Walking over the stones, splashing crystal clear water up over our knees, we search for treasures. Yellow and orange stones hide crystal quartz - diamonds to us. We fill our pockets as we walk, gathering these treasures as we go. An arrowhead excites us all as dad tells us of the Indians that walked this same creek. A big eight wheel locomotive slows to take the curve. The tracks that run parallel to the creek are busy with trains carrying people to Chicago, and cows on their way to the stockyard. We're mesmerized by the sound and white smoke puffing from these black monsters . Dad pulls open the lens on his camera and takes a few shots of the monster straining to get around the curve. “Your Uncle John worked on that one,” he tells us. Dad works in the wheel shop.
Dad, Uncle John and Uncle Paul work for the railroad fixing engines and train cars. Aurora, my home town, was a railroad town. Indian Creek ran along the North side of the train yards. The train yard was just a block from our house. Summer nights I'd lay in bed and listen to the trains passing through Aurora. During the day I was too busy playing to notice the trains, but at night you heard the steam bell ring from the straining engines trying to get around the High Street curve. Then a whistle asking for permission to proceed. The wheels of the engine not getting traction, and another whistle, and more spinning of the wheels before getting on its way.
Dad folded up his Kodak and we would proceed on our hunt for diamonds and arrowheads. My little sister reached her limits and dad lifted her up to ride on his shoulders for the return trip back to the house. Resting on the porch swing, Dad would eat a piece of pie as my sister and I lined up our treasures on the stone railing of the porch to show mom. Only the best stones were placed in my treasure box, alongside Great Granddad's broken pocket knife and pocket watch that still told time, just not the correct time. Six Indian beads, a spent shotgun shell, and six marbles that dad played with as a kid made up the rest of my treasures. Oh, and a flattened dime a steam locomotive ran over.
