My Brooklyn

Readers Report


Perry Ann Williams

Well, I have such fond memories. . . . I was born in Brooklyn Jewish Hospital and I was bought to my new home named and addressed 504 Marcy Avenue. I was born February 26, 1958. I attended P.S 148, I.S. 76 and I graduated from Eastern District in 1976. My oldest sister Jeannette Gregory still lives in the Marcy,623. My other sister lives in the Tompkins. I now have over forty nieces and nephews consisting of greats. I remember the blizzards we walked in to get to school. The teachers you grew to love and would remember for years to come . . . Ms. Hyman from 148, my first and most impressionable teacher of all The trips to the White Castle on Sundays after church. My church was Greater Free Gift on Stockton street, Pastor Rev Bates. School friends . . . Veronica Young, Susan Turner, Norma Seda, Yvonne Mincy, who passed in 2000 from a heart ailment. That was an ordeal that let you know . . . that time is slipping by. My church friends, Brenda Hickman, Carolyn Whitted, Quentin Bethea, her uncle and my first boyfriend . . . who was like a son to my parents, and Joseph, nicknamed Sparky, who was a special part of our family also. . . . But as time passed, we no longer kept in touch. He attended my mom's funeral. . . . It was a special moment seeing him after so many years. I moved from New York in 1976 to Maryland to work for the FBI and after eight years of service I joined the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. I now have bought my father here to live with me and my husband in Ellicott City, MD. I have a son 20 years old and a daughter 6 years . . . and I am soon to become a grandmother. After twenty-five years there is still no place like home . . . Brooklyn . . . Bedford-Stuy . . . the Marcy projects, sitting on the bench in the summer, jumping double Dutch . . . the boys racing the girls . . . getting in a circle playing all the little girl games. . . . Our parents calling for us to come in and eat now. . . . Coney Island, the Himalaya, the mouse, our rollercoaster (was then the largest), and the famous hot dogs, the good little hamburgers—White Castles, the corner stores, Wise potato chips, violet candy, those ham and cheese heroes for $1.00, two kisses for a penny. I got a quarter every morning for my snack later in the day . . . so on my way to school there was a little store across from my elementary school 148 . . . and every morning I would stop and get 50 kisses in a little brown bag. Ah, those were the days . . . without air-conditioning . . . but the summers were great..

28 February 2001


Rose

I came upon My Brooklyn quite by accident. I love reading the stories. It brings back many happy memories from my South Brooklyn. I was born in the same house I live in today. This was my grandmother's house she had bought when she came from Italy. She lived here with her three daughters. My grandfather passed away before he was able to move with them. I remember our block: 6th Street was always filled with lots of kids. Every family had at least four kids. We were the Silvas and my cousins were the Orsinis. There were the Bellones and Lupos, also the O'Connollys lived net to each other. There were the Scarpas, the Parisis , the Crows and the Montelones. These are just a few families I grew up with. We all had a common bond—family and friendship.

The summers were always the greatest . . . none of us ever went to sleep-away camp. Our vacations were spent making scooter cars with leftover roller skates parts, watching the boys playing stick ball while the girls played stoopball. We also played a game called buck-buck: the biggest kid was always the pillow; he was first who stood with his back towards the garage while each kid held up the other. Our days were spent at Coney Island or at Prospect Park. These are memories which will never fade. Our families all knew each other well. Everyone ate in each other's house. Dinner was always whosever mother made the best. Sometimes you ate more then once. Times were different then. Our mothers did not work—just our fathers—so everything was made from scratch. We were very lucky. Sundays were the big day for church. We all had to dress up for 9:00 mass—that was for the kids, 12:15 was for the adults . Dinner at our house was at 2:00 every Sunday. We would wake up to the aroma of my mother frying meatballs for Sunday dinner. There were always friends stopping over to eat—four or five was not unusual. On Saturdays we went to 5th Ave. for the shopping. I remember Germains, John's bargains, Loft candies, 5&10-cents store. We sometimes went to 7th Ave. to Ebinger's bakery for blackout cake. We also went to the RKO movie or the Avon for a double show and cartoon. I could go on and on. Would love to hear from South Brooklyn oldies but goodies.

28 February 2001


Paula

Hi. I grew up at 1710 Carroll Street off Utica Avenue. The best years of my life were growing up in Brooklyn. It's so wonderful connecting to my past and meeting up with old friends.

2 March 2001


Readers' reports continue . . .

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