Saturday, March 20, 2004
GOODBYE TO 24TH STREET
I finished second grade at Central and as usual I spent a lot of time at Blair that summer with grandma and my aunts. There were always dogs and cats to play with and I spent a lot of time watching whatever grandma or they did. I would trail after grandma when she put on her big brimmed straw hat and took the scythe with her. That always meant she would be working in the weeds. As tiny as grandma was she could swing that big scythe for a long time before she would stop to rest. She hated the weeds that grew up around the pig lot or the chicken house.
I used to think it was impossible to ever get them all cut and it really was. She worked some every day on them and I thought when I grew up I would never pull or cut weeds but many years later I found I rather enjoyed it.
When I went back home it was time to start school again. Louis had been taking free art lessons at the Joslyn Memorial all summer and was quite good. I started in the third grade that year and school was easy for me because I loved everything about it. I read book after book that I could borrow from the Public Library which was a long walk but worth it to me. I loved books.
This was the year that dad went into business with his brothers, Emil and Ted. They were plumber’s laborers which meant at that time a lot of digging. They dug the holes, city workers made the repairs and then dad and the crew would fill them back up. In 1939 there was no ditch digger or mechanical tool to make the job easy, it was all manual labor. For dad and his brothers it was no big deal. They had worked hard all their lives and this was better because they were in business for themselves. They did buy a compressor eventually that powered a jack hammer. It was a big help to break through city streets.
Every Friday night they would get together to make out statements, usually at our house. After they were finished they would send us kids to the store to pick up salami, bologna, cheese and stuff to make a lunch with. We were always told to stop at Fuff’s Bakery half-way up the next block to get pumpernickel and French bread.
Fuff’s bakery was a delight. Mr. Fuff was a large man with sandy hair and very light complexion which turned red when he was working the dough. He always wore white clothes and a white circular hat on his head. His hands were enormous but clean. He would always give “a baker’s dozen” when you bought doughnuts and they were wonderful tasting. Nothing since can compare in my mind.
It was exciting to get home with all the good snacks and listen to the laughter and stories the men would tell. Mom would be fixing everything for the table and I loved the smell of coffee they drank. Danes love their coffee and I certainly fit into the mold. Louis and I would fix a plate for ourselves and sit and listen to the grown-ups talk until sleep overcame us. Mama and aunt Beulah were always good listeners and after lunch a lot of times they would clear the table and play cards. They loved pinochle and pitch. I fell asleep many a night with all of them playing cards and enjoying the time together. It was such good fun after a week of hard back breaking work.
It would be my last year on 24th Street because mom and dad had been saving every penny they could to buy their own home. Dad wanted to have a yard and a garage to store their equipment and so it was at mid-year we moved to 4237 Lake Street. It was a nice blue-collar neighborhood and the school was fairly new. One thing it didn’t have that I always enjoyed was an attendant in the bathrooms who would wash our hands for us. It was provided at Central but not at Clifton Hill. I always liked the lady because she was so nice to all of us.
Dad parked the trailer in the back yard and we stayed in it until the repairs were made and we could move in. At last we would have our own home……it was a wonderful feeling for all of us. It would be our home for over five years until we moved to Missouri…….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
I used to think it was impossible to ever get them all cut and it really was. She worked some every day on them and I thought when I grew up I would never pull or cut weeds but many years later I found I rather enjoyed it.
When I went back home it was time to start school again. Louis had been taking free art lessons at the Joslyn Memorial all summer and was quite good. I started in the third grade that year and school was easy for me because I loved everything about it. I read book after book that I could borrow from the Public Library which was a long walk but worth it to me. I loved books.
This was the year that dad went into business with his brothers, Emil and Ted. They were plumber’s laborers which meant at that time a lot of digging. They dug the holes, city workers made the repairs and then dad and the crew would fill them back up. In 1939 there was no ditch digger or mechanical tool to make the job easy, it was all manual labor. For dad and his brothers it was no big deal. They had worked hard all their lives and this was better because they were in business for themselves. They did buy a compressor eventually that powered a jack hammer. It was a big help to break through city streets.
Every Friday night they would get together to make out statements, usually at our house. After they were finished they would send us kids to the store to pick up salami, bologna, cheese and stuff to make a lunch with. We were always told to stop at Fuff’s Bakery half-way up the next block to get pumpernickel and French bread.
Fuff’s bakery was a delight. Mr. Fuff was a large man with sandy hair and very light complexion which turned red when he was working the dough. He always wore white clothes and a white circular hat on his head. His hands were enormous but clean. He would always give “a baker’s dozen” when you bought doughnuts and they were wonderful tasting. Nothing since can compare in my mind.
It was exciting to get home with all the good snacks and listen to the laughter and stories the men would tell. Mom would be fixing everything for the table and I loved the smell of coffee they drank. Danes love their coffee and I certainly fit into the mold. Louis and I would fix a plate for ourselves and sit and listen to the grown-ups talk until sleep overcame us. Mama and aunt Beulah were always good listeners and after lunch a lot of times they would clear the table and play cards. They loved pinochle and pitch. I fell asleep many a night with all of them playing cards and enjoying the time together. It was such good fun after a week of hard back breaking work.
It would be my last year on 24th Street because mom and dad had been saving every penny they could to buy their own home. Dad wanted to have a yard and a garage to store their equipment and so it was at mid-year we moved to 4237 Lake Street. It was a nice blue-collar neighborhood and the school was fairly new. One thing it didn’t have that I always enjoyed was an attendant in the bathrooms who would wash our hands for us. It was provided at Central but not at Clifton Hill. I always liked the lady because she was so nice to all of us.
Dad parked the trailer in the back yard and we stayed in it until the repairs were made and we could move in. At last we would have our own home……it was a wonderful feeling for all of us. It would be our home for over five years until we moved to Missouri…….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
