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Ocean
View Memories
Norma
Sadler Alley
In
the 1920’s Ocean View was just being developed. All the
folks from Portsmouth had summer homes there. Then many
became permanent ones. 1115 Hillside Avenue, where I
grew up, was originally a summer cottage. My folks
moved there in March 1924 and added a large room on the
back, a sun parlor and a kitchen, converting it to year
round use.
As
everyone knows, living at the beach means lots of
visitors. Our visitors loved to go fishing, but we had
no need to. There were neighbor fishermen who kept us
supplied with fish all summer long. Daddy would even
“corn” them to be eaten in the winter. We had no
freezers at the time. We had big fish fries outside
under a large tree with hand-cranked ice cream and would
bury watermelons in the sand to keep them cold. A treat
for visitors to the area was a walk at night down the
beach to see them “haul in the seine” at the fishery. I
cannot recall the name now, but remember seeing the
fishermen flap the fish in boxes to be shipped to
retailers.
One
year, as a surprise, Daddy had a boat built for us. He
named it Nor-Mar for me (Norma) and my sister
(Margaret). I developed good muscles rowing around the
Bay. A bunch of us gals and guys would row out to the
fishing grounds and dive off the boat. Many times we
would lose an anchor. Other times we would get careless
and lo0se oar locks. Then we would all have to get
behind the boat and paddle in. Of course, that didn’t
set too well with my parents.
Our
gang usually hung out on the beach at Atlans Street and
in front of the Atlantic Hotel. We had a nice mile walk
on the beach either to the Amusement Park, or Spencer’s
in the other direction. This gang included Allyn and
Carolyn Davis, Henrietta, Mo,
Frank and Dick Boyce, Shirley and Stanley Rabey, Jack
and Carlton Hickman, Ann and Mike Magum. Also from that
general area were Tommy Ward and his brothers, Bryce
Fisher, Bob Barrett, Martha and Lil Abbott to name a
few. In winter we skated on the beach as some of the
waterfront homes had cement bulkheads. When they had
fireworks at the Amusement Park we could sit on the
beach at Atlans Street and have a perfect view.
Ocean View was truly a great place to grow up. We
climbed the sand hills and old sprawling live oak trees
in the back of our house. They were large and many. We
even went sledding in the snow there at night with
bonfires to keep warm. One year the Chesapeake Bay
froze over. I was told not to go out on the ice. Of
course I did so along with my friends, but ole Norma
fell in and got all wet.
During the hurricane of 1933 Daddy took me over to the
Lapetina’s porch on the Chesapeake Bay and he had to
hold me to keep me from blowing away. We watched an
entire garage roof float down the bay. After it
subsided all the adults walked up to Ocean View Park
(about a mile away) to see the damage. They said I was
too small to go, but I remember they brought me an
inflatable orange rubber tiger. Toys, drinks and all
kinds of things were just floating around in the park.
We
had a big house on Hillside Avenue which was full of
people all the time. There were mama, daddy, sis, me,
my grandfather, two uncles, and always someone
visiting. Mama cooked and washed and cleaned for the
gang. Uncle Carlton raised pigeons in the back yard,
and on Sunday mornings Mama (Edith Sadler) would cook
the squab and her weekly hot rolls-or salt herring-or
frog legs. In those days Harold Henly of Henly’s Market
would come by in the morning, sit and chat, and take
Mama’s grocery order. Later in the day he would deliver
the groceries. One year Mama drove me and some
neighborhood kids to Bay View School every day.
I had a cast on my
right leg and couldn’t walk over the sand hills and
through the woods to school.
On
summer nights we would sit on the Boyce’s steps and tell
ghost stories. By dark everyone was afraid to go home
alone. We would play cards around Dorcas James’ dining
room table. Allyn Davis lived on Ocean View Avenue (the
main drag). They had a nice swing on their front parch,
so the girls would hang out there to see all the action
(boys). There was little “cruising” as few had cars in
those days, but a lot of strolling was done up and down
Ocean View Avenue and back and forth to the beach.
I
spoke of mother driving us to school one year. All of
the Cottage Line kids went to Bay View School. Our
house backed up to sand hills. We had to go over the
hill and through the woods to a Modoc Avenue sidewalk
that went all the way to Sturgis Street. If we wanted
to ride our bicycles we could go up Ocean View Avenue to
Sturgis street, ride up a sand hill there on a narrow
cement sidewalk, then carry our bicycles down steep
steps on the far side.
Many
of us brought lunches and ate in the cafeteria, but the
only thing I recall are the crackers and milk. The soda
crackers and peanut butter were a penny and the graham
crackers with peanut butter cost two cents.
One
year for the May Day Festival I was elected May Queen,
but do not recall the year or my king. Mildred Hodges
was Queen and George Lille was King in 1936. Bay View
School had a 75th Anniversary Celebration in 1998. I
went there from 1929 to 1936 through grade 6-L, then to
Ocean View School in 6-H, before going to Blair Junior
High School. At that time each grade had a low and
high. That half year at Ocean View gave all of us a
chance to get to know the kids from Willoughby before
going on to Blair Junior High School.
During the depression
in the 1930’s my dad (Roland Sadler) was the only one
working. He took care of the whole family at Ocean
View. We always had an automobile and a telephone.
Neighbors would come over and use our telephone.
It
was here on the beach that I met Jack Alley, who later
became my husband of forty years. We were married
during World War ll at the Ocean View Methodist Church
parsonage on First View Street. Dad loved his Sunday
School class there, and the Ocean View Lions Club. In
later years we went to some Lions dances at the
Nansemond Hotel and had some good times when we were all
in the chorus of a Minstrel the Lions put on at Ocean
View School. Of course, Ernie Morgan (Mr. Ocean View)
was a part of the minstrel.
NSA
We at the Ocean View Station
Museum will always remember fondly the visits of Norma
Sadler Alley to the museum. She will be greatly
missed .
Bett Prudner |