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~ (in the 1930s) ~

J. R. introduced me to this activity at a young age.

Chasing hoops or iron rings is another fun game from the past. This is another case of having your fun where you found it. Since times were hard and money scarce, our games, out of necessity, had to be free. This one was both FUN and FREE. This is a little difficult to explain so follow me on this:

There was an iron ring, about 8 inches in diameter, fitted around the outside of the hub of a wagon wheel to provide extra strength.. When a wagon wheel was worn out and discarded, the grownups would remove the hub ring and give it to the children.

How is this fun you ask??? Stay with me!

Well, a Prince Albert tobacco can (most smokers rolled their own) was flattened and the outer edges were curled up slightly. This flattened can was then nailed to the end of a stick ( a stick about 1" by 1" three feet long would be ideal). See Figure 1.
                   

Figure 1
 "Chasing The Hoop"

The end of the stick with the can is placed on the ground with the other end being held in the hand.. The iron hoop would then be placed at the top of the stick and rolled down.

When it hit the ground, we would run after it and push it with the Prince Albert can, Then here we would go, around and around the house, in and out of the yard, up and down the street. This could go on for hours.

With a little practice, you could learn to maneuver the ring in circles and other tricks.

Fun was where you found it. Another example of youthful ingenuity.

This game probably contributed to the ability of children at that time to excel in track and field events.

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When I was in Edison recently, J. R. reminded me of another game or activity we enjoyed as youngsters.

At that time automobile tires were of lesser quality than now and wore out much faster. Consequently, there was an abundance of discarded tires available, especially, since a local service station was only a block away.

Each of us children had our own tire to roll. Stand it upright, give it push, then run along beside it and slapping it with your hand or a stick would make it roll.

Racing was always fun but, of course the older boys always won. By slapping it on the side you could make it turn one way or the other. After a little of this, you were ready for a drink of that city water out of a faucet (as opposed to drawing it up in a bucket from a well as we did when living in the country). We were city folks by then.