And some more comments........

Hello All,
I'm still getting some delightful comments and hope that you enjoy them also.
Molly Kafes speaks of a reunion on October 2nd and if anyone knows this for sure please let me know and I'll pass it on. It would be great but it is only three weeks away.


Bob Duncan writes:
I'm astonished by so many names from the past. Liz Molnar and I were lindy hop partners at the Annunciation dances. For a girl of Hungarian and Puerto Rican antecedants she sure could dance around the best of them. "Baby" was Hiram Rivera who lived at 1510 or 08. He was buds with Pete Henriquez and Tommy Ruiz ("Mr. Cool"), The Taltys lived in Baby's building along with the Morans. The girl was Daisy but I don't remember her two brothers' names - much older than me. The older brother was an exec at Sinclair Inks. The Cavanaughs also resided I believe on the 2nd floor.

You really must get into the buildings on Amsterdam Avenue. My cousins were the late Albert and Donald La March. And of course you know Artie and Catherine.

1512 Amsterdam Avenue was a veritable melting pot. The Stacks were on the first floor. The second floor had the Mendoncas (Portugese Guyana), Mrs. Birnbaum (not sure of her first name); the Pappageorges (Greeks) (2 sons who went to either public school or Greek schools). The Third floor had the Bradleys. Joan was my nurse when I had my appendix out at good old Knickerbocker. I believe Mr. Bradley work for transit. The fourth floor is where the Paganos lived next door to the Harkins. Anne is certainly missed. Oh I forgot the Dukes - George was the son and Tootsie the daughter. At last on the top floor there was us, the Duncans and next door the Blakes - Sonny, Billy, Joan and the late Barbara.

The Rochfords lived at 1504 where Abigail Henriquez and her brother Peter also lived.
Memory is a tricky thing. So many people have gone like Edgar Rodriguez and Lydia Melandez who lived in the same building next to the Pentecostal storefront church. Luis Fuentes passed away many years ago as a teenager but his family lived on 136th Street.

The Knights were the group that Baby, Pete and Tommy had aligned themselves with. The Rebels were more a 136th gang.
Robert Duncan

Bob McKenna sent this great contribution:
Growing up in the city held many advantages but some disadvantages. Brutally hot summers were one of the disadvantages in those pre air conditioned days. During these recent hot days of July and August, I thought back to our usual heat solutions. Water, water, water!
Working outwards from my apartment house, the most likely source of cooling off was the fire hydrant. I am not speaking of these faggy, sprinkler heads that you see today. I am speaking of wide open, 1000 gallons a minute, ice cold Catskills water. I can still taste and smell this hot weather antidote.
The nearest fire hydrant to my building was on the northeast corner of 136th Street and Amsterdam. Somebody always seemed to find the right wrench to open the hydrant. The hydrant pointed downhill which was an advantage, except for any cars that came up the hill. They got washed, whether they wanted to or not. Routinely, small boys would be blown across the street by the powerful stream, only to get up and go back for more. Invariably, someone would slam a steel garbage can on top, to force the water up into a geyser, sort of a tenement “Old Faithful”. Unfortunately, if you opened too many of these hydrants, the neighborhood pressure dropped and fireman faced difficulties at fires without the pressure. This happened a couple of times and the firemen would quickly come around and turn off the hydrants. On occasion the cops would too, when they weren’t chasing after stickball bats (little joke).
The next closest watering hole was Cascades pool on 134th Street between Broadway and Riverside. Drive I didn’t get there too much before it closed but it was the first place I saw “grass” being smoked…..by a conga player in the pool beach. Cascades was close and a welcome relief. The local guys from that area would put on terrific diving shows. Andy Rodriquez was in that group and they were great exhibitions. On occasion, the pool was also used for mass baptisms for the Jehovah Witnesses.
My greatest, closest watering hole was the Hudson River at 133rd Street. The rotting piers were still up and the pilings served as great diving platforms. The condition of the water was something else since the West Side toilets still emptied into the Hudson. We would watch out for the s**t line and take a break as it passed. Joker told me that he, Red Dunnigan and I belonged to the River Rat Club since we swam everyday for two weeks straight. I believe I am now immune to all diseases known to mankind because of those swims. I must admit, whenever I pass or smell the river I still get nostalgic. On occasion we would also go north to Spuyten Duyvil to swim off the rocks. The big “C” rock is still a great tourist picture from the Circle Line with the kids taking Acapulco-like dives.
Further uptown from our neighborhood, Highbridge was probably the nicest pool. It was run by the Parks Department and was kept pretty clean. With its location next to Harlem, it also caused a few tense moments with some of the locals and us, each strutting our tough walks. It was good and it was cheap. I think we used to pay a dime to get in. When we left the pool, we needed to make a decision; pay on the bus, sneak on the bus, have a custard or walk home. We always got the custard and only walked home a few times. I leave the rest to your imagination.
In Inwood, which I thought of as a fancy neighborhood, the pool of choice was Miramar. This was a beautiful pool. This didn’t stay open too long into my teen years, but I recall it as very nice with a sand beach. It is now a Pathmark.
Going to the surrounding beaches took an additional commitment of a long subway or LIRR trip. We went to Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Keansburg (by boat), Jones Beach (by car, with Mr. Diaz in his taxi cab) and the famous Irish Riviera…..Rockaway Beach.
Rockaway Beach was a legend. It was on the Atlantic Ocean with great waves. As a kid, I went with my parents for short stays in bungalows that were closely connected to each other and brimming with music, Irish brogues and lots of kids. We stayed on the beach at 113th Street where the Nuns would go into the water in full length black bathing suits with white bathing caps. Indicative of the Irish Catholic beach population was an occurrence that took place regularly…the Angelus. At Noon and Six, the bells would ring from the boardwalk and not a sound would be heard on the beach as everyone stood in silence and said a prayer. Incredible. Of course a side benefit of Rockaway was the great Amusement Park. With a couple of coins in our pockets we would ride the bumper cars and get sick on cotton candy. A cool place on the Ocean.
In my teen years when I returned to Rockaway for more adult fun, it had begun to deteriorate and they were starting to pull down many of the bungalows. Many of the bars were there and still fun, but the crowds of yore were gone.
Air Conditioning had arrived in the fifties and was first experienced in Bars (duh) and Movie Theatres, so we were soon started on our slow decline to staying indoors all the time. Most of the pools are gone, the Hudson has visibly cleaned up but swimming in it violates hundreds of laws unless you are part of a sponsored event. I bike by the Hudson frequently and watch some kayakers and the nostalgia rolls over me. Stay cool!

Jimmy Magner sent this recollection:
Hi Tom,
You, as always, blow me out of the water with your memory of people and events. After I got out of the marine corp and was employed by the telephone company for few years, I ran into Billy Mahar, from a 136St, and he was rattling off all these names of people from Vingar Hill and like yourself, he seemed to have this fantastic memory and made me feel like I must be brain dead. I was very impressed with Billy's memory. As it turns out, Billy was a cop, and had a second job, at the local funeral home and was well up on the deceased. I should have picked up right away, that Billy seemed to recall the departed easier than the remaining.
You and I have been friends since we were very young children, because you never listened to your mother when she warned you to stay away from that Jimmy Magner, "he will get you in trouble." But my family, my Catholic faith, a sense of humor and the  marines, all shaped my character . For the record, as you know, I married a girl from Galway, Ireland, Moyra Higgins and we have seven children and live on Long Island.
Keep up the great work.
Your buddy,
Jim Magner

Molly (Torres) Kafes  writes:
HI EVERYBODY,

MY NAME IS MOLLY TORRES KAFES AND I GREW UP ON 131ST STREET BETWEEN AMSTERDAM & OLD BROADWAY. I WENT TO ANNUCIATION GIRLS' SCHOOL FROM
1945 TO 1953. WE MOVED TO 131ST STREET FROM EAST 17TH STREET IN MANHATTAN.
THE GIRLS' & GUYS' I KNEW WERE ALL FROM 134TH, 135TH & 136TH ST. I LOVED THAT LITTLE PARK ON AMSTERDAM AND EVERYTHING THAT WENT WITH IT. I ONLY RECENTLY WENT TO A REUNION AT ANNUNCIATION & HAD THE MOST FUN
EVER TALKING WITH TOMY READ & REMEMBERING THOSE WONDERFUL YEARS.
I LOVE READING HIS BLOGS & ANY OTHER COMMENTS THAT ARE SENT TO HIM.
I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT NEIGHBORHOOD FOR VINEGAR HILL ("THE
HILL") WAS SURELY A UNIQUE AREA.
BY THE TIME I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL,I MOSTLY HUNG AROUND LA SALLE STREET
ON BROADWAY(122ND STREET). AGAIN THE CROWD WAS MOSTLY IRISH-AMERICAN &
WE HAD A GREAT TIME IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. AS I TOLD TOMY READ
THAT I THOUGHT I WAS IRISH, BECAUSE IT WAS WHAT I KNEW MOST ABOUT. I USED TO SING "GALWAY BAY" DAY & NIGHT & MY MOTHER WAS DIZZY ALREADY HEARING THE SAME SONG. BUT I SANG OTHER IRISH SONGS TOO! ALTHOUGH, I DID SING ALL
THE POPULAR SONGS FROM "THE HIT PARADE". EVEN NOW I MAKE MY FRIENDS
LAUGH, WHO WERE NOT FROM THAT AREA OF NYC, WITH ALL MY STORIES.
LOVE TO ALL & LET'S KEEP THE PARTY GOING, FOR WE ONLY GO AROUND ONCE,

MOLLY

LOVE YA TOMY.