Born in 1961 in a small “hospital”
on the corner of Broadway and Grafton Ave. Lived in a 3 family house
at the corner of Grafton and Woodside Ave. Grandmother down stairs
aunts and uncles upstairs. Walked across the street to Woodruff’s
store with 50 cents for 2 gallons of milk in glass containers. Kindergarten
in Elliott St school, Good Counsel grammar school, Summer Ave library,
Lin’s Chinese store on Summer Ave ( a nickel for those wax
tubes with juice in them), walked to and from school too.
Watching Cobblestone streets paved over (Mt. Prospect Ave) street
sweepers once a week, the produce guy with a green truck and scales
hanging off walking behind it yelling something in Italian, seeing
“tripe” on ice in the truck, the “beugelene”
guy (know I misspelled that) coming in the house (basement) yelling
and carrying a couple of jugs of something. Setting up the cases
of Brookdale soda for when the guy delivered, once again just walked
into the house where the doors were always unlocked, the Good Humor
truck, doctor visits to the house, Branch Brook park, 4 diamonds,
Mill St (baseball fields) dead man’s hill, (sledding) Bocce
courts. Rental boats near Park Ave and the skating rink. The feast
of St. Gerard, St. Anthony’s feast, the subway at Franklin
St. going downtown to shop at Bamberger’s and S.Klein.
The smells out of a chocolate factory somewhere near Park Ave.
Watching a guy slaughter and prepare a chicken at Zeppo’s
(I think) near Belmont Ave. One stop in many for shopping back then.
The German deli on Mt. Prospect Ave was another, Capri Bakery on
Bloomfield Ave, ( Black and white cake) Kielb’s on Sunday
for donuts (franklin Ave). Liss pharmacy, eating out at Beppy’s
on Verona Ave, Vinnies barber shop, (Mt. Prospect Ave) Engine 13
fire dept. screaming down the streets.
Attended Essex Catholic for 1 year before transferring to Immaculate
Conception H.S in Montclair all I know is my parents said tuition
was going up to $750 dollars a year at Essex. (1976) just for the
record I’ve seen Catholic H.S. tuition today starting at $14,000
(2015) LOL.
Thanks for the time and memories.
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