I grew up in South Buffalo, New York, in the 1950's. Buffalo is a medium-size city, sandwiched between Lakes Erie and Ontario. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Niagara Falls, is half an hour's ride away. Buffalo is famous for its cold, snowy winters. However, you can't beat Buffalo for beautiful summers and falls. Summertime temperatures are usually in the 75*-80* range, with plenty of sunshine. In the fall, natives are treated to the most spectacular bursts of autumn foliage in crimson and gold. There is plenty to do in the winter also, Western New York being home to many, popular ski slopes, toboggan runs and hills for sledding. Ice-skating is also a popular winter activity.

My little corner of the world, South Buffalo, was, for my siblings and me, the perfect place to grow up. We lived at the end of a dead-end street, next to a beautiful park. Cazenovia Park is one of seven parks in Buffalo designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted created this first of its kind, interconnected park system that is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I can appreciate this fact now that I am an adult. But, being a young child, I only knew that having a park next to your house was really neat!

My parents didn't have the hassle parents have today of carting their children all over town to sports events, theaters and amusement parks. Oh, we did make the compulsory, annual trip to Crystal Beach Amusement Park across the border in Canada once each summer, usually aboard the Crystal Beach Boat. But, for the most part, we had everything a child could want right in our own back yard.

Cazenovia Park was, in its hey-day a wonderful place to spend a summer day. We had trees to climb, a large bowl with three baseball diamonds, a creek winding, slowly through and, best of all, a huge swimming complex. There was a wading pool with a fountain in the middle for toddlers and young children, with plenty of benches and grassy knolls for mothers to spread blankets and keep an eye on their offspring. There was a middle pool, approximately 100' long that went from 3' to 5' deep. And, behind that, there was a 12' pool with six diving boards for the older children and adults who preferred diving to swimming. There were, of course, plenty of lifeguards on duty, keeping an eagle eye on all the swimmers.

Surrounding this pool system were many picnic tables, grills and a big playground. Families would spend the entire day here, either bringing

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