The other day, or should I say night, when the car stopped in front of us, I never saw such a bright array of red stop lights.

Boy, if you couldn’t see these you had to be blind.

So what comes to mind was how we used to have just a dinky little red thing three or 3 1/2 inches for a car’s stoplight.

I bet some of those old cars before my time didn’t know what a stop light was.

Also, those electric turning lights were not thought of when I first started to drive.

You stuck your left arm out if you were turning left and for your right turns you did the same except you stuck it up and pointed to the right.

I’m sure a lot of folks remember doing this.

You know, driving a car and talking on a cell phone or doing their Twittering (whatever that is), don’t you think just plain common sense would suffice?

Same for motorcycle helmets for riders.

Recently, I was given a nice bunch of old Dowagiac Daily News papers.

I came across a picture and story of  wedding party reunites.

It was of Charlene and Claude Parker, who I have known for years.

Claude is now living at Zeeland, near his son, Thom.

When Claude was living in Niles after his wife died, Peg, me and Janice Behnke went to see Claude a few times.

The picture was of the folks who were a part of the Parkers’ wedding 50 years ago: Steven Camp, ring bearer; Gordon Mumaugh, usher; Larry McLaughlin, candle lighter; Joe Mallow, groomsman; Cindy Ullery, flower girl; Olive Camp, matron of honor; and Jackie Womack and Alma Phillipson, bridesmaids. I forgot the date of the picture.

I bet a lot of folks didn’t know Dowagiac’s old James McOmber gave the triangular piece of land between Oak, Wayne and James streets, which held the old Oak Street School where I spent six years of my life. This piece of land is always to be used as a school or it would revert to James McOmber’s family.

1925: Mrs. Laura Fletcher bought the Yellow Cab Co. from Earl Gillette. (wonder if he was related to King Gillette, the safety razor inventor from Dowagiac?) Mrs. Fletcher was a wonderful lady and a friend of my mother, and at one time my mother used to answer the phone at the taxi service.

Mrs. Fletcher also had a contract to deliver children to the old Oak Street School, to the orthopedic room, as I remember.

I also remember the door on the west side of the school had a ramp for children who used wheelchairs.

1987: a picture of the 1927 Dowagiac football team. Picture was taken in the school year from the south side of unpaved Spruce Street. In the picture was Eugene Valdes, quarterback. He and Bus Lymon and Carlton Hoyt were three I knew in the picture.

“Cardinal Charlie” Gill writes a nostalgic weekly column about growing up in the Grand Old City. E-mail him at cardinalcharlie@hotmail.com.