My crowd used to hang out in the hallway of 502, particularly in the cold and rainy weather. The building lobby was our "club house". We would play cards or just hang out. I don't remember if we played Whist in 502, but I do remember playing Banker Broker and Black Jack. It was only for pennies or nickels and no one ever got rich. Donald MacIver and Edie Bosser, neither of them lived in the building, would always be going upstairs to one of the landings to "make out". The people who lived in the building were very tolerant of us. They had to climb over us to get to their mail boxes or, depending what floor they were at, climb over Donald and Edie.
When I say, "my crowd" it was Donald MacIver, Hughie McVeigh, Jimmy Magner, Fanny Fallon, Philip Vicente, Walter Wheatley, Gerry Wenz, Bobby Montiel, Frankie Byrne, Danny O'Rourke, Peter Davis, Junior Rodriquez, Edgar Rodriquez, Anne Sweeney, Edie Bosser, Millie Parsons, Alice Reid, Fran Cribbons, Mary Mc Gowan, Pat Murphy, Molly Torres, Margie Moore, Theresa Quealey, Mary Purcell, Kay Kelleher, Anne O' Rourke, and I'm sure I have missed some. One poor guy who always wanted to hang out with us but just never fit in was Jimmy Saxton. His nick name was "Tin Can ". Other than the fact that he always got kicked around, I don't know where the name came from. He was a bit of a sad sack and we were very cruel to him. Now the era I'm talking about is when we were between the ages of twelve and seventeen. That would have been 1951 to 1956 which is when I went into the Air Force.
During that time I also hung out, sometime, with the guys on the other side of 135th Street where my dad had the store. I think at one time or another I hung out with everybody.
I'm going to try to tell you the families that I remember in 502. I'm not going to tell you what apartments they lived or what floor they lived on because for the most part, I don't remember.
The Woods were on the first floor because I remember Mrs. Woods talking to us from her front window. Her son Jackie was in my crowd until they moved to Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Jackie had an older sister Jean and an older brother Bobby. I believe Bobby married Pat McKenna who lived across the street in 501. When I say, "as I recall" or "I believe", I'm calling on my memory and I may not be 100 per cent accurate.
Mr. Woods was an electrician.
When the Woods moved to New Jersey, the Devlins moved into their apartment. There was the parents, Mary and Pete and then there was Buddy, Billy, Jimmy and Bobby and finally a girl, Mary Ellen. Bobby had a tradgic accident one day and was killed. I think Bobby wasn't even in his teens, a terrible tradgedy. They made a TV show out of it, a very sad story. The Devlin's forgave the boy that was involved. I don't think it was much longer after that when the whole family moved to California. I hadn't heard a word about them until there was a letter published in the Vinegar Hill Gazette from Odette Alfafaro three or four years ago. Odette's sister Angie married Billy Devlin and they are still in California. The Devlin's were Scotch. I remember Mrs. Devlin still had a bit of a burr in her speech. They were co-owners with the Tighes of what was originally Tony's Candy Store. Mary and Mrs. Tighe (Mildred) ran the candy store during the day and then Mr. Tighe, (Tom) and Pete Devlin ran the store in the evening. I always remember Pete Devlin having one of us, we were eleven thru fifteen years old, "run around the corner" to get him a quart of Ballantine Ale. I wonder if he is still alive and does he still drink his ale.
Across the hall from the Devlins was the Horans. They only had one son, John. John was an only child and never got to hang out with any of us. He was in our class at Annunciation . His mother was very protective of him and didn't want him hanging out with us "Holligans".
Down the hall came one of the McGowan boys from 505 and his new bride. I'm not sure if it was Tommy or Jack. When they got married that's where they moved to. I think her name was Margie. We always kinda giggled when they came in because they were the newlyweds.
As I go upstairs I'm not going to tell you who lived on what floor because I don't remember. There was the Reeds, no relation to me and we always had to explain that we had different spelling and we were not related. As I say this I don't remember if it was Reed or Reid. Alice was in our crowd and she had a sister, Clara, who passed away at a very early age. I remember talking to her and she always looked very sickly.
Big in our crown was the Wheatleys. Walter and Loretta hung out with us and then there was the oldest brother, Buddy, who was away at the seminary. He became a priest and was stationed down south somewhere. I don't recall seeing him, ever. Then there was Anna and Kathleen and Joe. It was either Anna or Kathleen, but one of them had a dog, a boxer named Tango. He was a gift from a serious suitor although I don't think he won. I hope I'm wrong. I always remember Mr. Wheatley with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and a newspaper tucked under his arm coming home from work. During the summer Mr. Wheatley and Mr. Dillon who lived upstairs would go fishing. If they got a good catch, which they often did, they would stand outside of the building passing out fish to anyone who wanted them. The trunk of Mr. Dillon's car would be loaded with fish.
The Dillon's had several daughters and Kathleen was in our crowd, a bit, as she was a year younger than us and that put her in a different crowd. I remember talking to one of Kathleen's sisters after one of the reunion masses, but I can't remember her name.
Another family was the Capria's. Ray, as we called her, was their only daughter. She was a year or two older than us and didn't always hang out with us. It was much to our regret, as she was a good looker. Her dad, Joe, was a cab driver and he was hysterical. He was one of the few Italians in the neighborhood and he and his partner owned a cab. They each worked twelve hour shifts and when he got off he would always tell us of what went on with some of his fares, some very funny stories. He had some of the greatest "dirty jokes".
The Collins were another family. I remember John who married Kay Moore from 134th Street. What I remember about John, he was five or six years older than us, was this. He could take one of those four legged, chrome, soft cushioned bar stools, lay on the ground and pick it up with one hand by one leg at the base. I hope you can picture that. Grab that stool by the base with one hand, lift it up, while you were lying down. No one else even attempted to do it the night I saw him do it.
Anne and Mae Sweeney used to hang out with us, too. Mae was a year or two older than Anne and she didn't hang with us as often. Mae hung out with the likes of Dinky Devlin, and Kay Kellker. I think they called themselves the Jets long before we had the Jets of football fame. Anyway, Anne was in our crowd. Mr. Sweeney was a brick layer or a mason. He always brought his tools home in a little black suitcast. I guess it was a tool case.
The Phaelans were also upstairs. They had two children, Jack (Jake) and I think it was Kay. They were older then us by a few years and didn't hang out with us in the hallway. John Scott wrote a very nice article about John in one of the issues of the Gazette. John had become very successful and it was no surprise. He was a great image to us when we were growing up, his parents as well. I always remember Mr. Phaelan looking very dapper and Mrs. Phaelan always very well dressed, on their way to church.
A few families moved away from the building before we started hanging out in their hallway. There was the Healy's and for some reason I think they were on the top floor. I think their daughters name was Margie but I'm not sure.
Then there was the Vogt's. Mrs. Vogt was a tiny lady and they had one son, Billy, who was equally as tiny. I think they moved when Billy was seven or eight.
Another family was the Sullivan's. I remember Charlie. He was our age and I still remember his great smile. He also moved when he was seven or eight.
That's it for 502. I'm sure there are some inaccuracies but that's the way I remember it.
I want to share an e-mail I got from Molly Torres after my last post. Molly is as funny now as when we were kids. Hi Tommy,
I started to send a reply the other day & my
email went down & lost it. I send condolences regarding the passing of your
friend. I grew up on 131st street between
Amsterdam & Old Broadway, 521 W. 131st
& remember a butcher on 131st & Amsterdam. I bet that is the same store my
mom went to, because sometimes she would send me with a note to give to the
butcher with the meats she wanted. This would have been around 1949?, but I remember distinctly the man behind the
counter & how he would wrap the meats up
with the butcher paper. My mom always
bought lamb chops, veal cutlets, pork chops
& other meats. For chicken she & my grandmother went to the poultry market
which was on 126 or 127th street & Amsterdam Ave. It smelled awful in there
& I hated going with them, but they dragged me in there anyway & I would gag
& carryon & they would ignore me or else
my mother would pull me to the side & tell
me to stop annoying them. Yuk! I never went inside one of those places again. Maybe that's why I'm not crazy about chicken, even though I make it at home, but never order it at a restaurant.
Must mention that my husband loved your
last email & the story of Pang's laundry & the macahoydingding part got him hysterical. So we just went on a cruise with
Holland America to KeyWest, etc and all the
crew was mixed, but mostly Indonesian & Fillipino. So everyday if we were in the cabin or dining, & he would say call "macahoy" over here & then he would
rub his teeth with his index finger. We laughed all week with that & are still laughing. Best to you and your wife.
Keep in touch,
Fondly,
Molly Torres Kafes
