My maternal grandparents, Thomas and Margaret
Furey, lived in North Newark from about 1935 to 1970. They had seven
children, all of home went to school at Our Lady of Good Counsel.
In later years they lived on Highland Avenue, just two doors from
the bus-loop (#27 Mt. Prospect), and a few hundred feet from Forest
Hill Station and the Tiffany factory.
Up until about 1955, there was still Steam Passenger Service at
Forest Hill, and my grandparents would take the train from there
to Orange to visit us. I have vivid memories of holidays spent in
that house, when children and grandchildren all gathered, and the
whole house seemed to empty when the first cry went up "TRAIN!"
I also remember Essex Catholic High School, when it was situated
in the old Mutual Benefit Insurance building at 300 Broadway. I
commuted from Orange, as did many of my classmates. We would take
the #51 Park Avenue bus to the City Subway, transfer to the subway
for one stop (Bloomfield Avenue), and then walk across the park
and down Second Avenue to the school.
In the 1950's and 60's, most stores were only open from 9-5, and
of course closed on Sundays. Eventually the custom grew that the
stores in one town would all stay open ONE night each week. In Orange,
this was Monday, in East Orange perhaps, Tuesday, etc. However NONE
of them bothered to be open on Wednesday night, because THAT was
the night that "Downtown" (Newark) was open.
My grandfather retired from Bamberger's, and my parents met there
as workers in the 1940's.
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