DDT

I don’t know why we called it the DDT but all the kids did. It was an undeveloped area of town bounded by Maple Drive, South Tennessee Ave. and 4th St. S.E. I walked past it, or was suppose to walk passed it, everyday on my way to and from Jefferson Elementary School. Our parents told us that “hobos”¹, homeless people who roamed the country, lived in there and so we were to stay on the sidewalk down Maple drive.

From the school, the DDT started with a large open grassy field which ended with a line of trees. The trees divided in the middle with a well traveled trail. There also were numerous “secret trails” that led to “secret” meeting sites. The trail led to a gully that divided the DDT into two parts. The hills of the gully were quite steep which made wonderful sledding runs in the winter and bike jumps in the summer. Finally the trail led up the other side of the gully into a thin line of trees. On the other side of the trees was South Tennessee Ave. So on the way home from school it was possible to have many adventures crossing the DDT and still reach home at a reasonable time.

I crossed the DDT generally by myself imagining ways to avoid Indians or to chase after cattle rustlers. One could lie in the field and look up into the sky and be totally in ones own world. More adventures could be found by finding all the secret trails and secret hiding places of bank robbers. One wintry afternoon, I imagined a snow cave on one side of the gully and curled up to keep warm. But wetness and a cold wind curled around me instead of the warmth I sought to find. The snow cave only lasted a few minutes and then it was gone. Home would be much warmer.

Winter brought out sleds to the gully. These were excellent sledding and tobogganing trails. Each side started out rather steep and had in several places bumps which created “in air” time. The bottom of the slope was gentle and one could run along the bottom of the gully for some time without any concern for trees, rocks or any other obstruction. Families were often found there on weekends. Groups of kids could be found almost any day setting up contests of racing down the slopes, who had the most dramatic run, who went the farthest at the bottom. There were games of chicken with two or more sleds racing toward each other from opposite sides of the gully. This was not as dangerous as it might seem as the bottom of the gully was quite wide. By the time two sleds would meet, there was very little momentum.

In the summer time gangs of kids played Capture the Flag in the DDT. After dividing into teams, a flag was set on either side of the gully. Each team would send runners to capture each other flag without being caught by guards. The best time to play was after dark which lent a special thrill running through the wooded area or hiding on the gully slopes.

Today the DDT is gone. On the grassy field sits a church with a large parking lot. The gully has been filled in and houses and a new street cover the best sledding in the world.

Return

1. See the following reference for hobos: http://www.hobo.com/what_is_a_hobo.htm