Life In Memphis Nebraska

In the early 1950's, we lived in the very small town of Memphis, Nebraska.  By very small, I mean 150-200 people.  The population hasn't changed much since then.  The 2009 count is 111.  I remember, counting my sister and me, 10 grade school kids in the entire town limits.  At the very most, there were 25 kids in a one-room school house (grades 1-8) with one teacher.  As I recall, we only lived there for 3 years, then moved to California.  I have a lot of fond memories wrapped up in those 3 years.  The biggest attraction, of course, was Memphis Lake.  We spent hours in, on, or around the lake all year long.  I learned to swim there.  I learned to ride a bike there.  I learned the pain of leaving friends behind there.  In 1989, I took my 3 boys to visit Memphis.  The old school house was still there, though it had become the Town Hall, and the house we lived in was still standing.  From what I can tell in satellite photos, it isn't any longer.  I'm 64 now, but I still think back to those few years of my life.

I recall a day or two we spent on a sand bank, leading down to the railroad tracks.  It was summer, but we found it was steep enough to ride a steel railed sled down.  At most, it was 10 feet to the bottom.  To us, it was 100.  No one ever hit the tracks, but by the time we were done, we had worn out a pretty good sled.  I mentioned I learned how to swim in the lake.  It was quite by accident.  Actually, I learned how to dive off the boat dock, turn under water, and come up to grab the dock and climb out.  Once, I turned the wrong way.  I came up and the dock was 8 feet from me.  As I was, frantically, getting myself back to the dock, I remember Charles Fredrickson laughing and yelling "I thought you said you couldn't swim".  As the years went by, I became quite a swimmer, but I liked exploring the bottom best.