I went to live with my grandfather, George
Hagel, and his wife Catherine, at 281 Lake Street right across from
Branch Brook Park. in 1932. I went to school at Sacred Heart near
Park Ave where the Cathedral was still being built. We would go
to the movies - the Embassy and the Regent (I think) and on Friday
it was dish night. All of the kids got dragged along so more dishes
could be purchased.
Newark was a city of parades - Easter, St Pat's day, Memorial
Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was a great town
to grow up in. Safe and lots to offer. Lots of statues in the parks
downtown. Tony used to drive his horse drawn wagon past our house
every day . In the summer he sold ices in a cup and in the winter
you could buy a sweet potato for a penny.
Louie the butcher had a shop on Bloomfield Ave not too far from
the "car barn" where they parked the trolleys. Louis had
the ruddiest cheeks and everyone said it was from drinking the blood
of the animals. A kid would believe anything. I recall he'd grab
our cheeks between his finger and thumb and lovingly shake our heads.
You bought butter out of the tub - lard too. Tasty Bread had a promotional
loaf about four inches long that you got for a penny.
Newark was great...
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