The Boys of Fair Hills – A Most Unusual Summer

For the young boys of Fair Hills, the first day of summer never came soon enough, nor did the day last long enough. But there was one exception, at least with respect to the length of the day. That exception came following their 7th grade school year. The summer of 1958 started out like the other first days of summer for the Fair Hills boys. School always let out just before Memorial Day. As the bell closed out the final day of 7th grade, the boys were moving up from Little League to Pony League. They were excited but a little intimidated about what they knew they were about to face, the dreaded curve ball. The boys always began the first day of summer with a morning game of sandlot baseball. The afternoon would be spent with a trip to Crawfish Creek. The evening would center around an outdoor hamburger cookout. What could possibly be a better start to summer than that? Kenny took his beloved beagle, Boss, to the creek and to the game. When Boss left the trail on the way to the cookout, Kenny could not get him to come. The boys followed Boss and soon found themselves lost. A week later, and after an unexpected journey of almost two thousand miles, the boys were safely back at home. What happened during that week, and for the rest of the summer, made for the most unusual summer ever.