Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Memories of Karl Barge-My Brother
When I heard of Karl’s passing, to say I was stunned would be an understatement. We had not spoken in at least a decade and I instantly felt a pang of guilt. Now that I’ve a had a few days to process this terrible event, memories of our lives together have come flooding back.
Karl and me first became friends in the summer of 1969. His family had moved into Ivy Court, one block away and adjacent to the Center Street School property.
Years earlier, Karl’s parents, had known my parents when Dr. David Barge studied at RPI in Troy, NY.
Karl and me quickly became friends and he was welcomed into the neighborhood. Within a few weeks, Pete Eckman, Tom Lettis, Karl and me formed a close bond.
Living in Oneonta, in those times, was rich with adventure for kids of our age.
Riding bikes all day, playing basketball, nighttime sessions of Blacky, swimming in Wilber Park pool, building snow forts during big storms-the fun was endless.
Karl and I shared a love of music and comedy. I still remember going to his house to listen to his parent’s stereo-playing Bill Cosby records again and again. 9000 Cop Cars at the Bottom of the Hill, was one of our favorites.
To this day, I still remember when Karl and his brother Marc decided to paint their bedroom black! They added several black light posters and a few black lights. Very groovy!
One of my favorite activities with Karl, was joining him on the Hartwick College campus, where his dad headed up the Physics department. Since Karl was family of faculty, he was allowed to use the brand-new field house facilities-including the Olympic sized pool. This became a ritual. After playing basketball and swimming, Karl, Marc and I would walk back down the hill. Often, we would stop at a small off campus pizzeria on the corner of Center and West streets. The name of the place is lost to history, but I remember how great the pizza was.
Time marched on as we grew into high schoolers, then adults with jobs. Regardless, we stayed close.
Eventually, as so often happens, we lost touch. Karl had moved to the Buffalo area and I had moved with my wife to Saratoga Springs.
I believe it was the weekend of our 25th high school reunion, in 2002, Karl and me reconnected for the weekend. Both of us were back in town and managed to spend some time catching up, as well as, playing a round of golf at the Oneonta Country Club with some of our classmates. This is the last memory I have of him. He seemed happy and was enjoying his life.
This is the way I prefer to remember Karl-with a deep connection and shared life experience.
I will never forget you, my brother, Karl.
Tom Robinson
