Meanwhile, back at 737 Southgate Drive in 1970, the day to day living arrangements were going reasonably well. Carl and I—or at least I, perhaps Perry eventually told Carl—never did find out why Perry hadn’t wanted Terry as the fourth roommate, and the two of them seemed to get along fine, so there were no … Continue reading Day to Day Living
Autobiography
November 3, 1956
In November 1956 we were living in the Great Stone House on my grandparents’ farm just outside Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania, but as my mother had been brought up in Richland and my father on a farm just outside Richland, and my mother’s parents still lived in Richland, we visited that borough frequently. On November 3 Richland's … Continue reading November 3, 1956
Who’s a Commie Now?
Back in the day when I had to go to Sunday school, my favorite teacher was Hart Beaver. He was a lawyer and an Assistant District Attorney for Lebanon County (as I wrote about in my Murder in a Small Town series). He led some interesting discussions from time to time. Like when we were … Continue reading Who’s a Commie Now?
What Happened
I’ve thought a lot about it, and here’s my best explanation. During orientation week at Penn State I took some placement tests, and I ended up placing out of the introductory English composition course. I also took a Latin test, and I was surprised when I heard the results: I had placed into Latin IV. … Continue reading What Happened
The Autumn of My Discontent
Carl and I were both looking forward to the Genetics course in September of 1970. He was taking it because it was required for his Biology major; I was taking it as an elective because I thought it was an interesting topic. We each walked out of the first lecture totally discouraged. The prof was … Continue reading The Autumn of My Discontent
The Jews Next Door
The townhouse apartment at 737 Southgate Drive seemed like a dream. I got there a few days ahead of the other guys in September 1970, as I couldn’t wait to move in. I remember being in my car going for groceries when the radio reported the news that Jimi Hendrix had died. We all brought … Continue reading The Jews Next Door
Summer of Mystery
In the summer of 1967, often referred to as the Summer of Love, I had just graduated from high school and had my first summer job. Both Randy Klopp and I had gotten jobs at the nearby VA Hospital. In those days VA stood for Veterans’ Administration, but it has since been renamed to Veterans’ … Continue reading Summer of Mystery
Ellen Weiant
Ellen Weiant in her senior class play. Ellen is on the far right dressed as a maid. Across the street from us when we lived on West Main Street in Richland was JoAnn Weiant (pronounced WEE-ant) and her three children, Julian, Ellen, and Kathleen. JoAnn had been a friend of my mother’s ever since their … Continue reading Ellen Weiant
Summer Break
In the last few days of spring term 1970, three of us (Carl Gruber, Perry Harris, and I) managed to sign the lease for a townhouse at Southgate Apartments for the following school year, but because of the expense we needed to find a fourth roommate. Perry left before Carl and I did, and he … Continue reading Summer Break
The Gass Boys
Our family moved into the house on West Main Street in Richland, PA, in late November 1957, and one of my first memories of that house is being sent to my room to take a nap. This was an all-purpose punishment whenever I did something that didn’t please my mother, or whenever she simply wanted … Continue reading The Gass Boys