By Helen McCormack, October 5, 2019 — I was born February 3rd, 1939 in Summit, New Jersey. Growing up, I was on the quieter, more reserved side. As an only child, I would run around and play with the other kids on my street. This is where I met my best friend Phyliss, as we are still friends to this day. Growing up, the kids in the neighborhood and our friends from school wanted to do more than just run around the streets and play games like tag.
By my freshman year of high school, my friends and I were thinking of something to do. We heard of an amusement park that was open in Irvington, just a couple towns over. This is where we would go shopping with our moms and walk around when we had free time. Therefore, we were comfortable with the area already. One night we were dropped off at the park and were told we would be picked up around 9 pm. We all jumped out of the car and began walking around the park deciding what rides we wanted to go on. I was never much of a thrill-seeker, but I was still going to enjoy the activities with everyone else. I wasn’t scared of rides or roller coasters, they just weren’t my favorite thing to do. After going on a couple warm-up rides we decided to go on the biggest roller coaster there. The big appeal at the time was a very high hill and a long, fast, decline. This moment was the most thrilling and adventurous activity I have ever done. I love to think back to this amusement park since it is no longer there and because it was a prominent spot to go during my younger years.