Memories Cooperstown ND Main Street

My name is Larry Skupien. I grew up in the Chicago Suburbs with my Mom and Dad, Sigrid and Joe Skupien, and my twin sister, Lorrie, and younger sister, Sue. The highlight of each summer was being able to go to Cooperstown with my favorite cousin, Jim Corso. We grew up about 20 miles apart in Illinois, and were very close. But to be able to go see Grandpa and Grandma (Ben and Sanna) Bendickson together every summer was something we looked forward to every year. Here are a few of the things I remember about Cooperstown, North Dakota, in the 1960s. (They are not in chronological order...just as they popped into my mind.)

Cruising around Cooperstown in Uncle Benny (Bendickson's) 1950 red and black Buick while listening to the Top 40 hits on the car radio: Hats Off To Larry (one of my favorites), Soldier Boy, Surf City, Go Away Little Girl, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Duke Of Earl, Walk Like A Man, I Can't Stop Loving You. All these before the Beatles!!
Disappointed because I couldn't drive until the summer of '63, but glad my cousin Jim (Corso) could in the summer of '62.
Driving the wide streets in Cooperstown. Kids didn't have to learn how to make a three point turn there :)
The stock car races at the Griggs County Fair Grounds.
The Hole (Cobb's Place) that my uncle (Benny) owned.
Walking uptown to the Post Office for my Grandpa (Ben Bendickson) with the combination to his mailbox in my mind.
Swimming at the Cooperstown Swimming Pool.
Learning how to drive in Grandpa's 1954 bronze Chevy Bel Aire on the race track at the Fairgrounds.
Going to the Strand Theater to see Ma and Pa Kettle. (Boy, THAT sounds loooong ago!!)
Going to the "Dairy Dream" (can't remember if that's the correct name) just down the alley from Grandpa and Grandma's house. (Ben and Sanna Bendickson)
Getting to know Grandpa and Grandma's wonderful neighbors, the Overby's.
Helping Grandpa clean the Courthouse.
Jim and I mowing the lawn at the courthouse. (A BIG job.) We'd take turns riding the rider and pushing the trim mower...a Lawnboy.
I remember the seeds from the ash trees along Lenham street, but at the time I didn't know they were ash trees.
Jim and I saying goodnight to our parents and then climbing out the porch window to go meet our Cooper friends.
Tim Lien (Sp??) and his airplane.
Trying to be the first to see the Cooperstown water tower as we approached Cooperstown from the east on Highway 200 on our way into town on our annual trip each summer.
Fishing for perch at Lake Ashtabula with Grandpa. He'd never use a fishing pole. He just threw the line over the side of the row boat. We would catch over a hundred perch and a few bullheads in just a few hours! Then we'd watch Grandpa clean them out back by the garage.