Fondest memories (Part A) 

May 25, 2002

I could write volumes on my memories of the "good years". Did we realize then how great it was? No. Do you ever wish you could just go back for one day and take it all in again? I sure do. When I had my first reunion with Dymphna Hunt, Carol Colucci, Elaine Quinn and Sally Malia 2 years ago one of the funniest memories was Sister Rita and choir practice. Elaine and Terry Finn had gotten delayed over something, arrived to the loft late and Sr. Rita was there waiting with the dreaded hymnal and whacked Terry or maybe it was Elaine in the head. The beanie went flying over the balcony rail. You can envision the rest, we were hysterical with laughter down front which only fueled Sr. Rita.

Then there are the memories of the wonderful days and nights spent in Columbian Park. Parties at the Mooney's, white Castles, the train station at Ampere, the smell of bread baking at Wards, $1.00 sneakers at the 5 and dime. Gasoline for 25 cents, Beach boys, NYC nights.

Mary Melba Robinson, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

Mary

The station at ampere brought back a memory..There was a large ramp up to the station..My father would drive up and down the ramp at a high rate of speed..I had not thought about that until you mentioned the station..

Also I remember going to the bakery on Fourth Ave. after Mass every Sunday...I still like crumb buns today

The smell of the Ward's bakery was great too !!!

How about the policeman at Grove and 4th ??..I was a safety patrol person there. I have uploaded a picture of the policeman.

Regards

Bob Manning, Class of 1950
e-mail: manningbob@att.net

Well, you two can sing the praises of Ward's, but only the cupcakes from the Dugan's truck came in boxes that you could rip the cellophane out of the top half of, stick your face through, and pretend to be Sister Rita.

"The gall of you!"

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

We had gall alright, doing our darndest to enjoy life and not get caught in the act. How those Nuns had peripheral vision with those habits surrounding their faces was amazing. "Eyes in the back of their heads" I think that was Sr. Patricia's expression, and I began to believe her.

Bob, do you remember the name of the policeman? I remember Gus the policeman, but for some reason I think he stayed on 4th and 18th? Or maybe it was Springdale and Grove. I don't remember Gus being at 4th and Grove. Gus had more of a belly than the officer in your picture too.

I wish I had more pictures of EO, so many got mangled and lost over the years and moving several times. Thanks for posting that, we get a chance to remember the houses we walked past many times and the families living there. I remember well the ramp going up to the train station, roller skating down that was a trip. The train station itself with the great acoustics. It's gone now.

Mary Rossetti, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

Mary

I don't recall the name of the policeman but I do remember him being very stern....He had complete command of the intersection..My class was the first to have school patrol..Did you have it in your years ???

Regards

Bob Manning, Class of 1950
e-mail: manningbob@att.net

Yes the aroma from Wards, The fresh baked rolls at the bakery! Sister Rita "I seeee RED" The rainy days spending all day at the Ampere Theater with the old man putting the water fountain out of order.

Where did we get the biggest bag of penny candy? Allens on Ampere Parkway by the RR bridge, 4th Ave. 'cant recall the name' or was it Grove & Springdale (the crippled man) and his very obese wife? (I'll take a Stab Coot's and Izzy's)I'm sure Mary knows that answer as you lived right opposite them.

I remember Gus even though I wasn't a Grove St. leaver, I was to the right (4th Ave.) group. Who can remember the names of the 2 super's at Columbian Park? Small guy & and the other was on the big side (although to us they were both big). The carnivals at Columbian park, we all ended up with the Straw Hats!

The 5 and 10 was another favorite! Remember they couldn't keep up the supply of Hula Hoops.

Jim Giblin, Class of 1962
e-mail: jagiblin@earthlink.net

Jim The guy I remember at Columbian was Mike West...He taught us a lot about about baseball..Of course I left EO in 1950 so he might have retired by the time you guys were there

Do you guys remember a box lunch place on Grove near Springdale.??.You could go there and buy a carry out box of a sandwich,pie and an apple..

Also since I lived in Bloomfield near Bloomfield Ave. I took the # 90 bus to school and even went home for lunch every day...Can you believe taking a bus as a second grader,alone.Of course the bus had many school children on it so it was a almost a school bus

You guys have sparked my interest

Regards

Bob Manning, Class of 1950
e-mail: manningbob@att.net

I remember a 'Neil', I think, as a super at Columbian; he would have been after Bob's time though. And who was All Souls' custodian...Fitz?

I don't remember a box lunch at the corner of Grove and Springdale in my time--one corner was Columbian school, one corner Izzy's, one corner was Mary's corner, and the corner diagonal to Columbian was in my time Charlie's (I think) Market.

How about Duncan Yo-yos? In the spring the Duncan guy would come by and do demos in front of Izzy's and then you'd simply have to buy an Imperial (but it didn't improve my yo-yo skills much). I also distinctly recall when inflation first hit our young lives--when soda fountain Coke's at Ruby's went from 5 cents to 7 cents. But speaking of two cents, I used to buy cigarettes for my mom and dad (it was a different time) from the vending machine in the Ideal Market (later to become Shop Rite) and I remember you put a quarter in and the pack came down the slot with 2 pennies taped to it as your change.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Bob, Mary ,Ted

You folks sure stirred up a bunch of memories from the good old days. I remember a lot of the things you all talk about and more , I don't remember the exact date but I remember being able to sit in the ampere theater all afternoon on Saturday with a drink and popcorn for 25 cents. We used the phone booth at the station nearly every night to call girls. After we graduated we thought we were all grown up so would sit up in the choir in the last row, I guess we must have made too much noise and Father McCarty stopped mass one Sunday and chews us out. Bob I think it was you who asked where I lived, it was next to the vacant lot on 4th ave. and N. Arlington ave. Tom Flynn

Tom Flynn, Class of 1950
e-mail: thomashf@rap.midco.net

So far I'm the only Mary, so I'll leave off the other identifiers. "Bob, Mary & Ted" we almost have the title of a movie here! Back to the message thread. Neil something and Owen Rabbit were the guys at Columbian. I think Sam was the cop at Springdale and Grove. You're right Ted, it was Charlie's Meat Market...with the bookies in the back room. Izzy's candy shop, I had forgotten about the Duncan Yo-yo guy. You have a good memory for details Ted. The only sandwich shop I remember was across from the Ideal Market. I worked there the summers of sophomore and junior years at Scott HS. Started out working "short orders" at lunch and graduated to running the counter at night. My increase in popularity matched the numbers of kids that came in looking for extra jimmies and marshmallow on their sundaes. The theater at Ampere was were I saw my first movies without parents. Three Coins in the Fountain. My sister Janice and I watched it once, twice and on the third showing my father came for us. He asked me how long I was going to sit there before I figured out it was time to leave. What did I know, maybe that's why they began covering up the water fountain? If we got thirsty us kids would go home sooner? Thanks for the memories

Mary , Class of 1961

The memories these messages bring back. Everyone is right, the smell of Wards drifting over the area. Izzy's was on the southwest corner of Springdale & N. Grove. Ruby's was on the southeast corner of Springdale & N. Maple. Alan's was the luncheonette in between on the north side of Springdale. Newman's was the drug store opposite Ruby's. Also there were two bakeries, one on Springdale and one on 4th Ave.. Gus Elorette was the cop on 4th Ave., before Marty Hubin Sr.. Greg Elorette,Gus's son became a deputy chief of the EOPD. I can't name the cop in the picture, but have made inquires to see if some old timer can recognize him. Another cop who chased me and everyone else off of the corners was Al Lago. I ended up working as a detective with him for 10 years. Enough for now. Ted keep up the good work with this web page.

John D. LeGates, Class of 1962
e-mail: delfiascocorp@hotmail.com

Mary Ellen Boncher (Class of 1959) was in NJ last week and was nice enough to meet me for lunch, which reminded me of something else--the Talent Shows at Columbian school. To my recollection they only were held for two or three years while I was still in the younger grades, so you young kids from '61 and '62 might not remember them. On the other hand, maybe they did go on longer than that and I stopped going? My older sister who was probably 7 or 8 at the time was in them for a couple of years, so maybe that's the years I went.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

John Legates, I was reading your message and was totally amazed at the details you remember. Your ending cleared up some of that, a detective for 10 years. I assume that was in EO? For some reason I didn't remember Ruby's but did remember the rest, with less details of course. Thanks for filling in the missing links.

To Ted, I remember the talent shows at Columbian. One type of talent show if I am remembering correctly was connected to dance recitals held by a dance studio under the bridge on Ampere Parkway. They held the shows in the school auditorium.

The other talent show was put on by the Parks Commission during the summer and held outside. Which one are you thinking of? The last time I took part in those was due to Janice and I practically getting into a fight on stage over a difference of opinion about lyrics or something. Don't remember the actual details, only the lasting impression that I had made a fool of myself for the last time.

Mary Robinson-Rossetti, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

Ruby's was on the SE corner of Springdale & No. Maple, and was run by Mr. & Mrs. Ruby. It was a soda fountain, and magazine and candy store. One day when I was maybe 9 or 10, my friend and I are at Ruby's drinking a soda, when we decide it is time to get stronger (we had probably just lost one of our frequent wrestle-fights to Ed Feely and Bob Messerlin), so we decide to buy this weight lifting/body building magazine. Even at 56 I'm too innocent to know whether people buy them to learn body building technique or to 'look at the pictures'. But Mr. Ruby honestly almost had a heart attack. Very uncharacteristically, he starts screaming: "Do your mother and father know you're trying to buy this!?!?. Put it down! Bring me a note from them! Don't touch it!" and so on. I was always buying comics from him, so I didn't know what was wrong with him, I thought he'd gone crazy :-)

I was very young at the time that I watched the talent shows, so I don't remember much. They were held in the auditorium of Columbian school. I know they involved dancing because my sister tap danced, but I can't remember if there was singing or other entertainment.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Yes Mary Robinson I was an EO Detective for ten years. I did my entire 30 year career with the EOPD.

If I remember right your family lived in the apartments at Springdale Ave. and N. Grove over the stores there. This would be the northeast corner. The corner store was a beauty salon, then going east on Springdale would have been a barber shop, pizzeria, and then a shoemaker.

I remember some of the talent shows and also on a Tuesday night during the summer there was always a cook-out in Columbian Park. There were also dances in the park.

I lived on 23rd Street one block below Grove.

Growing up in EO was good. The City back then was a nice place. After thirty years service I really know some of the history that never made the papers.

John D. LeGates, Class of 1962
e-mail: delfiascocorp@hotmail.com

I bet you could write a very interesting book about EO during your 30 years on the force. An OLAS grad by the name of Bill Hart did a postcard book recapping the history of EO "in the good old days" in picture and in words. He regularly writes in the EO record about people and places of EO. If you haven't seen the book and would like more info write to me at my home address.

I'm not sure if Elaine Quinn lived on 23rd or 22nd street. Even tho changes have occurred, when you walk along the old sidewalks under the beautiful trees you remember the homes and the sounds the way they used to be. Summer cook outs at the park were fun, all you had to do was bring a couple of hot dogs to cook and park supplied the rest. Not living in a house, I considered the park my backyard. M....

Mary Robinson, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

+
JMJ

Hi Neighbors!

Hope you guys don't mind a fellow from across town in another parish butting in. We used to pal around with a lot of kids from OLAS. I lived at 75 Carnegie Avenue when I started kindergarten at Our Lady Help of Christians School in 1958. I graduated OLHC in 1968 and went to East Orange HS where I graduated in '72.

Does anybody know if OLHC has a site or had any reunions yet? I wonder how many of our Sisters of Charity are still around?

One of you guys mentioned EOPD Officer Marty Yeuban. Well, his son, Marty Jr., was my classmate. Around 4th Grade I moved to 360 Central Avenue (next to Dan Esposito's Oldsmobiles, a block from Nassau School.) Today I was sickened to hear that there was a drive-by shooting yesterday on the Shepherd Avenue corner of my old neighborhood and that several people were killed.

Officer Dick Powell was the East Orange cop who crossed me, my late Mom and my two sisters, at the corner of So. Clinton and Main Streets from 1958-1968. (I think he lived on So Munn Ave. near the old Main Library, now the Municipal Court.) He knew I also wanted to be a cop so he gave me his white officer's cap which I wore and treasured for years. I knew that I had a vocation to the Priesthood before I even attended kindergarten. Sister Rita, SC, also inculcated that in me.

I also remember the late EO Motorcycle cop, Officer Rick Nelson, Sr. who was the father of my classmate, Ricky Nelson, Jr. My Mom had a crush on his dad. Ricky and I scuffled one day in the school hall. We were 1st graders. I was hurt and needed stitches. Ricky's Dad, Officer Nelson, scolded and disciplined him in front of me and the Sisters. One of the nicest men I ever met. Everyone looked up to him. The following week Officer Nelson put his service revolver into his mouth. That was my first "9-11". All of us were so devastated.

I used to write for the EO Record, the Newark Evening News and the Star Ledger... In the early 70's also I worked for the EO Police Community Relations Bureau and that was a close as I ever got to becoming a cop. (But I did become a NYPD Auxiliary last fall). Yup, I live and serve in NYC now.

That book being touted here, "East Orange in Vintage Postcards" -- is the author, Bill Hart, the son of our former EO Mayor William S. Hart? If so then I was his classmate at EOHS. I recall his predecessor, Mayor Kelly, very well also. (But they were Democrats. In 30+ yrs. I never missed an election, nor have I ever voted Democrat.)

Somebody here mentioned Sister Rita. Might she be the same elderly Sister of Charity who taught me at OLHC? (Perhaps she was transferred to OLHC for the late '50's and early '60's.) How I loved Sister Rita! She was my most favorite nun. She held me in her arms when I was a toddler. She was the 1st religious I ever saw. I recall that her's was the first wake I ever attended while in 3rd Grade. She passed during Christmas vacation and was waked at the convent when we got back. (The good Sisters gave us the Christmas gifts she bought me and my family at Muir's Dept. Store that week -- and which she never got to give us.) I cried for weeks and I still miss her. She has a spot in my heart next to my late mother's and my late grandmother's.

I recall being Baptized at age 4 (an involved story why so late) by Fr. O'Grady, standing on a folding chair with my head over the font. Msgr. Ralph Glover of blessed memory was our Pastor then.

I also recall going to my first Mass as a toddler in 1956; peering between people from the back of the Church, watching the Mass in wonderment and awe -- and knowing then that I was going to be a priest. Today I still celebrate the Tridentine Liturgy, but in the English vernacular rather then Latin.

Some of you might recall when I ran for City Council (Second Ward) while I was still in HS. I was the first 18-year-old to seek elected office in the US. That was '71 or '72. Years later I ran in the 3rd Ward also while living on South Orange Ave. in East Orange, next to Vailsburg. By then I was attending Mass at St. Joe's on Tremont Avenue. I went on to serve 17 terms on the GOP Essex County Committee in EO. I resigned political office when I was ordained a deacon in '84.

After HS I went to Rutgers in New Brunswick for two years and then in '75 to St. Jude's ORC Seminary in Toms River. I changed rites because of post-Vatican II liturgical abuses which I could not abide. I was attached to the Old Roman Catholic Church for 13 years, a deacon for 5 years, and then ordained a priest for the Orthodox Church in 1990.

I miss East Orange. I moved away in '89 when I was assigned to parishes in Pennsylvania. Now I'm serving a hospital and prison AIDS ministry here in NYC. It would be great to fellowship with some of you. Perhaps we've done so before...

PS: I used to be a waiter at Pal's Cabin back in the 70's. I see you had your reunion there. Marty Horn was one of the nicest employers I ever had!

Yours in Christ Jesus,
- Fr. Steve Tyminski +
----------------------
(718) 850-4718
Father Tyminski@aol.com

Fr. Steve Tyminski, Class of OLHC 1968
e-mail: FatherTyminski@aol.com

Thanks for visiting and writing about your memories. The Sr. Rita we knew was still at OLAS in the 60's and as far as I know never transferred. She tended to be more stern that soft in her approach with us kids (fellow OLAS, don't you agree?) The Bill Hart, author of Vintage Postcards is a few years younger than you and his father was not the mayor of EO. Bill's wife Andrea went OLHC. Bill also writes for the EO Record and has had articles in the Ledger about EO and famous people of EO. You two have some things in common.

I left EO in 68 and lived in Belleville, then moved to Edison and finally ended up in Milford NJ.

Your story about the police officer Nelson was very tragic. Stories like that always make me stop and wonder why the pain of depression is not as easily recognized or assessed as physical pain. I've learned over the years to become more comfortable asking others about suicidal thoughts.

My memories of EO are of the quiet tree lined streets, the safety of Columbian Park, mothers who looked out for their kids and all the kids in the neighborhood. Mothers, like Ted & Alice Mooney who would take us kids to the shore at a moments notice and let us throw parties at the house. None of us took fancy vacations and we all felt pretty fortunate to have the small pleasures in life. The first TV, the first telephone, getting a car. How life has changed.

Nice to meet you Fr.

Mary

Mary Robinson-Rossetti, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

Hi everyone - it was great reading about our younger days in EO - it sure was a great place to grow up in. I lived on N. Maple ave. between Springdale Ave. and 4th Ave. We used to go to Ruby's all the time - also the drugstore. My Father was an EO Policeman for 31 years. He sometimes would cross us going to church on Sundays. I was always so proud of him. I remember the summer dances at Columbian. We all had good clean fun. Today, the town is so different. My sister, Diane and I still get a little teary eyed when we go by our house and the Church - I tried to go in one day, but it was locked and then I found out that OLAS was no more. It's funny and sad-all the schools I went to are now closed - Holy Name (til 5th grade), OLAS (graduated 1960) and then EOCH (graduated 1964) all gone, but not forgotten.

I would love to hear from some classmates. Thanks for the memories.

Grace D'Amore

PS - I have that book of post cards etc. about East Orange. It is great. People don't believe me when I tell them what a great city East Orange was. I know it has changed, but has everything.

Grace D'Amore Campanaro, Class of 1960
e-mail: gcampo3@msn.com

Good to hear from someone new. I got talking about EO again last night to my husband.

He grew up in Warren County NJ which was very rural compared to EO. His childhood memories are so different than mine. Including the difference in people. Didn't you all feel welcomed in friends' homes? He didn't. Didn't you feel welcomed in the neighborhood? I thought it was wonderful how we could visit stores and shop keepers. I'm not saying we weren't reminded of "being proper acting kids" but I always felt like the neighborhood was mine. Growing up in Ampere on roller skates and stopping to visit the florist and onto the man who engraved eyeglasses, and Jean's dress shop, a stop at the coffee shop for a glass of water and then a morning hello to Tex who had the gas station. Does anyone remember the name of the stationary store on Springdale, just above Maple. The adult son had C.P. The one benefit of staying back in 4th grade was I was the nuns goffer. I made the stationary run often and to this day one of my favorite stores in Staples.

Mary Robinson-Rossetti, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

Do any of you guys remember the Thanksgiving parade that went down Central Avenue into Newark ??? I believe it started in East Orange and ended at Bambergers downtown...

I can remember watching it at the corner of South Ninth Street and Central Avenue in the freezing cold

Regards
Bob Manning

Bob Manning, Class of 1950
e-mail: manningbob@att.net

Grace, I lived on that block (#315) until 5th grade, but moved to Rutledge Avenue a year or two before you moved in. That was a 'public school block' :-)  there must have been 30 Columbian school kids, and I don't think there was another OLAS'r on either side of the street except Messerlins.

Mary, I think it was Armitt's? And that reminds me of another thing I had against the nuns! The hard, unpointed, Amoco crayons we had to use for all those years--while the Columbian school kids got Crayolas. I'm pretty sure it was a sacrilege to touch a Crayola or to outline. I still have crayon envy :-)

Bob, that's a pretty vague memory, but I think I'm remembering it.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Ted
Wasn't there a very nice icecream store on Grove Street just past Springdale going towards Bloomfield ???...I would pass it while walking home to Bloomfield..Could the name been Kristensens ??? I believe it had dark wood booths and a large counter,a classy place...

Regards
Bob Manning

Bob Manning, Class of 1950
e-mail: manningbob@att.net

I remember freezing while sitting on my fathers shoulders to see the parades and walking all the way to the stadium in Newark to see the fireworks on the fourth. In the third grade I used to do the grocery shopping with Sister Patricia. I was so amazed to find out the nuns ate the same things we ate and the inside of the convent was a "home". Sister Rita Louise was always stern. I love reading all the memories so many match mine or fit right in there.

Kathy Washington Tompkins, Class of 1959
e-mail: ktomp@comcast.net

Hi Ted: My address was 350 - lived about 5 houses up from Bobby Meserlin. Had a huge crush on him!! - Oh well. I know you graduated a year ahead of me, but do you remember Artie Peck and Ike Foley. Great guys. I heard that Ike died but don't know anything about Artie. Any one know??? It sure is great reading about all the memories everyone has. We did live in a great city. Had a lot of fun, the movies, Columbian playground or just hanging out in your neighborhood - playing hop scotch, riding bikes. Everyone looked out for us. We always felt safe. Not now. How things have changed.

Again, thanks for the great memories.

Grace D'Amore Campanaro, Class of 1960
e-mail: gcampo3@msn.com

Hello again, Kathy. I'll update your e-mail address elsewhere as it was out of date. Ya know, I do think I remember you shopping with the nuns.

Grace, yes, I remember Artie Peck and Ike Foley. But the person I knew best from your class was Peggy Smeraldo who lived next to me on Rutledge Avenue. In high school years we were best friends. There were a number of Columbian school kids I remember from your block. Tommy Riker (or Ryker) who must have lived about next store to you unless he moved out; he was a couple of years older than us. Tommy Romer from across the street, the last house on the block. Bobby McIntyre from about #309, the Kidd children from about #320... I must have spent at least half my childhood in "The Lots", which is what people called the empty field behind the houses on the opposite side of Maple Avenue from you. There was a path running through them starting at a driveway between Romer's and the apartments at North Maple & Springdale, running southwest and ending at the parking lot of the apartments at 4th Ave. Climbing fallen trees, playing cops & robbers, trying to trap squirrels. You know how silly dreams can be-- well a lot of mine seem to be set in "The Lots".

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Oh the lots. That's where I sneak to at age 11 to smoke cigarettes! Remember the rhubarb that grew there? Some little smart aleck boy tried to get me to eat it. I didn't, he did, to prove it tasted great and ended he ended up getting sick. I remember those Parades, although I only remember going to a few before it seems they stopped. It was so exciting to hear the music approaching and to try like crazy to push your way up front to see them coming. Thank goodness for strong fathers to hold kids up to see. I can still remember how the drum would make my insides jump. Was the ice cream store on the corner of Grove and the Parkway, Bob. Mary

Mary Melba Robinson, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

Ted, you talked about "the lots" and although I was quite a few years ahead of you It was quite interesting to me. Back in June there was quite a few notes about the things people remembered about that whole area. I was going to ask John LeGates about what ever happened to the lots area and the path, but I thought no one would remember something like that. I was quite Interested because my Dad worked for Mr. Hussey , who owned that whole "lots area as well as the fenced Area directly across the street on Orton parkway. In either 49 or 50 he had tried to have that whole area fenced in . All the local folks who used the path went to court to block it and won . The judge declared it a public right of way because it was used for so many years.It also reminded me of the many times I was elected to help my father mow and rake the weeds. We moved from there in 54 and I haven't been back to that area since 55. All the memories you folks come up with are great, keep them coming. ! Tom Flynn

Thomas H. Flynn, Class of 1950
e-mail: thomashf@rap.midco.net

Hi Ted - Yes I remember that lot - we all had a great time there! -I also remember Peggy - she was a great kid - If I remember correctly she had a big family. Beautiful red hair??- Do you remember the boys that lived in the apartments. - I think the last name was Hughes - Nice people. But there were many nice people in our area. Great memories - thanks

Grace D'Amore Campanaro, Class of 1960
e-mail: gcampo3@msn.com

I was in the grad class of 1950. I remember WALKING home for lunch every day. Down Ampere Parkway to N. 17th St. in Bloomfield where I lived at the time. Went past the old cemetery, past Biligan's(spelling?) Drug Store. Brings back memories I thought I had forgotten forever. Does anyone remember that the little kids played at recess on one side of the school, and when you were in the older classes, you got to play on the other side? Or clapping erasers on the roof of the top floor? And girls on one side of the classroom and boys on the other side in grade 8? Or Father Trodd(spelling again?) coming in to 8th grade for religion lesson. Looking forward to any replies.

Joanne(D'Addario) Degen, Class of 1950
e-mail: joanne1755@san.rr.com

I had forgotten the cemetery. But here's one!

When you went into Columbian park from the gated entrance on Springdale Ave., there was a cinder path leading to the field house. Off on your left was the "pool" area and the merry-go-round (and beyond that the tennis courts). But before you got to the water fountain, you passed one of those old gas lanterns that predated electric street lights. There were a few other such lamps in the park although I can't remember their positions. Anyway, when I was a kid we still had "the old lamplighter" who carried along his little step ladder and climbed it to turn the gas up as evening approached. That street lamp was the last one I ever saw manually turned up and down.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Ted and Joanne, I well remember the man and his little ladder coming on our block on 16th street and Park ave. to light the gas lights when I was a little girl. I always was afraid he would fall down and get hurt! I also remember the two school yards, one for the little kids and the big kids were in the other. We felt so big once we could be with the big guys. DO you remember the three bells? First you must stay in whatever position you were in when it rang, second bell to get into line, third to go into class. I also remember during the very hot weather, if we were very well behaved, we could all have a drink from the water fountain. Our Lady of All souls was a wonderful school and I for one feel very fortunate to have been able to attend the school with the Nuns and with all the nice kids that were in my class. I'm sure we all feel the same way.

Linda Flavell-Thomas, Class of 1962
e-mail: Linmar514@optonline.net

Ted, I remember the lamps,although I don't recall seeing them lit. I think there were a couple on that road in the area you were talking about leading to the Springdale exit. Ah memories, I had to wash the walls in the girls room in the park along with my girlfriend because we wrote we loved someone all over the walls. I don't even remember who we loved, must have just been a passing fancy or puppy love. I can laugh now but my mother sure didn't think it was funny.

Kathy Washington Tompkins, Class of 1959
e-mail: ktomp@comcast.net

I remember the lamp lighters at dusk going around and lighting the street lights. I seem to remember them on N. 22nd St. And I vividly remember the wooden slide at the Columbian School playground. I tried to stop myself when I was quite young, and got terrible burns on the back of my arms. Must have been very young. Ran all the way home before I could cry. And I remember the bells. I also remember being in a show or talent show in 1950. But can't remember whether it was at OLAS or Columbian. We would all go to Christensen's afterwards for a coke. I call that time "my other life." It sure was a good time to be growing up.

Joanne D'Addario Degen, Class of 1950
e-mail: joanne1755@san.rr.com

And was Christensen's the soda fountain on the north side of Springdale, between Grove and No. Maple? I think so, but believe it had a different name by the time I reached 8th grade.

How about riding underneath that big old green merry-go-round? If a kid you didn't like caught you riding under there, he'd keep pushing it around and around so you couldn't get off short of diving for the ground and risking decapitation by whirling angle iron.

Rarely I was the guy under or the guy pushing, most times just an amused 3rd party. "When I get out, you're in BIG trouble" / "So come on out then" / "I'm gonna kick your ass when this thing stops" / "That's sometime next week" -- etc., etc., until finally the guy on top revs it up as fast as he can for a head start before taking for the hills. Of course even the amused 3rd parties better be long gone before it slows down  :-)

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Mary Robinson, Class of 1961 has been after me for some time to check this site out and today my sister Susan (1975) pointed it out. I'm glad I finally did. It is wonderful.

My memories are probably different from many of yours. I guess my class was on the cusp. We attended OLAS before and after the Vatican II changes. We saw the old nun habits and new nun habits, the Latin Mass and English Mass, the old school and the new school, the old church and new church, and East Orange at the tail end of its zenith and at the beginning of its difficulties.

Memories? Too many to recount. Best memories at OLAS were probably Hot Dog Day. Doubt you guys had that. Once a month we got to eat in the school cafeteria! For 25 or 50 cents you got a hot dog and watered down orange drink. But, you had an hour and a half to play! Our favorite game was 1-2-3 Ringy. Two teams. One team had to capture and jail the members of the other team, but you could have jail breaks! Hours of fun. Bad memories? Every day in Sr. Margaret Helen's class!

Of East Orange my favorite memories? Saturday afternoon football games at Martin Stadium. The Ampere theater was gone, so was the one on Grove St, but I remember the Ormont and Hollywood. Muirs at Christmas. Wuensches (sp) shoe store - where you always got a balloon with feet. The Columbian playground Carnival. (Yes, I recall the straw hats that jabbed the top of your head). Vera's Restaurant, Caruso's Market, the Ampere Pharmacy and the five and dime on 4th Avenue. A corner store on No. Munn Ave and Park that had the best Malted milkshakes. Cokes were 7 or 12 cents then, but you got 2 cents back. Bad memories? Just seeing so many of those places close and friends move away.

Some answers to questions I read. The church custodian's name was Fitzsimmons. He died while I was there. In my years a Mr. Miller took care of things, first with Fitzsimmons and then alone. The stationary store on Springdale west of Maple did start with an A. Have to check if it was Armitt's. Sounds right. When we were kids the fields you mention weren't called the lots, but Maple Lot. Played baseball there, 1-2-3 Ringy (and throughout that neighborhood {cars are made to be run over, not around})and Planet of the Apes. (The field is apartments now). I recall Sr. Rita. She taught the 7th grade when I started. Left long before I got there. Sr. John Maureen was principal when I began in 1961.

As Mary pointed out I'm not the mayor's son. But, my father got the call from CBS when he was elected. Wanted to interview him as the first Black mayor of a major US City. Dad should have taken the offer. Would have been worth the look on Cronkite's face when dad walked out with his white skin and strawberry blond hair!

I first lived at 212 then 234 No.Munn Avenue. In 1966 moved to 85 Warrington Place - across the street from the convent! Caught more than my fair share of 6:30 masses as a result. Never a patrol boy - kind of dangerous work in my years. But, was an altar boy (loved it) and Cub Scout (Pack 28 I think). Attended Essex Catholic High School. It was in Newark then.

Thanks for the memories and nice sharing some with you. Thank you also for the many kind comments on East Orange in Vintage Postcards. Glad it brought back memories. Sorry this note is so long. Will post some 1970 class photos and reunion photos soon.

Bill

Bill Hart, Class of 1970
e-mail: whart@bankofny.com

ITS BEEN INTERESTING READING ALL THE DIFFERENT LETTERS. THEY BRING BACK SOME GREAT MEMORIES.

I GRADUATED IN 1953 BUT I DON'T SEE ANYONE FROM THAT CLASS LISTED HERE. HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT FINDING EACH OTHER. MOST OF THE PEOPLE I WENT TO GRAMMAR SCHOOL WITH I HAVEN'T SEEN SINCE. THOSE THAT I KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO FIND ANYONE FROM OUR CLASS EITHER.

IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW WHAT SOME OF OUR OLD CLASSMATES ARE DOING. IF ANYONE CAN GIVE ME A STARTING POINT I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN DOING SOME RESEARCH.

LOIS OHNMACHT, Class of 1953
e-mail: JSANDLS2@AOL.COM

Dear Lois, For many of us, it has been finding one person who in turn finds another. Are you a member of classmates.com? That was the starting point for me. Sally Malia graduated from EOHS, saw me on CJS contacted me and the reconnections began. On the message boards on CJS, someone mention Bill Hart's EO in Vintage Postcards, I bought the book. Fell in love and wrote him a "fan mail letter to the publisher". In the meantime, I too used classmates and did some backtracking and found Bill listed under Essex Catholic then sent him an email through classmates and we have been corresponding ever since. So I have reconnected with old friends and have made many new friends through classmates and Ted's message board.

Another way is to throw some names out on a message and ask if anyone knows where that person is. I did that on EOHS message board. Said I was looking for Steve Lowry. A mutual friend Sal Meola wrote and said the last he saw Steve was in California and had then lost track. Wouldn't you know, a couple of months went by, Steve happened upon classmates saw we were looking for him. He contacted us,he is now lives in Thailand and we have stayed reconnected ever since. Hope this helps.

Mary Robinson, Class of 1961
e-mail: jerzey@bellsouth.net

Mary has given you a lot of ideas but here's another: if you remember your classmates' names, let me simply post them on a Class of 1953 page here, and let them find themselves when they look up their own name on a search engine :-)

We are fortunate that this All Souls website has great coverage in Google and other search engines. If their name is at all uncommon, and not the name of a well-known celebrity, the first hit on Google may well be this site. For example, this page is the only hit for 'Lois-Ohnmacht' (I just hope nobody here is trying to hide from old boyfriends).

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Neil and Owen were the names I couldn't remember from Columbian park thanks for jogging the old memory. Neil was the big guy, and Owen was the small guy. Owen I don't think had the last name Rabbit, Eddie Rabbit (class of 56) who grew up on 19th street and later moved to I think 4th Ave went on to be a Country Western Singer with many hit songs. He had a sick daughter and was on a lot of telethons to raise money for so many charities. He passed away a few years ago.

Joanne D, yes there used to be a show every year and it was held at Columbian School and was comprised of talent from the local area. The name of the show was "Toast of the Town" (Ed Sullivan maybe) anyway if you E-mail my sister Mary Ellen Giblin Bogart (56) she has a program from one of the years.

The lots between Maple and Orton Pky. The last time I passed there 1994, the entrance on Orton parkway had an entrance to a Condo/Townhouse development in the middle of the lot.

Jim Giblin, Class of 1962
e-mail: jagiblin@earthlink.net

I remember Eddie Rabbit as a tough guy, although I was only a twerpy 5th grader when he was an 8th grader; not only twerpy, but naive, I thought the judo chop the "rabbit punch" was named after him :-)

Nevertheless, I think Mary is right, I think Owen's last name was close enough to 'rabbit' for children to hear it that way.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

I just got back from a visit to NJ .Visiting family was the main reason for the trip but reading all the memories you folks shared made me ask quite a few questions jarring their memories. They recalled many of the same things you all did but my sister betty asked about a grocery store on Springdale between maple and grove , was it the Ideal Mkt.?

My brother-inlaw took us for a tour of the area, I was very disappointed in what I saw. This was the first time since 1954 that I was back there. I have a question for someone who lived there years after I left. What is the story about Park avenue ? I remember a wide street with an island in the middle with trees and bushes. It was that way all the way from Orange to Newark as I remember. we also remembered the parade that was mentioned and after the parade was the football game at the stadium off Clinton street,between EOHS and I believe Barranger H.S..Talk about cold I about froze several tines,all the adults in the stands with their Schanps trying to keep warm. It was a sad thing to see how our great town has changed so drastically.

T Flynn, Class of Class of 1950
e-mail: thomashf@rap.midco.net

Yes, Tom, it was the Ideal. It grew several times over the years, although I can't remember what storefronts were there before it took them. It became a ShopRite and then a Pathmark.

The Parkway cut the town in half, then Route 280 quartered it. Whether as a result or independently, poverty moved in and the middle class moved out. Yes it's very sad.

But back to the good old days, Mary Ellen Giblin-Bogart dug up the program for the 1956 "Talent Show" that people have been talking about. I'll scan at least the cover and schedule shortly. There are also about 40 pages of memory-jarring ads in the booklet (although it may be a while before I can get everything scanned).

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Found your fascinating site while looking for info on the Ampere train station. My brother Rick and I lived at 100 Leslie Street. Rick and Jim Giblin played together as kids. We didn't go the OLAS, but had many friends who did. By the way, was told Izzie and his wife never paid income taxes. George Chin, whose family ran the laundry on Grove St., told me this. Saw George at a CJSHS reunion some 20 years ago. Thanks for the memories of Ruby's and Bilogen's. Bill Beardsley

Bill Beardsley, Class of Columbian--'53
e-mail: cbeardsley@iesna.org

That's another thing I had forgotten! The Chinese laundry (I remember Ben Chin very well--nice guy), and the shoemaker/post-office-substation on Grove Street just south of Izzy's.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Nov 3, 2002

Hi Everyone!

It's so good to read about all the precious moments we've shared. I remember the cop on 4th. Ave. and 18th. St. but not his name. He used to get my goat by reading my uniform patch and calling the school Ole' Ass. I always got mad, he got me every day!

I used to shop for my Mom at Caruso's Market, the Fish Market, and the A&P all on 4th. Ave. I used to dress up in old clothes that my Great Aunt gave me to play with and then go shopping!

Some places none of you have mentioned that I remember are:

• Kitty Hawk's Ice Cream Parlor on 4th. Ave.
• M&M factory across the street from Wards. It was the smell of the combination of baking bread and chocolate that wafted through the city all the time.
• Roller Skating at the bank in Ampere, the best skating because of the smooth marble.
• Miss Riordan....teaching us the Virginia Reel, Cha-Cha, Square Dancing, and yes even SLOW DANCING with BOYS!
• The old Singer sewing machines that we were not allowed to touch in the auditorium.
• Sister Therese...She would walk with such determination through the Schoolyard (Hup,Two,Three,Four). Then up the steps...One of the boys would always run up and get ahead of her to open those big, heavy doors for her. I often thought that if a boy didn't show up, she would storm right through those doors.
• Sr. Joseph in 1st. grade...Now she was a nice nun.
• The beautiful grotto behind the school.
• 4th. Ave. flooding under the RR bridge.
• The end of summer dance at Columbian Park every year.
• Halloween in EO...NO PARENTS ALLOWED..... We always had a ball, never got into trouble, and were always SAFE.
• Riding our bikes all over, from Ampere to Springdale. However, when you short-cut through the cemetery you had to walk your bike out of respect for the dead.
• CYO with Fr. Horgan and Fr. Burn... Always good discussions.
• Was it Sr. John who liked music so much? Remember singing along..."Yellow Bird" and "My Town" Why do I remember That?
• My friend Susan Colarusso's father worked at the Ampere Theatre at night. Sometimes Susan and I would get in for free on summer evenings.
• And pizza was always an evening snack...Never dinner!

One time Susan and I took my father's collection of Indian Head pennies down to the gumball machine in front of the old 5 & 10 and put them all in to get the Charms. Boy was I in BIG Trouble for that one! OK..enough from me for now. Sally

Sally Malia Yoder, Class of 1961
e-mail: <Yodersam@cs.com>

Anyone remember Louie the barber on Springdale across from Columbian School? He gave lousy haircuts and raised his price 25 cents when you graduated from grammar school. I vaguely remember "Clydesdale" as the name of his shop.

Bill Beardsley, Class of Columbian--'53
e-mail: cbeardsley@iesna.org

Nov 13, 2002

Tom Flynn, What happened to Park Ave was a shame. Park Ave is an Essex County Road. East Orange does no work on it. Several years ago some County traffic person decided that the islands with the bushes etc, was unsafe. So the islands were ripped out. Of course this was done one year after Park Ave was paved the entire length. Had to be repaved over again.

In the 60's East Orange was voted the cleanest city in America for its size several years running. I think it was from 61 to 65.

John LeGates, Class of 1962
e-mail: delfiascocorp@hotmail.com

Oh gosh. I was re-reading this thread about the movie theaters (bringing back still more memories) and now I remember that there was a problem with the preponderance of "morally-objectionable-in-part" movies so that the church ran a "movie theater" in the auditorium for a while where they ran a clean version of Robin Hood, as well as Our Lady of Fatima and some other movies. It must have been on Saturday afternoons although I can't recall the thing very exactly.

Ted Mooney, Class of 1959
e-mail: mooney@finishing.com

Thank you Mary Ellen Giblin-Bogart for sharing the 1956 "Toast of the Town" variety show program. It brought back memories. My father was in many OLAS variety shows and the 1956 show was one of his last. My dad loved to perform in the OLAS yearly shows. He was a friend of Freddy Sleckman who produced and directed the OLAS shows. Freddy also produced shows in other churches in Essex County and my father was in some of them too. We moved to Newark in the summer of 1957 and I always missed my friends at OLAS. I would have graduated in 1961 if I completed OLAS.

Keep the the messages going. They all bring back many fond memories.

Dennis B. Reilly Jr, Class of (1961)
e-mail: reilly850@yahoo.com

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This topic is continued as Fondest Memories (Part B)