I just heard from another regular visitor, George Corday, who had missed the site terribly. Here's one of his early recollections from 2002. Come back again to read Mrs. Paul McKenna's post that inspired George in the first place.
Mrs. Paul McKenna's post sure brought back a lot of memories for me. Post Hill Road, between the village and Greenfield Park Paradise was my hangout every summer during the 1940's. She mentions John Ternuck, a barber who cut hair in his home and, I think had a shop in Woodridge. John gave me my first haircut in 1934 when I was almost two. He cut my hair every summer for a number of years after that. I kind of remember him as good looking, with white hair and mustache and I know I liked him. I had many friends at Greenfield Park Paradise. Mrs. McKenna mentions the Devan and Rosenthal families as the owners. There was another partner, the Belzers of Brooklyn. The Devan's were from Gloversville, NY and had a beautiful daughter named Toby and a son, Fred. In the summer of 48, I had an enormous crush on Toby and for her birthday, bought her a locket in Jaffe's Pharmacy, gift shop and ice cream parlor, which was a couple of doors away from the Post Office. The Jaffes had a very pretty daughter, Libby who everyone liked and I still have a picture of. Toby preferred Freddy Maliga over me, and I had my first broken heart of that summer. Bernice Schwartz of Detroit, who stayed at the Willow House, was the cause of the second one. I also remember Paul Rosenthal and Alan and Marty Belzer of Greenfield Park Paradise. Everyone who ever visited Mountaindale remembers Fried's Bakery and the wonderful Saturday morning ritual of going there for rolls and cake. In 1948, there was a second bakery, Kelmachters, specializing in bagels, where I worked six 12-hour days for 25 bucks. Meyer Kelmachter was the owner and his very pretty wife was Shirley. I don't remember too much about the barn Mrs. McKenna mentions, except using the hayloft for necking. Braden Brook, known as 'the creek,' from the Ulster County line to Baxter's farm remains to this day the source of some of my most precious and wonderful memories. As a troubled teen, it was my sanctuary. The Greenfield Park Paradise pool, built into the creek was a marvel. The water was pure, no chemicals were ever used and I'm sure it was the coldest pool on the face of the earth. Whenever it rained, I trout fished in the creek and whenever I went there, I always caught a few fish right in the pool. I remember Trustman's Fruit and Vegetables and the rival Andermans across and down Main Street. As kids we would argue the merits of each like we were discussing baseball players. I preferred Anderman's because I was friends with Heshie Anderman. This post is getting too long, so though I could go on forever with Mountaindale stories, I'm going to end this one now.
Mrs. Paul McKenna's post sure brought back a lot of memories for me. Post Hill Road, between the village and Greenfield Park Paradise was my hangout every summer during the 1940's. She mentions John Ternuck, a barber who cut hair in his home and, I think had a shop in Woodridge. John gave me my first haircut in 1934 when I was almost two. He cut my hair every summer for a number of years after that. I kind of remember him as good looking, with white hair and mustache and I know I liked him. I had many friends at Greenfield Park Paradise. Mrs. McKenna mentions the Devan and Rosenthal families as the owners. There was another partner, the Belzers of Brooklyn. The Devan's were from Gloversville, NY and had a beautiful daughter named Toby and a son, Fred. In the summer of 48, I had an enormous crush on Toby and for her birthday, bought her a locket in Jaffe's Pharmacy, gift shop and ice cream parlor, which was a couple of doors away from the Post Office. The Jaffes had a very pretty daughter, Libby who everyone liked and I still have a picture of. Toby preferred Freddy Maliga over me, and I had my first broken heart of that summer. Bernice Schwartz of Detroit, who stayed at the Willow House, was the cause of the second one. I also remember Paul Rosenthal and Alan and Marty Belzer of Greenfield Park Paradise. Everyone who ever visited Mountaindale remembers Fried's Bakery and the wonderful Saturday morning ritual of going there for rolls and cake. In 1948, there was a second bakery, Kelmachters, specializing in bagels, where I worked six 12-hour days for 25 bucks. Meyer Kelmachter was the owner and his very pretty wife was Shirley. I don't remember too much about the barn Mrs. McKenna mentions, except using the hayloft for necking. Braden Brook, known as 'the creek,' from the Ulster County line to Baxter's farm remains to this day the source of some of my most precious and wonderful memories. As a troubled teen, it was my sanctuary. The Greenfield Park Paradise pool, built into the creek was a marvel. The water was pure, no chemicals were ever used and I'm sure it was the coldest pool on the face of the earth. Whenever it rained, I trout fished in the creek and whenever I went there, I always caught a few fish right in the pool. I remember Trustman's Fruit and Vegetables and the rival Andermans across and down Main Street. As kids we would argue the merits of each like we were discussing baseball players. I preferred Anderman's because I was friends with Heshie Anderman. This post is getting too long, so though I could go on forever with Mountaindale stories, I'm going to end this one now.
No comments:
Post a Comment