I love stories of heroes. It is hard not to love them. In the 1960s and on in to today, they are ubiquitous in movies, television, novels, and comic books. As a boy in the 1960s, the likes of The Lone Ranger (1949-1957) galloped on Silver to the sounds of The William Tell Overture into our imaginations seemingly every day.
Then there was Superman, the Errol Flynn version of Robin Hood, and Johnny Weissmuller’s Tarzan movies, TV western heroes: Wyatt Earp, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, and the Rifleman. Books included: the Hardy Boys, Doc Savage, and Tom Swift. Comic books were also grist for the mill. All of the DC characters populated Drug Store racks: Batman, The Flash, The Green Lantern, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Aqua Man…what a treat could be had for ten cents. (Marvel comics were not as prominent at this time.)
I was flush with heroes! So, it was no surprise that young boys were intoxicated with the archetype.
And it served us well in the Brainerd area in the late 1950s and early 1960s. We had an appetite for playing “pretend.” There were wooded areas dotting the landscape then. Acres of trees with boy-made paths were ours to discover and fantasize.
Masks were of particular interest. Zorro, Clayton Moore’s Lone Ranger, and Batman come to mind.
One day we were playing in The Forbidden Woods, with sticks for swords and black masks from our play box. Running through the woods, we heard the sound of crying, “Mommy!” Stumbling through the forest was a toddler, a little girl with pink ribbons in her hair and dirt on her face. Right away we knew where she belonged. At first, she was frightened, but as I shared Jelly Beans from my pocket, she quieted down. We called her Beauty, took her hand, and walked her to her frantic Mother a few streets away. She didn’t mind the masks. We left her yard feeling good.
This was the birth of an idea. My friends and I decided to be masked “fixers” of the world we knew. First, we needed a good name. “Wonders of Wiley,” was what we chose. (We all lived on or near Wiley Avenue.) Next, we needed a mascot, like Lassie, or Bullet or Rin-Tin-Tin. Old Sandy, the family’s loveable adopted large Heinz 57, was perfect. (We gave him super powers.) And what hero does not need a costume? We chose to make capes out of purloined sheets.
Our first mission was to catch or stop the Great Pumpkin Explosions. Jack-O-Lanterns were found on most every front porch as Halloween neared. Someone or, perhaps, a gang, was putting M80s into the orange gourds and blowing them to Christmas! The Wiley Wonders donned our capes and masks and set to work. We put mouse traps in several pumpkins and watched late into the night. Sure enough, a group of toughs showed up. When they dropped their explosives into the Jack-O-Lanterns, off went the traps and snapped on their fingers! Sandy barked. The gang ran. One for the Wonders of Wiley.
Next, was the “Old Fred’s Rescue.” Old Fred was a kindly old man who could be found passed out by his Buick as he came home from the VFW club. He just couldn’t make it to the door. We would pull him up, walk him to the porch and, using his key, open the door and point him inside. The next day, Fred delivered Jelly Beans to three houses!
Most daring of all, was the insertion into the nefarious deeds of Neighborhood Bullies, older boys on their way to Dixie Smith’s Juvenile Court. Extortion of lunch money was their racket. For this, we rigged up a World War II surplus loud speaker, blue turning lights and bright flashlights. There time to strike was when parents were out for the evening. So, one night we waited in ready. Sure enough, they showed up, black leather jackets and crew cuts all. We turned on the blue lights. We announced in deep tones, “This is the Police. Stop in the name of the Law! We have attack dogs.” When the powerful flashlights fell on them, the dog barked, and they were scattered like a fox from the hen house. We laughed and danced about.
I suppose this could have gone on for years, but something new happened, puberty, and we discovered girls who also liked Jelly Beans. (dedsr1952@gmail.com)
-----
dedsr1952@gmail.com