My Grandmother and Great Grandmother told
me about playing the numbers and placing bets. My Great Grandparents
owned McCarthy’s Candy store on 11th Avenue between South
9th and South 8th Streets. The people from their neighborhood use
to play the numbers and place their bets in my great grandparents
store. Then my grandmother would run the bets down to Murphy's Tavern
on 11th Avenue.
One day someone tipped off the police and my great grandparents
store got raided. Right before the store was raided my great grandmother's
sister called her on the phone to tell her they were raiding the
store and during the phone conversation also asked my great grandmother
if she played her numbers. My great aunt's husband was a Newark
Policeman. He was one of the policemen that actually raided their
store. Before they arrived my great grandmother gave my grandmother
all the slips of paper and my grandmother at the time was about
12 years old put them in her knee socks.
When the police arrived my great uncle was the officer in charge
and did the talking. He never let on that this was his sister-in-law
in front of the other officers until my grandmother who was sitting
on an ice cream freezer said "Hello Uncle Howard". After
my grandmother made that statement the other officers said you know
these people and he had to acknowledge that this was his sister-in-law
and niece and they started laughing except my great uncle.
Well, lucky they did not get in trouble but when my great uncle
got home that night he said to my great aunt "You called her
and tipped her off didn't you" she responded back "Of
course I did she is my sister. My great uncle was the laughing stock
of his division for a while.
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