One of my fondest memories of childhood is going to Northgate Park with Janie in the early seventies. Janie was our daycare provider, but seemed like family to my sister and me. Her house was on Acadia Street facing the park, which was then known as the Bird Sanctuary. The park was our playground. For a child, the park was a paradise with tall slides, swings and a deep winding creek. We were never allowed to play in the creek, but on many occasions would climb down the steep bank to pick blackberries that grew wild. It was like walking through a brier patch, but it didn't seem to matter as long as we were filling our bowls full of blackberries. We spent countless hours climbing and playing on the Rocket sliding board and the Merry-go-round.

     However, the real fun came when the park flooded from heavy rains. This seemed to happen almost yearly. From a child's perspective this caused much excitement. Sometimes the water would rise so high that it crossed over Acadia Street and made its way into the yards of the surrounding homes. Cars seemed to move like boats as they slowly drove down the flooded streets. Janie must have known she was in for it on those days, because it was impossible for her to keep us indoors. All we wanted to do was get into that water! We were usually soaking wet by mid-morning. I remember our grandparents, who lived a few blocks away, arriving as we were playing in the water. I thought they were there to join in on the fun. Now, I realize that Janie must have called them for back-up help. We were out of control on those days!

     Janie rarely said "No" to anything, and that is why we always had so much fun and loved her so much. These are good memories. We always remained close to Janie until her death in the late nineties.