Rutherford Weekly

Page 16 - Rutherford Weekly 828-248-1408 www.rutherfordweekly.com Thursday, February 24-March 2, 2022 293 S Broadway St., Forest City 828-245-0434 Monday & Tuesday 8AM-5PM Thursday & Friday 8AM-5PM Sat. 8AM-12PM • Closed Wed. Not Just Oil, Pennzoil FAST FAST FAST FAST WAY WAY WAY WAY LET US DO YOUR DIRTY WORK! KIDS' CORNER BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Rutherford Weekly's publisher and its adver- tisers are not responsible or liable for mis- prints, typographical errors, misinformation herein contained. We reserve the right to edit, reject or accept any articles, advertisements, or information to be printed in this publication. We will provide ad proofs for pre-paid ads or ads that are placed by established clients. No proofs may leave our premises without payment and permission and are copyright by Rutherford Weekly. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. CANCELLATION OR CORRECTION DEADLINE: is the same as the order deadline because much of our cost is involved in the production of the ad itself. If you have to cancel an ad after deadline, it may be necessary to charge for the time and materials we've spent on preparing the ad. Display & Classified Deadline is Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. ERRORS: We want your ad to be accurate and correct, and normally there will be no errors. However, should there be an error and it is our fault, we will give you a correction letter and return (and/or give credit) for the actual space occupied by the incorrect information. You should notify us of the error immediately and before the ad runs a second time. COPIES: ONE Free copy of Rutherford Weekly is available per household. Additional copies are available at our office for a $1.00 charge. No individual or business is permitted to place or attach any flyer, poster or any type of advertisement of any kind to our boxes or on our racks. FIRST MEDIA, INC FIRST MEDIA, INC "Creating Business For People" ® Proud Member of: Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association Association of Community Papers CIRCULATION C O U N C I L VERIFICATION Audit by Circulation Verification Council General Manager & Advertising: Mike Marlow • mike@cfmedia.info advertising@rutherfordweekly.com advertising@rutherfordweekly.com Editorial & Announcements: events@rutherfordweekly.com events@rutherfordweekly.com For Classified Ads Call 828-248-1408 or email: classifieds@rutherfordweekly.com classifieds@rutherfordweekly.com Creative Designer: Jan B. Sailors advertising@rutherfordweekly.com advertising@rutherfordweekly.com Distribution: Tommy Sims • Greg Grimes RUTHERFORD WEEKLY 157 West Main Street, Forest City, NC 28043 Phone 828-248-1408 Visit us online at: rutherfordweekly.com So many things trigger one's memory but nothing like the sense of smell. I can open a pack of coconut cookies and the smell sends me back to Vacation Bible School as a child. Our snack included large, round coconut fl avored cookies with a hole in the center. Or I can smell a wood burning fi re and my sense of smell takes me back to the days of camping with my family as a child and as an adult. The sense of sight can always trigger memory as was the case this week when I was driving. In front of my car was a motorist pulling a camper and on the back was a bicycle secured on a rack. I wondered for a moment where the bicycle was being transported and then remembered a time when our bicycle was strapped to the back of vehicle heading for the mountains for a week's camping vacation. I have so many memories of bicycle riding around the campground, pedaling up to the camp store for a snack and riding back to the campground for the next person's turn to ride. There's no telling how many miles I rode the bicycle at Smokemont Campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park over the years. In today's world it may be a bit diffi cult to believe, but for a family of four girls there was one bicycle. It was a gift from Santa when I was in the third grade. I longed for it and it seemed at the time a long, long time. That Christmas morning when the shiny blue Western Flyer was in our living room in front of the Christmas tree, I was the happiest kid in the whole USA. I remember it was a cold, frosty Christmas Day and for a while that morning my sisters and I couldn't take the bicycle outdoors. Running over Daddy's bare feet with the bicycle wheels while trying to ride in the house, didn't go well. Finally it was time to go outside. Although I wasn't the oldest sister, I was the only one who could ride the bicycle so for a few short days I claimed it as my own. It wasn't long, however, until my older sister learned to ride and eventually my two younger sisters got the hang of pedaling a two wheel cycle. I got in trouble riding the bicycle on the road one day and had to park it for two weeks. My heart was broken. Longest two weeks I can remember. We lived on Toms Lake Road and back in the day it was not paved and very few houses along the road, but still we were given strict instructions never to leave the yard. Road riding wasn't allowed. Well, I thought I'd be the dare devil and took a ride. I was caught by the neighbor who helped watch over us while our parents were at work. I knew from that second I was caught I was in deep trouble. I remember driving off the road and into the side ditch and ran the bicycle back home as fast as I could. When Mama got home from work that day, I told her what I'd done and I was told to take it to the shed. Our family moved to a new house when I was in the fourth grade and the bicycle was certainly my prized possession. At that time the road was also unpaved, but short. Since we were older we were allowed to ride on the dirt road. After having to ride for at least a year through a bumpy yard, it was a thrill to coast down our new dirt road. I remember the day my sisters and I fi gured out how to ride the bicycle all at the same time. We did it to see if we could and of course to impress our parents. We summoned them outdoors to see the amazing circus bicycle act from the Gordon sisters — one sister was on the front fender, one on the back fender, one sitting in the seat and the other standing up to pedal. We did it. Our bicycle suddenly became a bicycle built for four. It was not comfortable, but it was a feat we accomplished. That one lone Western Flyer held up for the tests of time for many years, but eventually with a record number of miles ridden, it was done. There would be other bicycles in our family, such as the ones we took on camping trips. Again since there was only one, we shared. Our parents even took turns riding around the campground. I won a 10 speed bicycle once but sold it. I was never into a speed bike. I haven't ridden a bicycle in a few years but I keep telling myself I'm getting one for the Thermal Belt Rail Trail. A few years ago I did ride several miles with friends at Hilton Head and Edisto Island while vacationing. My balance isn't what it used to be, but I believe those bright yellow metal posts placed here and there on the rail trail would provide a place for me to stop, grab hold for a moment or to start up. Whether I purchase a new bike or rent one, I'm planning to cycle long the trail soon. Regardless, I'll always be grateful for the bicycle Santa Claus brought to our house and the joys it brought to our family for many years. It might be hard to imagine in today's world that every child in the family didn't get a bicycle. We learned to share. So the sight of a bicycle on the back of the camper the other day brought back a world of memories for which I'm thankful - a 24 inch Western Flyer, built for four, back in the day. The bicycle brought me great joy and taught me so many life lessons. Contact Jean at: gordonjean211@ gmail.com A ONE-SEAT BICYCLE BECAME ONE BUILT-FOR-FOUR By: Jean Gordon

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