Memories from 1944-1948
David Pacific
By Arnie G.
My memories of life on Joseph Avenue, from my vantage point at the intersection of Herman St. (now Upper Falls Blvd) and Joseph Avenue, comes from the period of 1944 -1948 when I was between 4 and 8 years of age. It was a time of air raid drills, blackouts, and daily WWII news. While that was the background it no way curtailed adventurous young boys with a playground! As I think about it now, many of the things my close friend Gil Fox and I did would today have our parents in family court both for our deeds and for parents allowing unsupervised children out in retrospectively dangerous situations! However, what we experienced brought fun and thrills at the time and precious memories as we enter our eightieth years.
A week likely included visiting (sneaking in) Bachmans Brothers, a place filled with war surplus, playing on an amphibious duck or some (likely dangerous) weapon looking thing, or hanging out in Joe Metters auto wrecking business (next to my house) hoping we would find treasure in the door pockets of the cars from the 20s and 30s!
It is likely that young children today never watched the “afternoon tea” at my Italian friend's grandparent's back yard where men would line up at the double doors to buy their shots of liquor.
Many of the neighborhood kids spent time at "the Brickyard." Why there was this area full of old bricks, I never knew. Boy, could we build forts, never considering bricks without mortar could ever fall on one's head.
When we were in the need of a Joseph Avenue overview a simple climbing up on the roof of the Yalowich Drug Store would connect you to the roofs of Kaplan's Shoe Repair, Fox's Deli, and Brodsky's textiles. There we watched the hustle and bustle of Joseph Avenue and could even be assured that our neighborhood motorcycle cop Danny Murphy was watching over all.
When I was near eight we moved north on Joseph beyond Clifford Avenue — an entirely different world, mostly long residing German families and none of the Lower East Side flavor, even though only steps away from Quality Bakery and the B'nai Israel synagogue.
I will close with my last memory and that is acquiring a great skill of hiding behind cars on my way to baseball, to avoid being grabbed as the 10th man for the Jewish ritual of a required 10 men at the synagogue services.
Thank you all for great memories as well as firm building blocks for life!