well, he is only his final flight now, and we remember him and his family fondly.
Mac Wall
Ruth Anne (Rowe) Wall
Hillsboro, Oregon
