Fond Memories
January 10, 2007
The site stimulates so many reactions.
What, for example, would a family have to pay today for all we had back in
those days in that neighborhood? We must have had a bargain education.
What must they have put out for our elementary education.
With over 60 in a class in must have cost between 2 and 3 dollars a year for
our schooling. Only kidding.
On the Lions Brewery I think of it
this time of year when the Christmas trees are being discarded. The empty
lot awaiting the building of the junior high school was, as I recall, the site
of all the old trees going up in flames. Ecologically
unacceptable today but a lot of fun.
And on the canned beer I remember
my fathers friend who thought it was one of the great
advances in technology. As he said with his west of
All the
best in the New Year.
Mark Mooney '51
***********************************************
April 19, 2006
Dennis: Thank you for the Rusty Can website. My family
moved into the neighborhood at 60 West 106th Street in September 1943. My
brothers and I had to walk past the brewery every day on our way to attend
Ascension which I started out in the 3rd Grade under Sister Ruth. I
remember the Bakery there between 107th & 108th Streets where we would
gather on Sunday mornings to buy Hard rolls and sweet
buns. It was a tough time growing up there but we managed to survive and
move to
************************************
April
9, 2006
From the guest book.
It's been too long since
I've said hello to ALL those that I grew up playing with, working for, learning
from and just plain being with. From the sports nites,
to the singing groups to the public speaking competitions to all those great
"secret parties" that were always uncovered by monday morning, we simply "had a blast". I
look forward to seeing everyone from Jake & Nancy Barrett, and Johnny my
very early "best friend", to the guys that made my childhood, Jim
O'Rourke, Jim Cunningham, Jackie McCarthy, Ken Mahoney (my best man) and the
list goes on and on. I'll be in touch going forward, but where's all the grads
from the 60's...From 1963 - 1969 were some fabulous years for the many guys
& girls of 107th Street.....Hopefully, you'll finally sign in like I'm
doing and will turn out at the next reunion.....See you all soon. Regards, Mike
(Aglora) Aglialoro....
Another note!
My memories were of trying
to get passed the brothers each year. Passed them with the weekend parties
(we
had a 7pm curfew Monday thru Thursday & 9pm on weekends and the brothers
policed the
neighborhood), the homework, the singing
groups/talent shows, the public speaking (competition throughout the borough),
the sports and all for the sake of having fun. From
Brother Andrew in 5th Grade, to Brother Thomas in 6th, back to Brother Andrew
in 7th and finally, to Brother John in 8th grade.
We truly knew the "real meaning" of corporal punishment!!!!
The core group with me was
Ken Mahoney, Bert Belasco, Desmond Maxwell, Steven Narvaez and Edgar Perez.
In my class, however, my
actual group included
Jim O'Rourke (class of 65), John Templeton (class of 65), Ken
Mahoney, and a few others not in Ascension. Wow, "where are they now"?.....
That's it for the moment...
Regards,
Mike
Michael L. Aglialoro
***************************************
July
18, 2005
I found out about the alumni
association from father Duffell after going to mass
at
John J Pellegrini mailto:JohnJPelle@aol.com
***************************************
May
17, 2005
I just had lunch with Larry Califano, '53. Not only did we talk about the old NY,
I fondly remember being in choir in Ascension in the 7th and 8th grade.
It was fun being up in the choir loft. Thanks for sending that photo of
Clem.
We lived on the 4th floor on 109, then moved to 114th
across from St Lukes. That was a 6th floor walk
up. And who can forget the "Hill" in central part and
If anybody wants to get in touch. My name is
Ellen Smith '58. My brother is Tom Smith '57
ellensmithwilliams@msn.com
**************************************
May
14, 2005
A WEST SIDE MEMORY
by
Mary Hennessy Trotta
Growing up on the West
Side of Manhattan during the 1940's was to me, as a child, very pleasant and as
I think back very happy memories.
As an only child I was
always made to feel comfortable and secure, with a loving mother and father.
I lived on the top floor
of a 4-story walk up. Top floor was
always cool in summer and cool in winter.
When the steam heat wasn't sent up. Boiler was broken a lot in those days. Rent was always cheaper too!
Our neighbors were our
friends and so were the children. Most
of our apartment families were from Donegal.
So it was
There was no
air-conditioning in those summers. Our
cooling off time was spent in
Our fathers spent time
playing cards, slapping and yelling, "trump,"
"No trump." I think the game
was called "Uker." A lot of the men played horseshoes and
shuffleboard too. The women sat on
benches and crocheted and knitted and talked about the latest news from Home,
church goings on, births, weddings and deaths.
A bit of Irish gossip.
We children were left to
play tag, roller skate (there was a great rink), play hide and seek, dig in the
dirt, run around under the cool trees.
Lunches or drinks were
very seldom brought. There was always a
clean drinking fountain.
Lunch was usually had
back home. Down the Hill stairs over the
six blocks and up to the top floor again, for lunch and maybe a rest.
A radio could be listened
to, no TV. Of course, everyone was
anxious to hear the war news and saddened by it. We had no one in our immediate family who was
in the service, or fighting, but we felt for them and friends we knew who were
"over there."
In the early evening
after dinner we would walk back again and up the "Hill" and enjoy the
pleasures of Central Park again, just as we had earlier in the day.
On our way home from the
park, the children were treated to ice cream from a local German ice cream
parlor, where the man made his own. A
favorite of mine and my
friends was a large flat cone, the top the size of a saucer,
topped with vanilla ice cream and a scoop of orange ice, and it only cost a
nickel. I have never seen the same
since. It was way before the
"mellow roll" which has also disappeared from the
We children would have
our ice cream, and our dads, and sometimes the moms too, would stop in the
local bar and have a cool draft beer to finish the day. The families could sit in the back and at
tables, in the back. The children could
eat the pretzels and drink sodas, and of course on weekends there was always
fine Irish music, which we all grew up listening to.
Mass was held on
Sundays only, at Ascension Church on West 107 Street a good 4 long block either
way, and nary a complaint. It was the
thing to do. Saturday evening we would
be there to confessions, and we would not forget our Monday afternoon novenas.
The Church played an
important part in our lives, summer and winter.
There was a great faith and devotion to God and "Our Blessed
Mother" from our family and friends during the 1940's because of the War
and the faith that our parents had instilled in them, which they brought from
****************************************************
The class PICTURE
I had the distinct privilege of
visiting the oldest Alumni on our list. Their son- also Gene, had sent an email
saying that “Speaking of Alumni, my parents graduated in 1924 and ’25 and they
live in New Port Richey,
Well, Gene is an active 95 and
Margaret is a slowed down 96. She has trouble with her knees.
We sat in their living room for an
hour and a half talking about their memories. I felt like a kid in a candy
store.
Margaret lived on 106th Between Amst & Bdwy next to the
bakery.
Gene was an orphan at about 4
years old. After a stay in an orphanage in
“My uncle told me to get some of
the manure for my aunts flowers. I didn’t like that
job.”
“We played immies
in the street ‘til late at night, in the manholes.”
“The ice house was down the street.
They tore down those houses and put up a big garage.”
“We moved a lot. We didn’t have
the $14 or $16 rent one time. Then we lived at 214 or 218 108th- a couple of
houses in that block. Moved up to 112th. People moved
a lot in those days.”
I thought about it for a minute
and figured out that when they started in Ascension it was 1916
and 1917, the
time of the first world war. For cryin’ out loud! The
school was almost new.
They got married in Ascension in
1935 and moved up to
“I think I remember the Toolans ‘’26 & ’27 from
“Every summer we went down the
shore to
“I think I remember going to
“The parish house (PAL) was a
great thing. They held the Golden Gloves there. I was active in the parish too.
I helped down there. I seen this one fella there, a
nice lookin’ guy, he got a smack in the nose, it was
a mess, I got sick and had to get out of there. It was an awful sight”.”
“Gene Irving was a classmate, his
brother was a fighter- he had some pro fights in the Garden.”
“We know Jim Blaney
’40 in
“Lookin
out the window I saw 4 cops beat the hell out of a kid one night. I don’t know
what he did”.
“The Little Sisters of the poor
were in
Margaret says “I ran errands for
them. My mother was there to stand guard. I was good that way!”
“We had Msgr. Donahue. There was
another Msgr. Donahue in Holy Name.”
“There were a lot of bars.”
Margaret says “ Where there’s Irish there are bars.”
“There was a Reeves grocery store
on 107th & Amst.”
“ I had this fella in the 8th
grade- I was supposed to get the gold medal for the alter servers. But
what happened- he went into the priesthood, and he got the medal. He became a
priest.”
“He had it rough,” Margaret says.
“In the home in
“You’d be surprised at how many
poor priests there were, buried in a potters field down near the
“What high school did you go to?”
“I went to Julia Richmond”
Margaret says.
"What high school", Gene
says, “I went right to work!”
“I got a job in St Lukes hospital delivering the
water jugs around the wards. Then I went to the IRT subway and never quit.”
“They used to give me free rides
on the buses.” Margaret says. “I road on the top of the
“I got a picture of our class
1925!!!!! out in the garage. We had 40 or 42 in the
class.”
Margaret says, “How could they do
it?” -and then we figured out that they had double seats in the classroom. No
more boys side and girls side. Margaret had to deliver
things to the boys side sometimes . “Oh! I did it
all!”
They went up on the roof for recess.
“What happens- there was a little candy store
next to the boys side. He made out good.” (???)
Margaret lived in the rich block
on 106th Amst & Bdwy.
“There was a big bicycle store. A
United Cigar Store too.”
“I was on the baseball team too.
We used to hang out there to get coupons. When we got enough we got a baseball.”
Where did you play?
“On
Margaret says, “Have a cup of
coffee.”
“Come on out in the garage and
help me get the graduation picture.” Gene says.
“We had two brothers named Pickel in the class.’ (in the
picture) remembering some of the kids. “45 kids in the class.
Monsignor Donahue, I remember him as much older. I stayed in the parish a long
time ‘til 1935 when we got married.”
“My father used to work in the
cathedral of
Some more lookin’
at the picture- some of the names-
“Barrett, he was a plain ordinary kid
like me, his father was a superintendent of a house on
“Monahan was a tough kid. He had a
brother who was ahead of us.He got his brother to
fight me down on
“I hung out in 108th and we played
stickball on the block.”
“That was the block I lived in for
years and years.
“LOU GEHRIG used to play stickball
with us. What happened- he used to play baseball in Morning side Park there
from 110th to 114th.
“We had a block stickball team.
GEHRIG was bigger than us but yeah he played there.”
Talked about the Columbus Ave EL-
at
“How old were you when you went to
work for the subway?”
“Oh I was young. I got a job in
the office. That lasted a few years and then I went up to the shop at
“When I worked up there, there was
only one block that was colored-
“Did you ever go to the
“Then we went to the
Where did you work Margaret?
“I worked in John Wanamaker’s for
years.”
Gene tells me that she moved from
106th, after Ascension, down to 75 W 101st.
We talked about The Drive. “Were
the tracks covered up when you played down there? At some point they were
covered up.”
“We played baseball down there on
the other side of the tracks right by the river. There was nothin’
to that- goin’ over the tracks.”
“What happened- there was an
entrance in our area at 108th. There was the boat house.”
“I delivered groceries there from
Pat Shanahans, the grocery store on
Time to
leave.
“I have to get this picture
reduced so I can put it on the computer.”
“ I think
Whalen’s drug store does that. No let’s see Walgreen’s I mean”
“Well my wife is comin’ by to pick me up, I’m gonna
hit the road. I’ll be back to see you.”
“Oh any time! We’ll be glad to see
you.”
(A week later on a short return
visit)
“We had Monsignor Sweeney before
Father Donahue. He wore white gloves. He wouldn’t shake anybody’s hand without
the gloves.”
“When Cardinal Hayes died, Bishop
Spellman came down from
“ He got off
the train at 125th and they had a parade. All the Catholic school kids lined up
in the different blocks. I can’t remember what block we were in.
The parade went down
“We had plays in the auditorium.”
Did you have an orchestra?
“No we had a piano player- Mr.
Hess. I think he taught some kids the violin.”
How many priests were in the
rectory back then Gene?
“Oh I remember some of them. Let’s
see- Father ???”
How about Father Paloni?
“Oh yeah- he had to sleep in a
room off the stage in the auditorium until there was room for him in the
rectory.”
“We took the ferry across the
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello to fellow Ascension School
Alumni,
I attended
I remember some of my teachers:
vaguely believe First Grade was Sr. James???;
2nd Grade was Sr. Margaret Regina
whom I loved and who has stayed in my memories;
Third and Fourth Grade was Sr.
Elizabeth; Fifth Grade was Sr. Ancilla???,
Sixth Grade was ???, Seventh Grade was Sr. Cecilia;
Eighth Grade was Sr. Margaret; The Principal was Sr. Julia whom I also
loved and who has also stayed in my memories.
A favorite memory of Ascension was going up to the roof in the month of May to
say the rosary. Spring in
I remember the classes standing on
the tiled roof on a beautiful spring day, with flowers in front the statue of
the Blessed Mother, saying the rosary. I also remember Mrs. Raptor (Sp?)
from whom we bought supplies; movies in the auditorium on occasion;
assemblies with Bishop Donahue
visiting in his robes and allowing us to kiss his ring and we would sing Ecce Sarcerdos (sp?) with Sr. Julia playing the piano; lining up on 108 street on nice days until Sr. Julia
rang the bell for us to enter (I guess we lined up in the basement on rainy
days); released time on Thursdays; confession periodically on
Friday;
9AM Mass
on Sundays in the lower church. For a while there was a traffic policeman
named Bill at 108th and
One of my friends was Bridie Hogan with whom I had a
great friendship. My close friend in later grades was Marion Adams who
graduated in 1954. She and I were great buddies. Marion and I are
in contact now and email and talk on the phone occasionally.
My sister Eileen and my brother John followed me through
For me the move was true culture
shock, living in a suburb where the bus ran once an hour and not knowing how to
drive.
My parents were married in
I understand that Ascension has
reunions periodically and would be interested in attending some time.
I am wondering if there is anyone planning a reunion for the 50th reunion of
the class of 1955 next year. If so, please let me know.
Loretta Reilly Smith ’55
mailto:21smithhome@sbcglobal.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 16, 2004
Hey Guys and Dolls,
I am an alumni class of 68' (should've been 67' but Brother Michael left me
back. I use to live on the corner of
Mary's candy store on the corner
of
Water balloons from the roof tops.
Playing chinese handball
against the wall of the Con Ed building. Stoop ball and Johnny ride the pony or
the dreaded sadistic game of Hot Peas and Butter. Where we use to hang on to
the city buses on the back for a safe free ride
for a block. Playing in
Mr. Softee and Good Humour
Bars, egg creams and Trick or Treat, Penmanship class and the likes of Brothers
Kevin, John, Micheal Benedict Coonan or Sisters Mary,
Theresa, Ms Warom, and Father Thompson and Colmena and Glenn, Welby
and as an Altar boy all the times I served Mass, Funerals and Weddings (big
money).
The choir like
Mr. Romero or the Ascension Rectory. Costello
Photo Studios and Kennedys Funeral Home.
Farrell Lumber Yard and I remember Sports Night at the Ascension Gym and
the Plays and the dances in the Lower Sacristy.
But most of all the Great memories of all who had respect for each other and thier property and the way we spoke to adults and the
respect of your elders and the manners we had to express just because we
mostly had parents who cared(unless you went to P.S.165) LOL. If there
are any of my peeps out there that remeber those days
please feel free to contact me.
Thanks for the Memories
Donald Girard mailto:Strengthtrainer1@aol.com
Class of 68'
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June 7, 2004
Hi fellow New Yorkers,
It's been a long time since I last
spoke to or saw any classmates.
I have fond memories of living on
I often wonder how all my
elementary classmates are doing and where they are living.
Anybody in
CT? Would
love to hear from you.
Julia Van Ells class of 1951
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 7, 2004
STICKBALL
When a
group of guys, a few sewers, your mother's broomstick, and a spaldeen joined together on a summer afternoon. You could
hear the cheers of several generations echoing off of manhole covers, turning a
quiet
Ellen Fuchs Dear Diary, NY Times-
June 7, 2004
Might add that my parents constantly threatened me
with summer camp but I didn't want to miss one of the summer games on the
street.
Mark Mooney
'51
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 26, 2004
Peggy - I just received the Alumni
Voice and found that one of my longest friends had past away, Jack Tully.
My heart is very sad. I feel like I just lost a family friend. I've
known him since I was in the 5th grade. I used to go to his house and we
would play ball together. We hung around different crowds when we got
older but we use to talk when we run into each other. Please pass on to
the Tully Family my sincere sympathy and know that my prayers are with
them. I too lost my mother last June. We lived on 109th and
I am about to
submit my application to become a Deacon. I've been trying to accomplish
that for, it seems, a long time. The man running the program is being
replaced. The Bishop called me after I came back from
As always, I
will keep you and your family in my prayers. I will keep everyone whoever
had anything to do with Ascension in my prayers.
Take Care, and may
God's Blessing be on all.
Les Boone ’60 mailto:TopBoone@worldnet.att.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 26, 2004
Ed
My wife and I met at ascension
school in 1968. And both are the class of 69.
George & Arlene Lamorena ’69 mailto:GEORGE_LAMORENA@MSN.COM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 2, 2004
Hi Ed,
So happy
to find out about this website.
Boy does it bring back memories.
I lived on
Everything I know I attribute to the great Sisters of Charity.
I was at Ascension when Mother
Elizabeth Seton was Blessed
and when the
Pope first visited
Believe me, my fondest childhood
memories are from Ascension.
I was in NY in June of 2001. And straight from the airport my friend drove me
to
I hadn't been there in over 20
years!
My mother was an active member of
the Mother's Guild so we were part of just every activity at the school.
I now live in
Please include my e-mail address. I found some friends there from the past and
I would also like to be found.
Thanks,
Frances Anestiades
Class of 1968
====================================
April 16, 2004
Hi,
I entered Ascension in 1975 as a
Kindergarten student, as did the three brothers before me. My mom was
very active in volunteer work at the school for many years. Through out all my
years of schooling, my most memorable ones are those at Ascension. My
best friends today are those friends I made at Ascension.
What I remember most; As an upper classman being on the third floor, the teacher would open the windows on hot days and at 2:30 Mr. Softy would come around. We couldn't wait to get out to have an ice cream with sprinkles. It never failed I always got chocolate on my nice spring uniform (blue dress). It always brings me a smile to think of the times I shared at Ascension.
Lisett Baez (Rivera) '83
====================================
November 15, 2002
We Griffiths remember
Every afternoon Mom would take us up those
steps, there had to have been at least 100,000 of them or so it seemed to me.
As we got older we pretended to be mountain climbers and go up the rocks. I’m
sure Mom didn’t know about
that, but then she always seemed to know what we were doing. Our
mother had a grapevine going, second to none. She often knew what the boys had
done before they got home.
When we were old enough to go off on our
own, there was
My husband Pat McKeown
always felt that he got an additional education reading all the magazines and
newspapers at Clem’s and never buying any of them. Although Clem often seemed
grouchy, I think that he liked us a lot to put up with so much.
Clem was
only one of the many wonderful memories I have of the “old” neighborhood.
Sincerely,
Peggy Griffith Donohue
====================================
Dear Ed...
I guess the older we get the more important the "THE OLD SCHOOL TIE"
is...especially growing up in NYC..when
it was safe and clean...no doors locked...not too many of us with telephones..but there was always
"Gussies" on the corner of 109th and
Bernadette Brawley Powers '51
========================================
Bernadette Brawley Power's beautiful memories sure brought many of my own back
to mind. You see Bernadette, My family the (Kearneys)
lived at
========================================
IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY
I WALKED ONTO
THE GUYS WERE HAD NAMES LIKE JOEY, MANNY, CORNELIUS, VINNY, WALLY, THE TULLY
TWINS JOEY AND JACKIE, BERNIE MC CROSSAN, THE BARRETT BROTHERS MICHAEL AND
BILLY, ANDY MANOHAND, AND EDDIE O'CONNELL. JOHN O'DONAHUE,
STANLEY AND TOM SMITH. ONCE A POLICEMAN SMACKED TOMMY.
THE POLICEMAN ASKED HIM FOR HIS NAME AND TOMMY IN A SMART TONE ANSWERED
"TOM SMITH". BAM! I WAS KNOWN AS TONY. A NICKNAME
GIVEN TO ME BY AN ELEVATOR OPERATOR AT THE
THE GIRLS WERE CARMEN ESCOBAR, PAT CLYNE (MY FIRST GIRLFRIEND), LUPE, JO JO, AGNES, PAT SULLIVAN AND TERRY COBURN. FROM
WE HUNG OUT AT CLEMS NEWSPAPER AND CANDY STORE ON
WE HAD AN ARCH RIVAL AND IT WAS HOLY NAME ON
BROTHER JAMES AND BROTHER PATRICK HAVING US TO GO TO THE RECTORY ON 106TH NEAR
AFTER GRADUATION SOME OF US WENT TO PAROCHIAL HIGH SCHOOLS LIKE CARDINAL HAYES
AND BISHOP DUBOIS. WHILE OTHERS LIKE ME WENT TO
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, HUGHES AND ART AND DESIGN.
SOME OF US TOOK THE NUMBER 20 BUS ACROSS TOWN TO
WE WERE NO STRANGERS TO THE BOOKER T.
WE WENT TO SATURDAY CONFESSIONS AND CHEATED A BIT. WE WOULD COMPLETE OUR 15
HALE MARYS, 15 OUR FATHERS AND THE ACT OF CONTRITION ON THE WAY OUT OF THE
ASCENSION.
WE WORE COOL CLOTHES TO CHURCH BUT NEVER BLUE JEANS OR SNEAKERS!. LOOKING BACK IT THINK THE SUITS
WERE RATHER FUNNY LOOKING.
SOME WEEKENDS WE WOULD HEAD TO THE TULLY'S HOUSE IN THE ROCKAWAYS. MR AND MRS
TULLY OWNED A BOARDING HOUSE AND WE STAYED IN THE BASEMENT. THAT WAS UNTIL MRS
TULLY WOULD THROW US OUT BECAUSE OF ALL THE NOISE.
AS WE GOT OLDER WE BEGAN TO GO TOM FELLES BAR AND LIFT WEIGHTS. I REMEMBER THAT
THE OLD GUYS USED TO HARASSED US UNTIL THE DAY THAT WE
GOT BACK AT THEM. WE COULD NOT WALK INTO FELLES WITH FOOD BECAUSE THEY WOULD
TAKE IT FROM US. SO WE MADE A BATCH OF DELICIOUS TUNA FISH SANDWICHES
LETTUCE/TOMATOES/MAYO. WE FILLED A GRAND UNION BAG AND WALKED INTO THE BAR.
WELL, THE BULLIES GRAB AND ATE THEM ALL. ON THE WAY OUT THE DOOR, MANNY AND ME
HELD UP A COUPLE OF LABELS THAT READ "PUSS AND BOOTS CAT FOOD". WE
DIDN'T RETURN TO FELLES FOR A FEW MONTHS.
WE HAD ROTTEN FOOD AND WATER BALLOONS FIGHTS. OUR CAMPING TRIPS TO
OUR PARTIES WERE HELD IN A DIMLY LITE APARTMENT AND WE POORLY HARMONIZED TO THE
DUKE OF EARL, SONGS BY LITTLE ANTHONY, THE TEMPTATIONS AND THE BEACH BOYS.
THEN WE BEGAN TO GROW UP. SOME BECAME NYC COPS OR FIREMEN, MOVIE ACTORS, AND
NURSES. SOME BECAME PARENTS AND MOVED AWAY. OTHERS WENT INTO THE SERVICE. WE
LOST ANNABELLE
BUT IF I CLOSE MY EYES - THE SITES, SOUNDS, AROMAS, THE LAUGHS AND TEARS OF THE
OLD NEIGHBORHOOD ARE WITHIN MY REACH. OH YES, IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO, BUT TO
MANY OF US - IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY!
SWEET MEMORIES THAT CAN NEVER BE REPLACED.
SWEET MEMORIES THAT BRING THE PAST INTO THE PRESENT
SWEET MMEMORIES THAT I WILL CARRY BEYOND MY FINAL SLEEP.
WRITTEN BY JOHN "TONY" VARGAS
MARCH 15, 2002
=========================================
Yo Joe:
How's it goin ! Fugedabowdit !
Gelson's now, but da
A&P between 108 & 109 on Amsterdam Ave.100 years ago.
Remember Joe ?
Loew's
Hang out on the corner 108 &
Kaplan's candy store to buy a piece of chocolate Hooten's
for a penny, betw 108 & 109 on Amsterdam
Brother Victor, "that warm wonderful humanitarian loved
by all that crossed his path" smacking every kid's hand with a ruler until
it swelled up.
We were the Shamrocks and the guys on Manhattan Ave. & 108 St were da Puerto Ricans
Croke Park uptown and Gaelic football
Da Knicks played at the
69th Regiment Armory on Park Ave.around 63rd St.
before they reached the big time at the Garden
Pizza at V&T on Amsterdam betw 110 & 111 St.
An ice truck with an open back would come the street and an Italian guy would
get those giant forceps, grab a big block of ice , put a burlap bag on his
shoulder and carry it op to Danny Curran's top floor apt at 211 West 108 St. .
While he was up there chopping up the ice to make it fit in Mrs. Curran's ice
box we would climb up on the truck and grab one of ice picks and chop away on
the ice which was our substitute for Haagen Das.
Anyway, da good old days !!
Our whole world was within 3 or 4 blocks of where we lived. Now we have to
concern ourselves about what's going on thousands of miles away in Afghanestan.
Sometimes I think we should all move back to 108 St., go back down to the
basements of all the apt. houses, grab all the janitor's brooms, break off the
broom part, shoplift a couple of Spaulding's ( a couple of white ones and a
couple of pink ones) from the 5 & 10 on Broadway betw.
109 & 110 on the other side of the street and spend the rest of our lives playng stickball while we eat hot dogs wth
sauerkraut, mustard and onions. I just hope Joe the hot dog guy is still there
with his wagon,washing his
dirty
hands in the hot dog water!!
Give me a call Joe Hilly, the next time you go to Gelson's
and stop in to say hello.
By the way, I went to P.S. 165 across the street from Ascension on 108
Dick Anaya's e-mail message to Joe Hilly in
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Jim De Berry
"Memories" Ascension Parish in 1954, a few memories, out of thousands
more.
Coney Island, Rockaway and
Al,s & Sal,s, Clem's candy store,
Joe the "HOT DOG" vendor, movie theaters galore.
Allen Freed on 1010 WINS a new radio show,
Doo Wop, a rock & roll begining,
how were we to know?
Windows open, fire escapes to beat the summers heat
Friends out late when it was safe on every street.
Gangs? Sure, each block a territory,
stickball, not guns was our goal for glory.
Bro. Gabriel, Edward, Joseph, Victor and Augustine,
paroled the streets like cops "a bustin"
There was Sunday Mass, as well as family dinner,
No big deal but it made us each a "winner".
Yes, there were negatives and problems, and often little hope,
but the positive memories helped us to cope!
Dedicated to all who REMEMBER!
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