I have been living down in Richmond, VA.,
but have now decided it is time to "Come Home" back to
Newark.
Was born and raised in Newark in the 1940's - 1950's. My great-grandfather
Owen Carlin was one of the first cops in Newark back in the 1860's
- 1895. He was also the leader of the old 10th Ward Democratic Ward
for 20 years prior to his death in 1895. My grandfather, John T.
Tighe was a policeman in Newark from the 1890's till he died in
1910. My uncle John C. Tighe was a policeman in Newark in the 1920's
till he died in 1945.
I grew up on South Orange Ave and 12th Street. Graduated from
St. Antoninus Grammar School; St. James High School, down Neck;
and from Rutgers/Newark. My family roots go back very far in Newark.
It is time for the to "come home" and if everything goes
as planned I'll be back at the end of this month - April, 2002
Born in 1941 and left for the Marine Corps in 1960. My local church
was St. Antoninus on 9th Street and So. Orange Ave. I went to grammar
school there and was an altar boy there. I lived right across the
street from West Side High School. They had an 1/4 mile track which
the kids in the neighborhood could use, and they had basketball
courts outside as well. After school you could always go into the
office and "check out" any of the sports equipment that
you wanted to.
There were many bars in the neighborhood - West Side Bar on 14th
Street and South Orange Ave; Lydons Bar on 12th St and South Orange
Ave.; Ziggies on 11th St. and South Orange Ave.; Dominicks on 10th
St and South Orange Ave.; Roscommon Bar between 10th and 11th Streets
on South Orange Ave.; and another bar on the corner of 9th Street
and South Orange Ave.
There was a wonderful German bakery on the corner of 10th St.
and South Orange Ave.. There was Hoopers Pharmacy on the corner
of 10th St. and South Orange Ave.. There was Marty Fein photography
store, and the 5 and dime between 10th and 11th Streets on South
Orange Ave.. There was, and still is, the beautiful old convent
of the Dominican Sisters on 13th Ave between 9th and 10th Streets.
There was the beautiful Fairmount Cemetery along South Orange
Ave. from 12th to 17th Streets. There was the Water Reservoir on
South Orange Ave. between 9th and 6th Streets. There was the original
Jimmy Buffs hotdog store on 9th Street around the corner from South
Orange Ave. and around the corner from that on 14th Ave was the
Reservoir Restaurant. Nearby was the old and beautiful Italian Catholic
church of St. Rocco's. Every Holy Thursday my mother and I would
visit three Catholic Churches as was the custom in those days -
St. Antoninus, St. Rocco's and the chapel at the Dominican Convent.
On St. Patrick's Day there was always a contingent of Irish bagpipers
who marched downtown to join the parade from Lydons Tavern
* * *
Hello there. Finally did what I said I'd do. I bought a house on
Van Wagenen Street and will be moving back to Newark on the 30th
of this month (April, 2002).
I'm excited about "coming home" to Newark. Would never
have thought of doing this 10 or 15 years ago, but will all of the
good things happening in Newark over the past few years I have decided
that it is time to come back. As they say down south - "Yaw'll
come back - hear"
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