Memories of Growing Up in Trilby
Trilby was more than streets, houses, schools, and businesses. For the children who grew up here, Trilby was a place to ride a bicycle, walk to a friend’s house, take a shortcut through an empty lot, visit a local store, and sometimes get into a little trouble along the way. Those everyday experiences are an important part of Trilby’s history. The stories on this page are personal memories shared by people who grew up in or around Trilby. They may not appear in history books, but they tell us what it was actually like to be a kid here.
Some memories are funny. Some are bittersweet. Some involve places that have disappeared. Others bring back familiar streets and businesses that people still remember today. Together, they help tell the story of growing up in Trilby.
The Sting-Ray, the Dirt Mound and the Dogs
A Trilby Childhood Memory — Around 1960
I remember one time coming home from Otto’s Variety Store on my bike. It must have been around 1960. When I was little, I was thrilled to get a banana-seat bike, with the sweeping handlebars. A Sting-Ray, I think they called it.It was way cool.
So, I’m flying home on my Sting-Ray, and the corner lot at Atwell Road and Glenn Street was a vacant lot. It had a dirt path cutting diagonally through the lot, an obvious shortcut made by hundreds of kids cutting across. It’s not like we ever had sidewalks in the “newer” housing developments. I turned my bike onto the path. In the middle of the path was a mound of dirt. Where it came from I do not know, but someone had dumped a wheelbarrow-full — or maybe two — right in the middle of the path. And if you hit the mound at speed, and pulled back correctly on your handlebars, you could get some air under your tires. You could jump your bike, in other words. I took a jump. Cool. I went back and did it again. Cool. And on the third attempt, I wiped out completely. Ouch.
I had a skinned knee and gravel embedded in my elbows. I have some there to this day, I think — hard to tell. I also bent the handlebars sideways, which would have been simple to fix if I had the presence of mind to do so. But I was too busy crying — and bleeding. So, I began to walk the bike home, with its crooked handlebars and me going into shock from my injuries. When I reached the halfway point, at the corner of Atwell Road and Edgedale Circle, I was suddenly set upon by a couple of vicious dogs. I think they were chihuahuas, though they might have been toy terriers. The little things raced right out into the street and went for my ankles. It didn’t matter that they weren’t very big. I wasn’t very big! And they were mean dogs, and very determined.
I struggled to keep the bike between me and their tiny teeth. I kicked at them and yelled, but I couldn’t seem to land a blow. Anyhow, crying — a lot — and bleeding — not much — and in excruciating pain — just imagine — and using some of the foulest language I had ever attempted in my eight-year-old existence, I finally made it to my own front yard. My mother comforted me and dressed my wounds. I believed she used mercurochrome back then. It turned your skin red.
We straightened the handlebars the next day.
The Route Home
This one childhood adventure brings several familiar Trilby locations together.
Otto’s Variety Store,
Atwell Road & Glenn Street
The vacant lot and dirt shortcut
Atwell Road & Edgedale Circle
Home
To a child traveling by bicycle, these weren’t simply street names. They were part of the neighborhood. A vacant lot could become a bicycle track. A pile of dirt could become a jump. A short walk could turn into an adventure. And a couple of very small dogs could become the most terrifying thing in the world.
The Lesson
The lesson I learned all those years ago still applies today. Whenever one is confronted with speed bumps on the road ahead, be careful to slow down, and do not try to jump your vehicle over the bump. And if you do, never go back and take another one just for fun.
Do You Remember Growing Up in Trilby?
Everyone who grew up in Trilby has a story. Maybe you remember riding your bicycle to Otto’s. Maybe you walked to Trilby School. Maybe you remember a vacant lot where kids played, a house that has since disappeared, or a neighborhood business that everybody knew.Maybe you remember your first bicycle, your first job, a neighborhood friend, a summer adventure, or getting into trouble and hoping your parents wouldn’t find out. Those memories are part of Trilby’s history too.
We Want to Hear Your Story
TrilbyOhio.com is collecting memories from people who grew up in the Trilby area. Your memory does not have to be about a famous person or an important historical event.
It can be something as simple as:
- Riding your bicycle around the neighborhood
- Walking to school
- Playing in a vacant lot
- Visiting a local store
- Going to a restaurant or tavern with your family
- Playing baseball or other neighborhood sports
- Remembering your neighbors
- Getting your first job
- Going to dances or community events
- Christmas, Halloween, or summer memories
- Something funny that happened when you were a kid
- A place in Trilby that no longer exists
Small memories are important.
They help future generations understand what everyday life in Trilby was really like.
Help Preserve the Memories of Trilby
If you have a Trilby childhood memory, photograph, newspaper clipping, old letter, advertisement, school photograph, or other piece of local history, please consider sharing it. Include as many details as you remember:
Who:
Names of people, families, teachers, friends, or neighbors.
Where:
Street names, intersections, businesses, schools, houses, or other locations.
When:
An approximate year or decade is helpful.
What:
Tell us what happened and why you remember it.
You don’t have to remember every detail. In fact, memories often become more valuable when they are accompanied by questions such as, “Does anyone else remember this?” Someone else may have the photograph. Someone else may remember the name. Someone else may know what happened to the building. That is how a community history grows.
From One Memory to Many
The story of Trilby cannot be told through buildings and business directories alone. It is also found in the memories of the people who lived here.
A bicycle ride home.
A shortcut across an empty lot.
A trip to Otto’s Variety Store.
A school day.
A neighborhood friend.
A mother waiting at home.
These are the small moments that made Trilby home.
We hope this page will become a growing collection of those memories.
If you grew up in Trilby, we want to hear from you.
Share Your Trilby Memory
Your story could become part of the permanent history of Trilby, Ohio.
About This Memory
Memory: The Sting-Ray, the Dirt Mound and the Dogs
Location: Trilby, Ohio
Approximate year: Around 1960
Age of storyteller: 8 years old
Locations mentioned: Otto’s Variety Store, Atwell Road, Glenn Street, Edgedale Circle
Submitted to: TrilbyOhio.com
This story has been preserved as a personal recollection. Details such as dates, names, and locations reflect the storyteller’s memory and may be updated if additional information or photographs are provided. Thank you Tom M for sharing this story with us!