Fishing at Banning Park

One of the great things I loved as a kid in the 1970s was mom taking us to Banning Park to go fishing. There were two ponds at Banning Park and I honestly don't think I ever caught a fish in either one. The big attraction was the both ponds were right next to the train tracks. My mom would sit in a chair and read, she loved to read. Chris and I would fish using either bread or worms as bait, sometimes we would try to use lures. The fish just didn't bite but it was always fun to hang out with Chris and mom and watch the trains roll by. Sometimes Aunt Pat and my cousin George, Georgie back then but don't call him that now, would come too. By listening for the distant rumble, I could tell the difference between the passenger and freight trains well before I could see them. The trains were pulled by the mighty electric locomotives called the GG-1. They were iconic in American industrial design, some of the freight trains were pulled by the E-44 types which I did not like as much. Since the parking lots were gravel there was also a lot of stone skipping. I remember counting how many skips we would get, the key to this was finding the proper rock and getting a low angle on the throw. I will always remember those days at Banning Park as wonderful.