As Leonard Burton tells stories from his youth about zealous policemen and thirsty elephants, it is hard to imagine that he is recalling something that happened more than 85 years ago.
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Born on November 14, 1922, Mr Burton has spent the majority of his life in Forbes.
Celebrating his 95th birthday, Mr Burton reflected on how things had changed, including trends in fashion and the different stores.
When he was young, Mr Burton and friends liked running around and going to the cinema, which cost six pence.
Other attractions included occasional visits by travelling circuses: once young Len was offered a free ticket if he helped get water for one of the elephants.
“We wore our shoes out walking backwards and forwards giving him water,” he recalled. But his mum wouldn’t let him go back a second day to claim his free ticket.
Mr Burton was married to Pauline for 71 years, they had four children, five grand children and seven great grandchildren.
There are so many ways life has changed in Len Burton’s time.
Growing up, he remembers walking almost 10km from his parents house in William Street to get to school in Wongajong.
Mr Burton said that the relationship between young people and police has changed a fair bit.
He recalls that if police saw you standing around, they would move you on – and you certainly wouldn’t ignore their warning.
“If you were standing there when they came back they'd run you in,” he remembers them saying.
Mr Burton said many of the shops that he remembered growing up, including John Meagher’s and Farah’s, are now long gone.
“We used to go into town where there used to be a blacksmith’s shop here, a blacksmith's shop there – and they pulled all of them down and built houses,” he said.
Mr Burton worked for 34 years in telecoms doing line work along with several other technicians.
Along with his work as a technician, Mr Burton owned several show and jumping horses.
One of which successfully competed in many shows, winning close to 40 ribbons.
Mr Burton said there were some things he can’t remember from his childhood, but he can remember the floods.
In the historic 1950 floods, the water came over the corner of the house and he had to camp on the railway.
“By the time we got out of (the house), standing up then, it was up to my chest,” Mr Burton said.