Fuller Park
From 1964 to fall of 1971, we lived on Mack Street. We spent a lot of time at Fuller Park, which was a right turn on Fountain, past the Farmers’ Market, to Fuller Avenue and across the street. A ten minute walk. We would walk as a group, the four of us kids, and some neighbor kids. Sometimes I am amazed at how our mother let us go places in Grand Rapids by ourselves on foot. But always as a group.
At Fuller park, we sledded down the sled hill all winter. It was a great sledding hill. And when the snow melted, we found cardboard from a nearby business and slid down the hill on the mud. We were a muddy mess when we got home. Mom wasn’t too thrilled. But it was so fun.
There was also ice skating at Fuller park, and we rented ice skates and could buy hot chocolate. One Christmas we got ice skates. Debbie was a great skater. My skills left much to be desired. My ankles were too weak and I didn’t have the best balance (rollerskating was equally difficult for me).
Sometimes when we went to Fuller Park in the spring, summer, or fall, we would go into the little woods on the hill and play Boxcar children. One year, when the Burger King on Michigan opened, they had Whoppers of 25 cents. We had enough to buy one Whopper, and we brought to our Boxcar play area and split it up four ways. That Whopper tasted really good.
cyndicleaver 