It’s amazing the parallels our lives were in our youth. As you know I too lived on the third floor in a tenement that housed family, my aunt , uncles and cousins. We all shared your experiences that you describe so vividly. There were four 3 deckers , 2 on Oak St . and 2 on Willow St . that shared back yards with their gardens. All tenements were occupied by my relatives including my grandparents.
I imagine that back in those days some people might have described that set up as a ghetto. However, if our name was Kennedy it probably would be referred to as a compound. The symbiotic relationship was extraordinary. Everyone pitched in and helped. A wonderful time to have been afforded the cocoon of love and affection of all. Again as Bob Hope always said, “ thanks for the memories”.
I love it. Compound works for me. I once took a writing class in Chicago, Paul. When I told the class I grew up in a three decker, they said, “You grew up on a bus?” HaHa>
I lived in a 6 family tenement. My husband in a 3 family. Never locked our doors. Everyone helped each other with whatever little they had. Loved your writeup. Yes books also took me to new world. Walked to Prov Public Library. We had no car.
This is great, Annette. Yes, neighborhoods were safe. My father left his keys in the ignition and never locked the car. People reached out to help because they wanted to. How refreshing. I think we can return in some way. Let's hope.
Exactly the same for me Ed. I grew up on Home Ave in Mt Pleasant, in a two family. My grandparents on the second floor. From 1967 till 1998. The summers were great, I would sit
on the front steps at night, listening to the crickets, during the day we would run and bike around
the neighborhood. Grandma would make the big Italian Sunday dinner and the smell would be
throughout the house. We would go upstairs after Church at Blessed Sacrament. At night my father would lay on his bed listening to the Red Sox....then it all
slowly began to change, as all things do, my Grandfather passed then Grandma, the house was sold and my folks moved away and now they've been gone for years. Well, at least we have the memories
Many thanks, Ed, for your evocative and emotional description of that three-tenement house and your life there. Until I was ten we lived in the second-story tenement of a three-story house on Douglas Avenue just south of the North Providence line---but, unlike you, we didn't have a porch. Only the first-floor tenement had one---and I envied those occupants (my mother's aunt and uncle and their large family) their porch, their sheer size (ten children), and the wonderful dinners Aunt Euleria made and to which I was frequently invited. I guess that when you are feeding ten children and your husband dinner daily, one more kid doesn't matter, particularly. My mother, herself a great cook, did not mind the competition from her aunt. I was a picky eater and Aunt Euleria would say: "Try this, it's so tasty"---and I would. Great training, that---I am no longer a picky eater...
Beautiful, Angelo. How lucky we were. Next week I write about the home visit and how we have lost it. I am mired in the world of nostalgia and there ain't nobody gonna shake it!!!
Ed, I love the way you sought solace in your back stairway. I was 'jerked up' in Dallas in a 1000 sq. ft. one floor ranchhouse that had neither an attic nor a cellar. I escaped daily realism in my imagination or by reading. So for me, it was the back yard, up a big tree or playing with my dog, with my friends, or by reading a great book. I never lacked for something to absorb my interest. But unlike you, I had only my immediate family, no cousins no aunt or uncles or grandparented as they were all left behind in N.J. when my folks moved west. I always envied those friends who had such family close by, but I was blessed to have loving parents and two brothers. My young life was all anyone could ask for.
As for the 'news', I found sseveral quotes that express my attitude to such things. "Truth in journalism is usually found in the comic pages". Also, "When the news reflect the whole of life, not just it's sordid aspects, it will be honest, serviceful, and worthy of our attention". Do not start or end your day by listening to newcasts. JC Yuill
John, I love your comment. Look how you found peace, comfort, and quiet. Friends, family, and reading were at the core of your childhood. It was the same for me. I had the abundance of three floors, but it didn't have to be three as you so noted. Love was at the core. My luck extended to being the only kid in that house for six years. Imagine, effectively three mothers doting on me all that time.
I love your 'news' quotes. Thanks for sharing them. I guess my biggest disappointment is the warping of honesty, the lack of integrity, and the disingenuousness among our elected officials. And they wear it with pride. How dare they!
Well, we have the Olympics for the next two weeks. Whew!
Thanks again for opening up the gateways of my mind. Although I did not live in a 3 decker, my home was a single family with two attic bedrooms. One used by my grandfather, who owned the house and my mom's older brother John who used the other. These rooms were not heated, because we did not have central heating or insulation. So you can imagine how cold it was in winter and hot in summer. However it was a house full of the love of family. Our neighborhood was a typical Italian one with 3 deckers mostly, but other single family cottages. My grandmother's sister and her family lived in one on the opposite side of the street up from us a bit. Everyone in the neighborhood looked out for their neighbors and we all felt safe any place we walked. Even during WWII. Everyone worked together and felt safe and trusted in our government and our relatives in the service. I am so blessed to have been raised in that time.
Ed, you had a wonderful successful life but more important was your youth, the family ties with all-in-one home that brought comfort and safety. Yes, many old timers slurped, why I don't know. Was it more favorable with each slurp? We shall never know. Yes, it's good at times to turn away from all the news and sit back and have a slurp or two.
At 72 I'm the oldest of my generation, I'm writing my journals as my family history for the youngest of my family who just turned 13. I hope he's interested !!!
Ed,
It’s amazing the parallels our lives were in our youth. As you know I too lived on the third floor in a tenement that housed family, my aunt , uncles and cousins. We all shared your experiences that you describe so vividly. There were four 3 deckers , 2 on Oak St . and 2 on Willow St . that shared back yards with their gardens. All tenements were occupied by my relatives including my grandparents.
I imagine that back in those days some people might have described that set up as a ghetto. However, if our name was Kennedy it probably would be referred to as a compound. The symbiotic relationship was extraordinary. Everyone pitched in and helped. A wonderful time to have been afforded the cocoon of love and affection of all. Again as Bob Hope always said, “ thanks for the memories”.
Paul
I love it. Compound works for me. I once took a writing class in Chicago, Paul. When I told the class I grew up in a three decker, they said, “You grew up on a bus?” HaHa>
I lived in a 6 family tenement. My husband in a 3 family. Never locked our doors. Everyone helped each other with whatever little they had. Loved your writeup. Yes books also took me to new world. Walked to Prov Public Library. We had no car.
This is great, Annette. Yes, neighborhoods were safe. My father left his keys in the ignition and never locked the car. People reached out to help because they wanted to. How refreshing. I think we can return in some way. Let's hope.
My father drank his coffee the same way Out of the Saucer
I had the same smells in my garage that you had on your cellar stairs
GROWING UP ITALIAN WAS AN AWESOME THING .
Did he make the slurp?
Yes and it would be followed by my mother Concetta telling him to stop that
She would say Harry do you have to do that
So funny. And classic!
Exactly the same for me Ed. I grew up on Home Ave in Mt Pleasant, in a two family. My grandparents on the second floor. From 1967 till 1998. The summers were great, I would sit
on the front steps at night, listening to the crickets, during the day we would run and bike around
the neighborhood. Grandma would make the big Italian Sunday dinner and the smell would be
throughout the house. We would go upstairs after Church at Blessed Sacrament. At night my father would lay on his bed listening to the Red Sox....then it all
slowly began to change, as all things do, my Grandfather passed then Grandma, the house was sold and my folks moved away and now they've been gone for years. Well, at least we have the memories
forever!
Memories of joy and love. And gravy, of course!
Nice and cool on those back stairs also!
Sure was. And a trip to the cellar even cooler, Eh?
Many thanks, Ed, for your evocative and emotional description of that three-tenement house and your life there. Until I was ten we lived in the second-story tenement of a three-story house on Douglas Avenue just south of the North Providence line---but, unlike you, we didn't have a porch. Only the first-floor tenement had one---and I envied those occupants (my mother's aunt and uncle and their large family) their porch, their sheer size (ten children), and the wonderful dinners Aunt Euleria made and to which I was frequently invited. I guess that when you are feeding ten children and your husband dinner daily, one more kid doesn't matter, particularly. My mother, herself a great cook, did not mind the competition from her aunt. I was a picky eater and Aunt Euleria would say: "Try this, it's so tasty"---and I would. Great training, that---I am no longer a picky eater...
Beautiful, Angelo. How lucky we were. Next week I write about the home visit and how we have lost it. I am mired in the world of nostalgia and there ain't nobody gonna shake it!!!
Ed, I love the way you sought solace in your back stairway. I was 'jerked up' in Dallas in a 1000 sq. ft. one floor ranchhouse that had neither an attic nor a cellar. I escaped daily realism in my imagination or by reading. So for me, it was the back yard, up a big tree or playing with my dog, with my friends, or by reading a great book. I never lacked for something to absorb my interest. But unlike you, I had only my immediate family, no cousins no aunt or uncles or grandparented as they were all left behind in N.J. when my folks moved west. I always envied those friends who had such family close by, but I was blessed to have loving parents and two brothers. My young life was all anyone could ask for.
As for the 'news', I found sseveral quotes that express my attitude to such things. "Truth in journalism is usually found in the comic pages". Also, "When the news reflect the whole of life, not just it's sordid aspects, it will be honest, serviceful, and worthy of our attention". Do not start or end your day by listening to newcasts. JC Yuill
John, I love your comment. Look how you found peace, comfort, and quiet. Friends, family, and reading were at the core of your childhood. It was the same for me. I had the abundance of three floors, but it didn't have to be three as you so noted. Love was at the core. My luck extended to being the only kid in that house for six years. Imagine, effectively three mothers doting on me all that time.
I love your 'news' quotes. Thanks for sharing them. I guess my biggest disappointment is the warping of honesty, the lack of integrity, and the disingenuousness among our elected officials. And they wear it with pride. How dare they!
Well, we have the Olympics for the next two weeks. Whew!
Thanks again for opening up the gateways of my mind. Although I did not live in a 3 decker, my home was a single family with two attic bedrooms. One used by my grandfather, who owned the house and my mom's older brother John who used the other. These rooms were not heated, because we did not have central heating or insulation. So you can imagine how cold it was in winter and hot in summer. However it was a house full of the love of family. Our neighborhood was a typical Italian one with 3 deckers mostly, but other single family cottages. My grandmother's sister and her family lived in one on the opposite side of the street up from us a bit. Everyone in the neighborhood looked out for their neighbors and we all felt safe any place we walked. Even during WWII. Everyone worked together and felt safe and trusted in our government and our relatives in the service. I am so blessed to have been raised in that time.
Beautifully told, Natalie. I too was fortunate and the reason why I write
Our problem is trying to find a TV program that is not a rerun over and again.
The answer is books,Joe.
Ed, you had a wonderful successful life but more important was your youth, the family ties with all-in-one home that brought comfort and safety. Yes, many old timers slurped, why I don't know. Was it more favorable with each slurp? We shall never know. Yes, it's good at times to turn away from all the news and sit back and have a slurp or two.
You bet. I'll say it again and again, Nostalgia IS what it used to be!
Another wonderful, warm and thoughtful recollection with poignancy in the present. Thanks
Thanks, Roger. Some accuse me of living in the past. Guilty!
Massive amount of great memories flooding my brain right now !!!!
Thank you !!!
Write them!
I do !! I've been a "journaler" for over 30 years now.
And now the book? Eh?
At 72 I'm the oldest of my generation, I'm writing my journals as my family history for the youngest of my family who just turned 13. I hope he's interested !!!
Trust me, Gino, he will be.