That you know where I was born and spent the first few years of my life, let’s move on to where I spent my school days, pre-school to High School graduation.
I grew up in the city; my Grandmother always called me a city slicker.
The town has grown since I left; it was only 1,111 back in my day. And as you can see, it is spelled Fri-end, just like in the phrase ‘you are my friend’. If I was paid every time someone asked me to spell it after telling them I was from ‘Friend’ I’d be a millionaire. There is no other city in the world named Friend, at least last time I checked, so maybe that’s why it’s so hard for people to spell.
It was hope to the worlds smallest police station (by the way, this picture is after the expansion). It used to be cut off where the door is and in my time, there was no cop car, it was a pickup truck!
These are pictures of the Main Street, Maple Street. Yes, Main Street was not the main street, it was Maple Street.
Most of friends success was due to the railroad. Here is the old depot. Although Friend was not one of them, along this railroad line every 15 miles or so there was a town. They were known as the ABC Railroad towns.
The town I grew up in is in the geographical center of the US on US Highway 6. Highway 6 goes from the east coast, I believe Cape Cod area all the way out to California. It passes through Denver and Chicagoland. At one time it was the longest road in the United States.
Here are a few more pictures to leave you with, the library, the bank and the school. And here’s a video I found online that shows friend. Video from YouTube!
