Reading "Sharon's" memories
of Vailsburg brought back so many memories of my childhood. I grew
up on Alexander Street and can remember walking to school and even
being able to go home at lunch time. Summers meant spending your
days either at Boylan Street pool or in the school's playground
with the "rec" program. I also remember spending a lot
of time in the library on Alexander Street and never quite being
able to fulfill the summer reading list of 15 books. After dinner,
my mother, sister and I (and whatever neighborhood friends were
around) would walk to the candy store on the corner of Alexander
and 18th Avenue and get ice cream cones. On a really good night,
we would visit my aunt and cousins that lived in the building next
door to the Dairy Queen on South Orange Avenue! My grandparents
lived on Brookdale Avenue. My grandfather was a shoemaker and had
his shop behind the house. I was always the one in the neighborhood
that would have rubber heels for playing hopscotch. Many nights
my mother, sister and I would walk to my grandparents house, which
was a quick walk if you cut through the lane to Sunset Avenue. I
also remember Nancy's candy store on Sunset Avenue and all the penny
candy we would buy after school. I can remember there was a man
that peddled fruits and vegetables in a truck/wagon that he would
ride down the street. He was called "Jesse James" because,
according to my mother, his prices were too high so he was therefore
robbing his customers! In those days you knew everyone in each house
on your street and always felt safe and secure.
I can't believe I'm old enough now to say ". . . those were
the good ole' days", but I am and they were.
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