There are at least THREE…
There are at least THREE vivid pieces of nostalgia in my memories of Bensonhurst in the 50’s.
One was Ernie the Good Humor Man. He spent winters in Florida, but appeared in our neighborhood each spring in starched-white uniform, pushing a small Good Humor cart …no truck for Ernie. He actually knew all of our names and our parents’ names, never kept a book, but if you were short on change …no problem, Ernie actuall let you have a popsicle ON CREDIT!!!
We also had a neat ol’ Italian guy who came around (can you dig it?) on a horse-drawn cart to sell fresh produce/vegetables. As unbelievable as it sounds HIS NAME WAS ACTUALLY “MR. BROCCOLI”!!!
I’m sure the last item wasn’t isolated to Bensonhurst; we also had a guy who regularly came around with a pushcart selling junk toys. The stuff was pure crap, but we loved it. Remember buying “tatoo” transfers?