My Father was a very interesting man and
he would take me just about everywhere. When I was a little boy
in 1940 my Father took me with him to buy vegetables from the squatters.
As I remember they were poor souls living in shacks in the Meadows
east of Route #1. They had no utilities (gas, water or electricity)
in their dwellings. They also lacked screens for the openings in
their homes. How did they survive the mosquitoes? Can you imagine
sleeping in the meadows at night? Who were they? I remember them
to be Italians and we bought Italian plum tomatoes from them. I
never seen anyone that destitute before. I guess they were a vestige
of the Great Depression.
When I got my driver's license in 1952 I returned to that area
but it seemed like they had moved on. I forgot all about them until
20 years ago. At that time we were visiting Rome and on its outskirts
were similar squatters. They reminded me of the same poor souls
that I had seen in Newark.
Again with the passing of time I forgot about them until last
December. Glenn posted four pictures from the Library of Congress
and titled them as "unknown street imagines". When I saw
them I almost fell over. That's where I was with my father 62 years
ago.
I tried to locate the street by triangulation. In the foreground
is the elevated Route # 1. If one looks at the horizon, the steeple
of Saint Stephan's can be seen on the right (corner of Wilson and
Ferry streets), going south (to the left) Raymond Commerce and National
Newark and Essex Buildings, going further south the dome of Beth
Israel Hospital.
I believe Delancy Street was the unknown street in the 1930's
photos.
Let us hope and pray that we never see conditions like that again
in our country.
Click on photo to enlarge:
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Click on photo to enlarge:
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Click on photo to enlarge:
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Click on photo to enlarge:
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