"The House/Neighborhood Where I Grew Up......."

Don used "Microsoft Maps" and "Google Street View" to find these photos for me. This is the house in which I grew up. My parents moved to the country after I'd left home and was living/teaching in Niles, MI.

The now tall Maple tree behind the house was one that my Dad planted. I remember when he went to a friends (whom I was named after) property and dug it up to bring home for planting. It wasn't a tiny twig by any means, but a fair sized tree. It obviously has done well over the years. Our street was lined with large Maple trees, which are now all gone. One of our 2 out on the boulevard was lost when I was still in grade school, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they have all disappeared. It just seems so hot and desolate looking........


The one car garage is now gone, too. My Dad had paved the entire driveway, and also a large patio area outside the back door (the width of the house), with brick pavers he recycled from the city of Benton Harbor, when they tore up brick streets to replace them with cement and/or asphalt.


We lived almost exactly in the middle of the block (black roof). An aerial view includes my grade school, Sterne Brunson (originally called May Street School), in the lower left hand corner of the photo. I went there through the 6th grade. Such a long walk to school, eh? :)


My cousin Jill, lived "kitty corner" (up in this photo) across the street from us. Her house is the larger one, right above the small one with the brown roof.