To All The Kids Who Survived The 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because we were always outside playing. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms...we had friends and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live in us forever. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!        Ahhhh . . . . the good times !


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Youngsters squealed as Edgewater Parks roller coaster -- "The Wild Beast"-- goes over the top on opening day in the spring of 1942. "Nothing could be better than to take the Livernois/Grand River bus to Edgewater Park on a hot summer Saturday or Sunday," "Cotton candy, thrill rides, and lots of people. Entering Edgewater Park and hearing the screams of kids enjoying the Tilt-a-whirl, or the smell of cotton candy, and taking the bus ride home will always remain one of the fondest memories of the past. Edgewater Park, Detroits westside funland for more than half a century opened in 1927 during the Depression. It was responsible for an untold number of romances. Always a good place to hang out, everyone had fun. The 20-acre park, located at Grand River (Actually Berg Road ) and Seven Mile Road was operated for many seasons by Milton and Cyril Wagner. The main attraction was a rickety-looking wooden roller coaster known as the "Wild Beast". It had other names over the years including "Soul Train". Anyone who rode its twisting, torturous path experienced stomach wrenching thrills. A colossal 110-foot ferris wheel with free swinging gondolas, grabbed your attention. A favorite at Edgewater was the Hall of Mirrors. The park hit its popularity peak in the 1930s, when it offered a relatively cheap way to forget the Depression, and in the wartime 40s when it became jam-packed, night after night, with young servicemen. It offered Dodgem cars, The Octopus, a carousel, Hall of Mirrors and a funhouse where sudden jets of air blew up the skirts of young ladies. Edgewater flourished for many years fueled by early day junk food like Corn Dogs, Pronto Pups and Egg Cremes. With the advent of the super highway and birth of multimillion dollar theme parks like Disneyland, its popularity waned. In September of 1981, after 54 years of operation, Edgewater Parks turnstiles clicked for the last time.