By Ricky Rieckert
Greetings, The Voice readers!
This week, as we start another week of The History of Aurora: Buildings, businesses, and streets on the History of Aurora Tour Bus, we’re heading from the start of Jackson Street at E. Downer Place, (originally Fox Street), to the south.
On the southeast corner of the two streets named above, was originally East Aurora High School, before they built the new school on Fifth Avenue, east of their football field (Roy E. Davis Field) at that time, on the southeast corner of State Street and Fifth Avenue. A long ways to go, for football practice.
The building on Jackson Street, became K.D. Waldo Junior High School. I went there for seventh, eighth, and ninth grades.
I met a student there named Randy, whom I went to school with there all three years and our sophomore through senior graduation years at East High on Fifth Avenue.
There was another classmate named Scott, who went to school from seventh grade to graduation, with us. We three still keep in touch.
Randy and I went to the 100th. Anniversary of the East High / Waldo building, several years ago where we ran into each other and reminisced about our time in junior high there.
At the event, there was a teacher, who was retiring, and was the guide for tours. He was a history buff. He wasn’t there, when we were students at the school.
Randy and I were the only two from our class, to attend.
We learned that the multi-purpose room, where we played floor hockey in gym class, was also the theater auditorium, and a stage for plays. We saw the two rooms one on each side, up top, where the projectors used to be.
Last but not least, I had a teacher, Mr. Meyer for seventh grade metal shop.
Randy, Mr. Meyer, and myself are all members of the Aurora Lion’s Club today. Small world, I guess.
Moving south, to the northwest side of Jackson and Benton Street was Kramer’s Auto Repair. Today it’s Baeza Auto Repair.
On the southwest corner, is the former Wm. F. Meyer Plumbing supplies. Today it’s a daycare center.
On the southeast corner is the former St. Paul’s Church. Today it’s Iglesia Evangelical Luterana San Pablo.
Moving south, to Jackson and North Avenue, on the northwest corner, was Twirly Top Ice Cream.
When I was in seventh grade at Waldo, I had a friend named John. We both collected coins.
John said he had quite a collection, more than I had by far.
One occasion he brought some to school, to show me, for proof.
One Monday, John came to school mad and said he and his father had gotten into an argument over the weekend.
He had a blue Whitman’s coin folder, marked; Complete set of Ben Franklin Half Dollars.
I was amazed to see every slot in the book, filled. He said it was his ol’ man’s set, and that he was going to teach him a lesson and buy ice cream for anyone who was going to the Twirly Top, after school.
Well, as a friend, I tried to talk him out of spending the money from his dad’s set, all day and every class at school that day. That set was worth more than John and I were worth, I thought, and his father would probably punish him for life.
My attempt to talk him out of it, failed. He had told a lot of kids his game plan. So when the 3 p.m. bell rang, kids flocked behind him for free ice cream.
So I decided that my pursuance didn’t work, and said hell I’m not missing out on free ice cream, and went.
John wasn’t in school for a week, probably from the whipping his father gave him.
When he did return, he told me his father went to Twirly Top to get the coins back at 6 p.m.. His father wanted to get back at least face value of the coins. The guy wanted more, but he took John’s father’s face value deal.
I never saw John after seventh grade, guess the ol’ man put him into a boarding school.
Have a great week!