I’m wondering if anybody…
Original author: Ralph Verderosa [e-mail]
I’m wondering if anybody remembers “THE BOP HOUSE”…under the boardwalk in “BAY 15″…..
Category Archives: Locales
Hi, Until I was…
Original author: Anonymous
Hi, Until I was 7, my family lived at 3211 Park Avenue, on the corner of E. 161st. I started school at Sacred Heart in Highbridge (actually I went to the annex of Sacred Heart, St. Eugene’s) because I was too young to go to St. Angela Merici (our parish). In 1961 we moved to Pelham Bay where I lived in the “Co-op” on Hutchinson River Parkway. High School: St. Catharine Academy, Class of 71 and Lehman College, class of 75. The Bronx was a great place to grow up. We played Punchball (I was VERY good for a GIRL!) and Ring-a-levio. My brothers played stickball all the time around the corner on 163rd Street. Does anyone remember the rides that came around in the summer? My favorite was the Half Moon which rocked back and forth, higher and higher. I distinctly remember being on that ride and hearing the song “Shimmy Shimmy Coco Bop” Strange!!! When I moved to Pelham Bay, my friends and I hung out on “the corner” (Buhre and Pilgrim Avenue) outside of Joe’s Candy Store. Basically, we did nothing but hang around and drink egg creams (with a pretzel!) My friends from the corner are still my best friends although we’re scattered all over the country now. It’s fun looking back.
Hey, my sister learned a…
Original author: Lizzi [e-mail]
Hey, my sister learned a similar song made up of product names from a friend at camp (80s), and taught it to me. She couldn’t remember it, but I found it one a website. I also found the older one that someone mentioned on this board… I know the one she knew is a bit different, I’ll ask her what’s different and post it too. The tune is kinda similar to the “Miss suzy had a baby” one. Here are both versions from the site: As I was walking down the street one dark and gloomy day I came upon a billboard and much to my dismay The sign was torn and tattered from the storm the night before The wind and rain had done it’s work and this it what I saw Smoke Coca-Cola Cigarettes, chew Wrigley’s Spearmint beer Ken-L Ration Dog Food keeps your wife’s complexion clear Simonize your baby with a Hershey’s candy bar And Texaco’s the beauty cream that’s used by all the stars So take your next vacation in a brand new Fridgidaire Learn to play piano in your winter underwear Doctors say that babies should smoke until they are three And people over 65 should bathe in Lipton Tea Here is the older version: As I was walking down the street a billboard met my eye. The advertising that was there would make you laugh or cry. The wind and rain had almost washed that old billboard away. But the advertising painted there would have that billboard say: Have a smoke of Coca-Cola. Chew catsup cigarettes. Watch Lillian Russell wrestle with a box of Cascarets. Pork and beans will meet tonight in a finish fight. Hear Chauncey DePeeuw speak upon sapolio tonight. Bay rum is good for horses; it is the best in town. Castoria cures the measles, if you pay ten dollars down. Teeth extracted without pain, a nickel or a half a dime. Ingersolls are selling now, a little behind the times. Chew Wrigleys for that headache. Eat Campbells for that cough. There’s going to be a swimming bee at the village watering trough. Buy a case of ginger-ale, it makes the best of broth. Shinola’s good to curl the hair, it will not rub it off!
That’s funny… Everyone…
Original author: Anonymous
That’s funny… Everyone I know calls them Underdogs, not underducks. Maybe it’s different in different places (I’m from Chicago) You push the person in the swing, then say One! (push), Two! (push), Three! (push)… Underdog! And you push hard and run under the swing. The 2 kids I babysit for are constantly asking for them. I usually say no, especially with the older one (longer legs), cause I don’t wanna get kicked in the back! It is fun to give, though!
Just spent the weekend with…
Original author: Susan Schultz [e-mail]
Just spent the weekend with our granddaughters and tried to teach them Russian ball (as we called it in North Philly.) I could remember – onsies- no bounce, twosies – one bounce, threesies – clap before catching, foursies – rolly/polly, fivesies – throw ball from under your raised leg. From there I remember one was to turn around, another was to clap hands front and back but there are still three missing. Does anyone remember all ten? Another question. Did anyone play advanced A my name is Alice? I.e., ten A’s?
I grew up in the Highbridge…
Original author: Robert Auerbach [e-mail]
I grew up in the Highbridge area of the Bronx. I lived at 1050 Anderson Ave and 901 Woodycrest Ave. What great times and great memories. Playing stickball in PS73 school yard, hanging out down by the Harlem river and running around in the abandoned subway “The Shuttle” than ran under our neighborhood. Nothing in my life has topped those times and if there was a time machine I’d be there now. Rob Auerbach
In the 60`s and 70`s I “hung…
Original author: dougie [e-mail]
In the 60`s and 70`s I “hung out” at Mitchell`s drive in restaurant on 86 st. and 7th ave in Bensonhurst. All the hot rodders hung out there. I remember racing our cars on 7th ave down to the traffic light from 86th st. to 92nd. st by victory memorial hospital. Also remember racing on 1st ave by the Bush Terminal buildings. The cops used to chase us constantly. We had more fun than anyone would ever believe. I tell people stories about what went on at the drive in and nobody believes me. The crowd I hung out with was the biggest bunch of screwballs on the face of the earth. One summer night, the motorcycle crew, rode thru wearing nothing but their helmets { no kidding }. Waitresses dropped their trays and ran inside screaming and laughing at the same time. Except for one “particular” waitress. She hopped on the back of one of the bikes and rode away with him, food tray and all. Somebody didn`t get their order that night?
Every year or so since I…
Original author: denise [e-mail]
Every year or so since I was 7, My aunt shipped as many of us as she could to relatives or summer camp. I’ve been through some interesting summer camps in my lifetime. I thought it cool to reminisce about parent-paid, state-funded, obligatory, or otherwise summer camp fiascos or great times spent away from your city. Because as you know,wherever you go, you take a little piece of Brooklyn with you. My very first summer camp experience was spending an entire summer (which started out as only two weeks) with a family of Quakers in Pennsylvania, through Fresh Air Fund. My mom became very ill and the family offered to keep me longer. I was the oldest of their children(two daughters) and had to do the more serious work. Being from Brooklyn, waking up at 5:00 in the morning to board a tractor with the father and cruise along much more than 75 acres of land, stopping along the way to milk cows, get eggs from their huge poultry farm, pick strawberrys for our excellent crepe and fresh milk with fresh honey breakfasts, was an amazing experience. I was in pain for the first few weeks. Although I could play any kid under the table, this was work, and it felt totally different. By all standards this family wasn’t poor land-wise. This was kind of like the “South Fork” of Quarker-owned land where all work was peformed through hand-labor. Many of their ways were exactly the same as my family’s. Like once, we were riding in the horse-drawn buggy and the little girl was nagging her mom trying to climb into the front seat, when her mom back-slapped her to the back. It reminded me of my grandmother and her nervous lightning speed back-slaps…. kind of made me feel right at home. We went to sunday school every day. Sang “Yes Jesus Loves Me” constantly, were very hard working and mindful of one another. I stuck out like a sore thumb, yet the kids hung with me and we had a great time. The family bought me my first brand new bike, and we all cried profusely when parting. That summer my mom and the young father of that family passed and we had each other to lean on. There’s so many summers to talk about, let’s start a summer camp discussion, let each other know what unsuspecting societies Brooklyn unleashed it’s children on, back “in the day”.
Does anyone call a slide,…
To turn double dutch evenhandedly…
Original author: Asantewaa
To turn double dutch evenhandedly is essential. There is no rhythm without it. The rope should be clothes line with heavy wires in it not the cheap lightweight kind. Tie the two ends parrallel in a knot so that the line now doubled in half. Person A grasps the knotted end in one hand and the halfway end (knotting optional) in the other hand and rolls them up around her fists. Person B steps inside the rope and backs up with the doubled rope around her waist until the rope is taut. B must be perfectly centered. B then grasps the double rope emerging from her waist sides with each hand in order to turn. The length is adjusted by the number of rolls around the fists. Beginners start to turn by alternating their hands up and down. Eventually, the turners will be moving their hands in circles that move inward from the top. The tops of the ropes should alternately hit their apex at the same height and hit the pavement in a steady rhythm. The test for double handedness is to look upside down at the turner in question. As previously mentioned, foot patting, singing and hip swinging go a long way. More advanced techniques include “hot-pepper” very fast turning and turning in the reverse from the top outward. Turning TOO slow is a crime and makes it impossible to jump. To get into the rope, stand with your strong side next to a turner. When her closest hand goes up, leap with both feet onto the spot where the ropes hit the ground and start jogging in place. Moving your hands in and out helps get the feel for entering the rope. “Footsies” is jumping with both feet on the ground simultaneously. Feet can also criss cross while doing footsies. “Jack-be-nimble” is bounding up in the air as if jumping single. Turning around 180 degrees involves hopping on the same foot twice while turning. Bending down and touching the ground while jumping is another advanced technique. There are master techniques like doing cartwheels and stuff into the rope, but let’s stick to basics. Keep your heels, knees and hands close into your body center. As you develop speed, economy of motion becomes such that the feet barely come up 2″ from the ground when the rope passes under and the body and head become almost still. The best way to count after all the songs have run out and the champs are still jammin is “ten,twen,thir, fort, fift, sixt, sevnt, eight, nint, 1-ten, twen, thir……2-ten……3-ten” and so on… ‘sixt seven eight nine” are syncopated with the six and the eight being eighth notes and the seven and nine being dotted quarter notes. (Help on the music notation) That is the West Philly style from the 60’s and 70’s. Enjoy!