Is there anyone out there who lived Down
Neck during the Second World War, around Pacific Street and Delancy
Street and the "projects" on South Street and Pacific?
My family and I lived in a little house on the corner of Delancy
and Pacific, 150 Pacific Street, just across the street from Barrett's
Luncheonette, where after the war, the "Pacific Loafers" started
hanging out.
My family got groceries on credit from the Polish Mr. Jaskot's
"mom and pop" sort of grocery store on the corner of Pacific and
Delancy. He didn't like it when we went next door to the Atlantic
& Pacific Tea store, Mr. Jaskot could see us from his store window,
but we bought things cheaper there sometimes and money was so tight.
My best friends lived in the projects a couple of blocks away from
our house, a bunch of buildings that took up the blocks of South
Street, Pacific Street and Pennington Street. Hello to Jo Nobile,
Dee Dee Schmidt and all the boys and girls that lived and played
in the projects' courtyards around 1944, 1945.
On May 8, 1945, Pacific Street was closed to cars and the 25 Springfield
Ave. bus so that people could revel in joy in the streets, that
the war in Europe was over! Us kids banged pots and pans and lit
firecrackers and everybody loved everybody else on that day!
I know the times when I was growing up on Pacific Street, Newark
New Jersey are long gone but I often think back to then; it seems
it was such a time of innocence and happier times.
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