Growing Up in Laurelton

by Bill Lederer

Growing Up In Laurelton

I grew up in the house my grandfather built, in 1924, at 231-18-129th Ave. I

lived there from 1944 to 1967. All around my house was new home
construction. Well, about 90% of the new homebuyers were Jewish, this
lead to interesting developments. Not going to public school with the kids
around us, my brother and I only had friends from St. Mary's. There were
kids whose back yards bordered ours, but we still never played with them.

We were Cub Scouts for a number of years. The Pack was from the
Lutheran Church on 130th Avenue. After Cub Scouts, my brother became a
Boy Scout. By the next year, when I was old enough to join, he stopped
going, so I never joined.

One good friend of mine was Dennis Egan. He was in my brothers class.
Dennis back yard bordered on Montefiore Cemetery. His house was
on130th Avenue, down past the Lutheran church. I remember spending
many pitch black nights roaming around the graves. Being scared to death
when I inadvertently stepped on a fresh grave and sunk into the soft dirt.
Thinking something from below had grabbed my leg. The lights of the
security guards truck coming down one of the interior roads, way off in the
distance. Not knowing if we should hide or try to make it to the fence. The
not so nice times we would shoot at the rocks that people put on the head
stones, with our bb guns. Then there was the year my brother and I dug up
an azalea bush from next to one of the tombstones and gave it to our
mother as an Easter present. I remember when Montefiore's most famous
resident, (Arnold Schuster), was buried.

Arnold Schuster (1927-March 8, 1952) was a Brooklyn clothing salesman

and amateur detective, known for his involvement in the capture of bank
robber Willie "The Actor" Sutton and the subsequent victim of a gangland
murder by the Gambino crime family.

A longtime Brooklyn resident, 24-year-old Schuster recognized wanted

bank robber Willie Sutton while riding on a New York subway in February
1952. Following Sutton to a garage, Schuster quickly notified police of
Sutton's whereabouts, resulting in the robber's later arrest as Sutton was
changing a dead battery from his car which had stalled in the street.

Receiving a modest amount of publicity from New York City press, and an
appearance on the hit TV show, I'VE GOT A SECRET, Schuster himself was
murdered outside his home after being shot twice in the groin and once in
each eye on 8 March 1952. Although a manhunt was quickly organized by
police, their search failed to apprehend any suspects. Eventually, Frederick
J. Tenuto was arrested for the crime. Tenuto, an associate of Sutton's, was
also a member of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and positively identified
by witnesses leaving the scene of the crime.

Several years later, government informant Joe Valachi claimed Albert

Anastasia had ordered Schuster's death after witnessing one of his
television interviews. Although Sutton had no connection with the
Gambino crime family, Anastasia was reportedly angered by Schuster,
stating "I can't stand squealers! Hit that guy!" and had Tenuto killed to
eliminate any links to the criminal organization. It has been speculated that
the negative publicity from Schuster's death may have been one of the
factors contributing to Anastasia's murder in 1957, by mobsters who
believed the New York mobster to be out of control.

It was said that after Willie Sutton was caught, he said that he had cased
the Ridgewood Savings bank, in Laurelton, but decided not to rob it. He
didn't think it would have had enough money in it.

Speaking of the Ridgewood Savings Bank, it was on the southwest corner

of Merrick Road and Francis Lewis Boulevard. It was always cool inside.
You had to be on good behavior because Mr. Gatty, the tall thin security
guard would be watching you through those black-framed eyeglasses.
When it was your turn, you would give your green passbook to Mr. Quinn,
the cashier. You gave him some money and he would write the amount in
the big book and in your passbook. Then stamp it with the inkpad. Besides
normal saving accounts, we had special "Christmas Club" accounts, where
we would save money all year and take it out in December to buy
Christmas presents.

On another day, Dennis Egan and I planned to make our own gun power to
make firecrackers. We bought some potassium nitrate from the drug store.
We didn't have any sulphur power so we bought a box of paper matches.
We proceeded to cut the heads of the 100 books of matches, so as to
collect the sulphur. We then placed the two ingredients into a tin plate and
mashed them together. We were in Dennis's basement and the plate was on
a table. Dennis lit the mixture and it started to burn. It got so hot, it melted
the tin plate and pretty much wrecked the table. The biggest problem
though was the smoke. The entire house filled with smoke. His mother
came running down stairs. We did get into a bit of trouble over that. The
funniest thing was, we had a radio playing. Guess what was playing? You
guessed it, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, by the Platters.

If it was Saturday, (movie day) back in 1957. I would be heading up Francis

Lewis Boulevard, first past the little record store and the barbershop and
then past the luncheonette on the corner. First it was called Pollick's, then
it was Lil Ed's, then Bert and Dave's. I would then head west on Merrick
Road, past Safran's Kosher Deli, (checking out the hot dogs permanently
being grilled in the window.) Then past Stanley's Toy store on the corner of
230 St. One more block to Woolworth's, (going in one door, past the soda
machine, and out the other door. Cross the street and another block.

First stopping at Raab's to meet up with the gang. Also to check and see if
anyone had one of those colored flyers the movie gave out. If you matched
the color with the one hanging up in the ticket booth, you got in for free.
Never in my life did I ever get one. Now to the candy store to get some
treats for the show. You never got any in the theater, it was way to
expensive. Now past Wedgewood Studio and we are at the itch, the
affectionate name for the Laurelton Theater. For 25 cents you spent the
whole day at the movies. First newsreels, then a string of cartoons, then
two full length movies. The second was usually a cowboy movie.

Lets see, the theater had a marques that overhung the sidewalk. The ticket
booth was on the left. You bought your ticket and went through the glass
doors. Up the inclined vestibule to the one open door where they collected
the tickets, (usually all the way on the right). Now, on the right were the
seats. The first section was the smoking section, then the large middle
section and then on to the children's section. The Matron made you go to
the children's section.

On the left was the soda machine then the candy counter. The Bon Bons
and other ice creams were on the left, then the candies and then the
popcorn. The popcorn was never fresh popped; it came in large plastic
bags that were stored in the room to the left of the screen, in front of the
children's section. Then it was put in the glass box with one light bulb to
heat up the popcorn, ten cents for a bag. To the right of the candy stand
was the door to get into the stand, then the water fountain, then the large
stairway upstairs.

Upstairs was a long hallway, nothing on the right side. On the left was first
the girls bathroom, then Mr. Bells office, (the manager), then the projection
room, with the bright arc lights of the projector and large metal containers
the film came in. Walter Nathan was the projectionist. He had two sons,
Alan and David, finally the boys bathroom all the way at the end.

Now if you really wanted a treat, take the Q5 bus into Jamaica and walk
down Jamaica Avenue to the Valencia Theater. What a grand place that
was, with the suits of armor, ceiling full of clouds and stars and an upstairs
balcony. Dont forget the pond full of gold fish. After the movie you walked
down to the end of the block, made a right, then a half a block to the bus
terminal. If you had any money left, you played a couple of games in the
arcade at the terminal. Then outside to catch the Q5 bus that took you back
to Laurelton.

If you didn't like what was playing at the Valencia, you could go across the
street to the Merrick Theater. Then there was the Alden, about two blocks
down and the Savoy about four blocks past the Alden. The Sutphin Theater
was a lot further, down on Sutphin Boulevard.

I remember when the 1957 Chevrolet came out. We went past the Reid
Chevrolet dealer on Merrick Road and 218th Street, (the same place wife
Cathy would work years later). They had the cars covered, so you could not
see them until the official announcement day. You could see the outline of
the big fins on the back fenders. Cars really had distinctive shapes then.
Not like today, where they all look alike. A few months after they were out,
Kevin Keough and I were walking alone Springfield Boulevard. A car carrier
came down and tried to go under the train bridge that went over the road.
He didnt quite make it, and made the first 1957 Chevrolet that was on top, a
convertible, that steel bridge peeled the top clean off.

We played down around the Springfield railroad station often. The station
was elevated and we would go inside the waiting room to get warm. We
would climb down onto the tracks and go under the station. A few times we
would place a penny on the tracks and wait for a train to run over it and
squish it.

Mostly, we hung around the school, sometime playing cards. We did play
handball a lot. The best place was in the blacktop parking area between the
church and against the side of the new school. Winning was fun, loosing
wasnt so nice. We would usually be playing Asses Up. If you lost you had
to kneel down by the wall, with your butt sticking up. The winners would
then rear back and fire the Spaldeen balls at your butt. It was a good place
to pitch pennies against too.

In the summer some of the guys that lived toward Laurelton would go to PS
156. They had some sort of summer programs going on. They had knock
hockey and ping pong tables. It was a lot cooler in the school than outside.

When I was around 10 or 11, we would swim in a stream that ran on the
east side of the Belt Parkway. We would take turns sitting on the shore
watching for water rats. When one jumped into the water near our friends,
we would yell, Rat! as load as we could, so the rest of the guys could
scramble out of the water. The stream was rerouted underground when the
parkway was widened. Another swimming place was the under the fence at
Idelwild Airport. I actually believe it was part of the airport sewer system.

We went out to Valley Stream State Park a few times. You could pay to
swim in their little lake. Its been closed to swimming for probably 50 years.
Now a days, kids only swim in filtered chlorine filled water. It makes you
wonder how we ever survived.

A lot of days between 1955 and 1958 we would hitchhike down to

Rockaway beach. We would meet up at Beach 35th Street. They had a big
wooden boardwalk full of food and other concessions. The boardwalk
started at Beach 19th Street. I don't really know where it ended. I can
remember the smell; I always thought the ocean smelt like creosote. It was
just the coating they put on the wood, to preserve it. The other smells were
from the hot dogs frying on the grills. Then the best was the Italian ice
place. They squeezed fresh lemons and oranges. You could smell them a
block away.

Quite a number of times, my mother would drive my brother, Johnny

Newell and I out to Jones Beach, on the weekends. We would swim at the
pool and take a dip in the ocean.

A number of times my mother would take us to Idelwild airport to watch the

planes take off and land. The terminal, at that time, was a single story
wooden building with an observation platform on the roof. You could put
money in the telescopes to get a close up view of things. Also, they had
speakers that you could pay to hear the air traffic control talking to the
pilots.

Other times we would go into Manhattan and go swimming at the pool in

the St. Francis Drake hotel. It was open to the public. I remember the hotel
was down near the Brooklyn Bridge. A couple of times we walked across
the bridge and back.

If it were winter, we would go sleigh riding down at the parkway and 130th
Avenue. It wasn't a very big hill, but this is Queens, not much elevation
anywhere. There was a fenced in park at the bottom of the hill. You had to
roll off the sled before you hit the cement around the park. If you pulled to
the right, you could make it to the parkway. A couple of times I slid out
onto the highway. There wasn't much traffic back then.

This spot was also the best place, in the summer, to collect puddy beans
off the trees. They were just the right size for having puddy fights with. We
got the puddy blowers at Stanley's, for 5 cents.

A number of times my brother, Johnny Newell and I would walk to Hook

Creek Boulevard, south of Rosedale, and go horse back riding at Whitie's
Stables. You were only supposed to walk the horses along the trails. We
figured horses were meant to run, so we just wanted to help them out.
Once when galloping along, Johnny's horse cut too close to a big tree and
Johnny hit his leg. He was limping for quite a while after that.

Another fad when I was around 12 or 13 was roller-skating. Larry and I

would take the bus to the rink on Merrick Road, just past Farmers
Boulevard. We had our own skates and would spend the entire day at the
rink. There was a morning session and an afternoon session. We would
stay for both.

I mentioned earlier that I had a Press route. My route was Francis Lewis
Blvd to about 237th Street, then 121st Ave to 129th Ave. I lived on 129th
Ave, two doors east of FLB.

I would pick up my papers on 233rd Street and Merrick Road, behind

Sterry's. Then fold them against that whitewall, pack them in the big basket,
on my bike and peddle to my route. I remember delivering the Sunday
papers way before the sun came up. Sometimes pulling them on my slid, in
the snow. I remember coming off a curb, just north of Merrick, and breaking
my front axel, (an occupational hazard because of the weight of the
papers). A kind milkman helped me. Loading my bike and papers in his
truck and taking me home.

My route was a little over 100 papers. I think I made a penny a paper and
two cents on Sunday. I had to collect the money from all the customers.
That was not easy, with my route almost all Jewish. Most were nice, but
some would always try to jip me out of the money. They would say, I
thought I paid last week. I always kept meticulous records.

My next job was at the Laurelton Bagel Bakery. I worked there when I was
14. That was in 1957. A number of my friends and I worked as packers. We
called ourselves The Bagel Brothers. There was myself, Jimmy Almer, Billy
Flynn, Pat Murphy, Billy Gentile and a couple of others I cant remember.
Putting, I think, about 13 dozen bagels in large paper bags. There were only
two types, Regular and Bull bagels. Bulls were larger and were sold to
dinners. They were delivered to a number of stores and dinners on Long
Island. The bakery had one delivery van. The driver's name was Jerry. He
would deliver the bagels and on weekends, bialys that we got from some
other bakery. We never made them. The owners were Harry Wexler and
Benny Marshall. They were both good men. I do remember one was better
than the other though. We made $1 an hour. When the better one would pay
us, he would always round up. If I worked 23 hours, he would give me $25.
He would always keep the refrigerator full of fresh fruit for us.

Back in those days they didn't have the retail store in the front. The only
way in was through the alley behind Wong's Garden. People would come to
the back door and buy bagels. Most of the money went to our beer and
soda fund. Some people would ask for the ones that fell on the floor. They
said they wanted to feed them to their dogs. We always laughed at that.
Any bagels that fell on the floor went back in the bins with all the others.
Also, Sunday was the really big day. It wasn't possible to bake enough
bagels to meet the demand. Extra bagels we made each night, during the
week, and we would put them in a number of freezers in the basement. On
Sunday morning we would mix them in with the fresh ones. No one ever
knew the difference.

The oven was a large brick one. After they were "kettled", the bagels were
placed on wooden blocks, put in the oven, flipped once and then taken out
on a long wooden paddle and flopped into the bins. I do remember that
oven being replaced with a much smaller one. It was called a traveler oven.
There were a number of small shelves that revolved like a Ferris wheel.

I worked a couple of evenings, during the week and had to go in on

Saturday night and work until Sunday morning.

There were many stores on Merrick Road. I tried to document as many as I

could remember, alone with inputs form a number of other people that
grew up in Laurelton. We would exchange information on the Delphi
Laurelton Forum.

Stores On Merrick Road

Updated on January 6, 2008

South Side North Side

Springfield Blvd to 218th
Bank Gas Station
Hi Lo Bar Professional Building
Hardware Store
Italian Ice
218th to 219th
? Reid Chevrolet
Johnny's Meat Market Tobacco & Candy Wholesaler
John's Tavern German Deli
219th to 220th
Nickerson's Nursery Drug Store
Nickerson's Pet Store Candy Store
Charles's Taxi Emil's Gas Station
220th to 221st
Shanley's Home
Nick's Coin Shop
Improvement
Deli Deli
Liquor Store Luncheonette
Gas Station
221st to 222nd
Davis Tire - Kelly
Safeway Supermarket
Springfield
Boars Head Tavern
222nd to 223rd
Luncheonette Tater Murray Funeral Home
'The Rock' Tanbro Service Station
Abandoned House
Sonoco
223rd to 224th
Christopher Robbin
?
Academy
Post Office ?
224th to 225th
Chrysler/Plymouth (Laurel
?
Motors-Geffner Motors)
Vic's Hobby Shop ?
Laurelton Bagel Bakery Tramintano's Hardware Store
Wong's Garden Silver's Candy Store
225th to 226th
Daisy Fresh Cleaners Atlas Rug Shop
Laurelton Ambulance
Service
Bryne's & Son Plumbing &
Kwikway Supermarket (Key Food)
Heating
Krupnikoff's Plumbing
Elton Plumbing Supply
Supply
TV/Radio Repair
Insurance Office
Peter Pan Beauty Parlor Abe's Deli
I Lenny's Auto parts &
Professional Building
Bikes
 226th to 227th
Real Estate Office Charlie's Tavern
Floor Covering Store Candy Store
Democratic Club Chinese Laundry
Samuel's French Cleaners Rosen's Deli
? Riveria Restaurant
? Striderite Children's Shoes
? Hershey's Travel Agency
? Variety Store
Homeier Ford (Dee
Schwartz's Drug Store
Motors)
227th to 228th
Carmine's Pizza ?
Billy Brennen's Law Office ?
Laurelton Theater Miller's Candy Store
Wedgewood Studio ?
Pet Store Safeway
Sam's Candy Store Gurack Fur Store
Mr. Murrays Beauty Parlor Zickerman's Hardware Store
Raabs Marder's Drugs
228th to 229th

Flemings Tavern Dr. Denmark, DDS

Chicken Delight Schultz's Candy Store
Buster's Mobil GasStation Esquire Cleaners
229th to 230th
Dr. Rothenberg, DDS Woolworth's
Hair Pin Beauty Parlor Buster Brown Shoes
Kollner's Butcher Powers Fruit Store
Jewelry Store Flo J's Yarns & Notions
Bohack's Colony Card Shop
Teddy's Luncheonette Sharry's Bakery
Schultz's Candy Store
Rael's Drugs
(Helen & Sam)
Professional Building
Carwood Appliances
Dr. Coon
 230th to FLB
Harry's Fish Store Stanley's Toy Store
Kosher Butcher ?
Sheppy's Appetizing Estelle Peck's Dress Store
Orlando's Bakery (Four Star
A&P
Bakery)
? Safran's Kosher Deli
Harry's Men's Store L&N Grocery
? Dilbert's
Ridgewood Saving's Bank Pollick's - Lil Ed's - Bert & Dave's
FLB to 231st
Martin Paint (Granada's Appliance
Mulvaney's Tavern
Store)
Gogos Drug Store Dial Drugs
House of Wong
Carpi Restaurant The Town Depot (Joe & Ed's)
Clover Deli ?
Alfred Gudel Liquor Store Casual Clothes
Laurelton Florist Al Korn's Boy's Town
Hogarty's Tavern Pompii Beauty Parlor
231st to 232nd
Grabor Real Estate Dr. Friedlander
Meadowbrook Bank (Dime
Atlantic Market (Wylers)
Savings)
Elsie's Corset Shop ?
Anne's Candy Store
232nd to 233rd
? House of Chang
Charlie's Barber Shop ?
Feldman the Kosher
Dr. B. Harvey Weiss - Optometrist
Butcher
La Tosca Restaurant ?
Basso's Deli ?
Chow's Chinese Laundry
Lily Dobbs Antiques
Kern's Bike Shop ?
 233rd to 234th
Sterry's Steak House
Parkway Diner
(Garyowen)
Danker's Pharmacy ?
Real Estate Office
Harry Kipples Candy Store
Kent Dry Cleaners
Pet Store turned Laundry
D. Rigsby & Son Signs ?
Zlotnick's Shoe Repair
Army Recruiter then
?
Senior Citizens Center
234 to 237th and the Laurelton Parkway
Wallgreens Colony Luncheonette
Twin Ponds Bakery
Cleaner's Sunrise Market (Grand Union)
Leonard's Hair Design
Herman's Motors (Rambler
Dealer)
Gas Station (Reds) Rug Store

In growing up, we almost never ate out. If we did, the only restaurant we
went to was the Riviera Restaurant, or as it was commonly known, Tony's.
The only thing we got there was pizza. It was on Merrick Road between
226th and 227th Streets. Tony Roncollo, the owner, used to sit at the end of
the bar and seat the customers as they came in. The cooks were his
cousins Dominic and Rocky. One worked in the kitchen the other made the
pizzas in that little glassed in booth on the left, just past the booths. If we
got the last booth, we could kneel around and watch the pizzas as they
were being made. Funny how politics work, some time in the 60s Tony's
son Anthony was elected Congressman, from Nassau County. Within a
couple of months, Both Dominic and Rocky left the restaurant and became
Clerks of the Court, in Nassau County. Around 1967 Tony got hit by a car,
as he was crossing Merrick Road. He survived, but was laid up for almost a
year.

The only other meals not cooked by my grandmother was, we would get
take out Chinese food, on Friday nights, from the House of Wong.

There are so many stores I can mention. Some along Merrick Boulevard
are:
Twin Ponds Bakery was on 234th. This is where we would stop, on Sunday
mornings, after breakfast, to pick up goodies.

There were candy stores on almost every block. One was on 234th Street, it
was owned by the Kipple family. We would go there and look at Mr. And
Mrs. Kipple, they both had tattoos of numbers that they received in the
German concentration camps.

Sterrys Steak House was on the corner of 233rd Street. Just down that
street was a little Long Island Press office, this is where I would pick up my
papers and fold them against the wall between the office and Sterry's.

Across the way was Kerns Bicycle Shop, or Jippy Jakes, as we all called it.
It was owned by old lady Kerns, a heavyset, rather unfriendly woman. She
had three sons, a little older that I was. Also a bulldog, that always lay
around in front of the store. It really resembled the owner. It was said that
her husband hung himself in the back of the store, years before.

Zlotnick's shoe repair. They had a row of wooden booths, with swinging
doors, that you could sit in while your shoes were being repaired.

Atlantic Market. My grandmother would send me there to buy chopped

meat. They had sawdust on the floor.

The next block down was 231st Street, then Francis Lewis Boulevard. The
stores on the South side between them were Hogarty's Bar, Laurelton
Florist, A Liquor Store, the Capri Restaurant, (I never ate there), The Clover
Deli, The House of Worn, (where my mother got take out almost every
Friday), Gogos Drug Store, (Mr. Gogo ran the store all by himself. He made
the largest, least expensive chocolate malteds in town, Mulvaney's Tavern
on the end, Across from the Ridgewood Savings Bank. I have pictures of
my brother and Winnie Mulvaney's son at Rockaway beach. Mrs. Mulvaney
was another of my mothers Hibernian friends.

On the north side of that street, starting from 231st Street, was The Pompeii
Beauty Parlor, Al Korn's Boys Town, (that is where you bought Cub and
Boy Scout uniforms), Casual Clothes, then the Depot Luncheonette, (they
had model trains that ran along the counter and delivered your food on it),
then Dial Drugs. On the corner was Martin Paint, (before it was Granada's
Appliance store.

On the other corner of 231st and Merrick was Dr. Friedlander. He was our
family doctor. The office was in his home. His nurse was Mrs. Mills.

On the same block with the Bank was the A&P. It always smelled of fresh-
growned coffee, from the Eight O'clock brand coffee grinders in the front of
the store. Even though I never liked coffee, I liked that smell. In the early
days, the A&P, like all markets didn't have calculating cash registers. The
clerk would jot down all the purchases on the paper bag, with a black
grease pencil, and then manually add it up.

On the north side, on the corner of Francis Lewis Boulevard was another
luncheonette, first it was Pollick's then LilEd's then Bert & Dave's. Most of
the time I lived there, it was LilEd's. They made good egg creams. A variety
of stores filled the block, (you can see them on my list), then Stanley's on
the corner of 130th Street. Mr. Stanley was an institution. He sold every toy
you ever wanted. Spaldeen balls, model airplanes and cars, puddy blowers
and all sorts of other toys and games. Its too bad he was murdered in the
store some time after I moved from Laurelton.

This town had an abundance of small stores; every block seemed to have a
candy store, a drug store, deli or other single proprietor shop. Many of the
owners lived in Laurelton.

On the next block, going west was the 5&10-cent store. It was a large store
with wooden floors and a number of isles with flat wooden racks of
merchandise. The supervisor would sit on a balcony in the back of the
store. She could watch all the customers, I guess the employees too.

If there was one block that I spent the most time on, it was between 227th
and 228th Streets. This was the block the movies were on. On the corner
was Rabb's luncheonette. A candy store where we bought candy for the
movie, (a lot cheaper than in the movies), That store also sold ice cream
cones. One scoop was 10 cents and 12 cents with sprinkles, then
Wedgwood Studio, where a big picture of my Uncle Ed, with his full beard,
hung for years and years. The movies were in the middle of the block and
on the 228th end was Carmines Pizza. We didn't go there much, but I
remember the neon sign in the front window, advertising a slice of pizza for
15 cents. Like all the other places, a coke was 10 cents. In all the
luncheonettes, the soda came in a cone shaped paper cup, with a metal
bottom. So, a slice of pizza and a coke cost 25 cents. They had another
neon sign inside, it said, Eat pizza, live a hundred years.

Across from the movies was Zickerman's hardware. My grandfather would

get his saws sharpened there.

When I was very young, there was an auto store on the southwest corner of
228th Street. It was called Homeier Ford and then Dee Motors. Above it as a
bowling alley. It was strictly for men. We used to look through the open
door in the summer, (the only place with air conditioning was the movies).
There were young boys that set up the pins manually. They would pick up
the pins and put then into this holder, then pull a big lever and lower the
pins down in perfect alignment.

The next block was Tony's, with Charles's Tavern on the corner of 226th
Street. Around the corner, behind Charles's was Toms Barbershop. The
only place I ever got a haircut until I moved way out on Long Island. Tom
would always wave at everyone that went by. This was also where you
bought those bottles of green goop, the only stuff that would keep that big
cow lick down, that I had in the back of my hair. During Christmas time,
Tom would have a table in the corner, with bottles of booze. All customers
could help themselves, everyone over the age of about 12.

In teenage years we hung out a lot on the corner of 222nd Street, on the
side of the Boars Head Tavern or at the rock, a cement thing on Merrick.

It is rather funny, that I hung out with wife Cathy's two older brothers. They
lived just across the street, in the first house behind the funeral home, on
the north side of 222nd Street, and never knew they had any sisters.

Many stores came and went, along Merrick Road, or as it was officially
called Merrick Boulevard. It changed to Merrick Road when it hit the
Nassau County line. It seems back in the early 20th century, the powers
that be decreed that all major roads in the five New York City burrows were
to be named Boulevards. My time frame for naming the stores is from the
early 1950s to about 1968.

Bill can be reached at lederer123@optonline.net