One of the fun things we would do at the swimming hole in the 1960s was to take shade under this flowering tree, and when it finished blooming it would produce little sweet black cherries with pits. Eating a lot of these berries would give you the runs. That large tree, along with our swimming hole, disappeared when the area was filled in for Co-Op City Section 5... image and memory of Susan Vernon Kehr, 2021. |
There was a travelling vegetable man named Johnny. Johnny had a converted school bus with the seats removed and replaced with vegetable bins along the sides, and came every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. As he entered the neighborhood he would shout out “veg-Taa-bulls”. All the housewives would come out and go into the truck to examine the produce. Johnny’s business was an off shoot of a larger fruit and vegetable market on Middletown Road which he ran with his brother Nick. As kids we loved the ice cream cones that Johnny sold from his truck. In later years he used a more efficient silver colored truck. He called the neighborhood "Givans Basin".... memory of John Tufanio from the 1950s.
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The truck above isn't exactly what it looked like, but gives you an idea.
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As a young child I approached the vegetable man and said I wanted to give my mother a birthday present made up of a vegetable basket. He gave me an empty mushroom basket, and we filled it with vegetables I picked out (and paid for), and made it look real pretty with a bow on it. My mother enjoyed receiving that gift.... memory of Susan Vernon from the 1950s.
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Remember the milkman delivering milk in bottles? He would come very early in the morning and put the glass bottles of milk in the insulated milk box outside the door. The resident would leave a note for the milkman stating how many quarts to deliver, and might also leave the payment for the milk. In the winter, when it was very cold, the cream would rise to the top of the glass bottle by the time the resident of the home picked up the milk in the morning. ...memory of Susan Vernon
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This is a picture of Artie (Arthur) Santomassimo, hamming it up for the camera. It was taken probably in the 1930s. It is at the docks on the creek, which was filled in to build part of Co-Op city. This picture is from the Emma Sanfelice collection.
Emma and Artie were sweet on each other back in the day. Artie never married. Emma went on to marry a Navy man. |
This is a picture of Johnny (John) Sanfelice. He is sitting at the same dock as Artie (above), in the 1930s. Johnny was once married to Artie's sister, Lottie. Brother/sister attracted to sister/brother. This picture is from the Emma Sanfelice collection.
Lottie moved on and married someone else. Johnny moved on and also married someone else. |
Left is the Baychester Train Station at DeReimer Avenue and Pelham Bay Park. On the right in the rear you can see the overpass to Bruckner Boulevard/Baychester Avenue.
On June 3, 1900 there was a gasoline explosion at the station. Three barrels of gasoline being held in the freight rooms at the rear of the ticket office exploded. The railroad agent, Edward Whitehead, was badly burned. The explosion shook all the buildings in the neighborhood. The Park Hotel, located across the street from the station, was smoking from the explosion. It was saved by a bucket brigade formed by fishermen and excursionists who were waiting for a train. |
In the 1950s most of the neighborhood children in grades 1-6 attended Public School 89, located at 980 Mace Avenue. We were too far away to walk to school, so a school bus was sent to pick us up and bring us home. The school bus driver was named Eddie. He called the neighborhood "Givan's Basin", the same name that the vegetable man called the neighborhood. ...memories of John Tufanio and Susan Vernon.
On the right is a current (2018) Google image of PS89. Still looks pretty much the same as it did in the 1950s. No elevators. |
Irene Mileski sketch of her backyard along Palmer Avenue and the train tracks. The family property extended all the way to the train tracks, but the city was given permission to encroach on the property to add a block of Bassett Avenue between Palmer and Boller Avenues. Courtesy of the Irene Mileski collection. |
Three girls hamming it up for the camera along Palmer Avenue - Terry Marfelius, Marilyn Fellows and Dolores Hall, c. early 1950s. The girls are standing along the entrance ramp into the neighborhood. Image courtesy of the Irene Mileski collection.
The white house on the left is 2312 Palmer Avenue. The house with the porch behind the girls is 2310 Palmer Avenue. |
In the 1950s and 1960s we would grab our fishing lines, killey traps and crabbing cages, and rent rowboats at the docks on Givans Creek. We would first put out our killey traps to capture killey fish, which were then used as bait on the fishing lines and in the crab cages. A beautiful day was spent on the water, and at the end of the day we had a feast in the back yard of our bounty from the creek. By the early 1960s the crabs had left the area....memories from Susan Vernon. |
Ralph and Grace (Krueger) Savarese are beginning construction on their house at 2319 Boller Avenue. They are digging the foundation, c.mid-1940s. Picture courtesy of Kelly (Young) Russo.
When the house was finished, Ralph Savarese put a large letter "S" on the side of the house near to top. As of 2018, the new owners still have that "S" on the house! |
A warm Summer's day, swimming in the creek and sunning on the wooden bridge, c.1963. There are two unknown fishermen walking over the bridge. The two boys are Joey Mileski, leaning on his arms; and Henry Schumacher, laying on his stomach. The two girls are Mary Jane Tufanio and Lorraine Valentine. That bridge and the water below are gone now; the creek was filled in for Co-Op City. Picture courtesy of Ralph Savarese. |
Here's a great oldie from the Fall of 1926, in front of 2310 Palmer Avenue. The adults are Ida Krueger and her adult daughter Marea (Krueger) Mannello. The child in the baby carriage is newborn Tommy Mannello, then Ida's youngest daughter Gracie Krueger, and on the right is a young boy [unidentified].
Picture courtesy of Eileen (Krueger) Rees. |
October 17, 2019 luncheon of childhood friends from Baychester. Back row: Susan Vernon, Joe Mileski, Kenny McCarthy. Front row: Henry Schumacher, Dom Carbone, Steve Pavelka, Virginia Carbone.
We had a great time reminiscing about the old neighborhood and all the fun we had as kids. Picture courtesy of Susan Vernon, published with the permission and encouragement of all attendees, 2019. |
In May 2020 Lois (Saggese) Cavaliere and her husband Dom went to Quantico to their grandson’s graduation from the DEA. He is now a US marshal in Columbia, SC. They stopped in Washington DC and met up with Susan (Cosola) Feeley. Susan is on the left, Lois is on the right. Both grew up on DeReimer Avenue and are life-long friends. Picture courtesy of Lois Saggese, 2020. |