When I got married in 1977 I lived in Bayside. There was a little store on Bell Blvd. that served some mean egg creams. The place was called "The Creamy Egg Cream" Bye the way...it was always served in a coca cola glass !
you guysmust be younger then me, we use to call egg creams 2 cent plains.Steve you did get the right ingredients.Mitch, i also had a Rawlings baseball glove.Remember going to bed at night putting the softball in the glove and then under the matress so the pocket was perfect for the big game.In fact i think i slept with my glove more then i did with my firt wife??? The best gum was the one in the baseball card pack,.The best smell was a spalding ball just bought, the best summers were at Makowskys..
you guysmust be younger then me, we use to call egg creams 2 cent plains.Steve you did get the right ingredients.Mitch, i also had a Rawlings baseball glove.Remember going to bed at night putting the softball in the glove and then under the matress so the pocket was perfect for the big game.In fact i think i slept with my glove more then i did with my firt wife??? The best gum was the one in the baseball card pack,.The best smell was a spalding ball just bought, the best summers were at Makowskys..
I always thought that the Pensie Pinkies were better then the SPALDEENS. The rubber ball from Spalding had extra rubber around the middle which allowed the pitcher to throw a cureve ball.
I couldn't hit a curve but throw me a fastball with a Pensie Pinkie and POW..........some of the longest singles you ever saw.
I agree...Playing punchball w/ Pensie Pinkies made you feel like "The Mick"...and also were easier on your knuckles. Those Spaldeens were almost as bad on your knuckles as a hard game of "Knucks"
And while we're on the subject, what was the name of the balsa wood airplanes we flew by throwing it in the air?
You remember we had to slip the wing though the slot in the body without breaking or chipping it. The same for the small part through the tail.
How about the kites we flew on the ballfield on a breezy day. The ones where we had to add the tail and had a ball of twine to let it fly as high in the sky as we could.
Where did we get the sticks to use as bats to play stickball?
I still remember drawing that square box with charcoal as the strike zone at the handball court so we could belt those Spaldings or Pensie Pinkies?
And beside the pitcher, we always had one fielder per team. Yeah, like someone standing behind us was really going to catch the ball when it was hit a mile deep up to the top of the Mohonk.
Just a funny story...... Several years ago I wanted to buy a Spalding Hi-Bounce Ball. I couldn't find them anywhere. I called Spalding and they told me that they didn't make them anymore. Oh Well.
Anyway, about two years later I visited Sabreena when she lived in Hoboken and I went to an army and navy store. What did I see...............you guessed it, a complete dump display with Spalding balls and the accompanying stickball bat. (in the 60's they sold the bat with some tape on the handle. Now they even have the bats hot stamped like a real baseball bat.)
So I bought 3 balls and a bat and when I went up to the counter to pay for the I said to the guy behind the counter........ "CHIPS ON THE BALL" He cracked up and told me that he didn't hear that expression on over 30 years.
Pennsy Pinkies were definitely the better bouncing balls. Spaulding had the big name and distribution . But ,here's an old secret ...If you took a tennis ball and burned off the fuzz it would leave enough surface interest on the ball so you could throw a curve. Plus, without the fuzz the ball would fly if hit on the sweet spot.
I've also ruined many of my mothers broom handles. Most broom handles were thinner than Stickball bats , so if your eye became good with the broom handle,you were great with a stickball bat.
Steve, made my 'bones' in stickball at PS 221. A homerun if you hit it over Empire Blvd.
See if any of this brings back a rush of forgotten memories?
I remember when every home in Brooklyn, Da Bronx, Queens and Staten Island had clotheslines and poles.
Forget about Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut as the exodus out of the City had not as yet begun. We were all New Yorker's and so very proud of it.
The biggest effect growing up was how the clotheslines affected the layout of the baseball diamond for playing in the backyard.
And when you went for those foul balls with your eyes in the sky, you had to "sense" where the clothesline was, or really get "clotheslined".
But on the last day of school we rushed home. There were our parents somehow stuffing our bathing suits and clothing into cardboard cartons and managing to squeeze the entire family belongings, which included our bedding, into the family car.
In those days, the sweltering summer was oppressive. Air condtioning for us meant opening the push out windows wide open and they did not have any screens to keep out the mosquito's.
I must admit I thought about pushing my brother Gary out a time or two, but nothing bad ever happened to him or anyone.
We couldn't wait to jump into the car and take the scenic Palasades Parkway north stopping along the way at the RED APPLE INN for some fabulous Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Pizza and Malteds.
When we went reached New Paltz and drove to the the top of the Mohonk where only one car could pass in any direction, the excitement reached its zenith.
We all knew in a few minutes, we would unpack as fast as we could as we looked forward to seeing you our special summer family at Camelot better know as Makowsky's Cottage Colony. The good times came and went way too fast to suit me. From there it was off to college and a new type of experience.
In college, girls dorms and sorority houses had curfews! This has to be one of the biggest differences between life in the 60's and today. All freshman girls had to live in a dorm and be in by 10 on weeknights and 1:00am on Fri-Sat
Guys.. forget about it.. except that some of the individual fraternities had their own rules for freshmen.
In college, girls had a dress code, guys didn't.. at least none that I remember.
I remember the rule that the girls had to wear dresses on campus, until the temperature hit, I think it was 11 degrees, or some such odd temperature like that. Then, the girls could wear pants. But, they were still kind of dressy.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Turning back the clock, I can still remember our first TV set in the mid 50's. The first program I saw on our set was Superman with George Reeves.
We had a test pattern until five o'clock, then programming until about 10 or 11:00 pm, then a test pattern again.
I remember Sundays were the best: Our Miss Brooks, Amos n Andy, and Jack Benny. But, I believe it was Tuesday's that wasn't far behind: Fibber McGee and Molly and The Great Gildersleeve (Leeeeeroyyyy!).
At Makowsky's we wore tee shirts. But when Little League arrived there were wool baseball uniforms.. Enough said.
And, yes, they itched. And yes, they were hot. And, yes, they were baggy. And, yes, I'm glad I don't have to wear them anymore!
Well, maybe one more time with you guys but only if I can wait for Al Markowitz to throw that 2 strike changeup. Duh!
Most homes in our neighborhood had one bathroom.. I don't remember how we all got along and managed to survive?
Do you remember when real Milkmen delivering milk in Real Glass Bottles?
You had a certain schedule with the milkman, and you left your "empties" on the porch for him to pick up.
I think our milkman came three days a week and I think my brother was born about nine months later?
Did they really need to ask our mothers if they wanted homogenized or pasteurized milk (with the cream on top).
And they came in a white milk truck with white uniforms. What a job? Probably the best in the world ever?
Finally how about The Car Hop & Drive In Movies.. The gals at White Castle would take your order on roller skates.
Then came Jack in The Box where we gave orders through the microphone speakers which we never understood what they were saying at the other end.
Soon out came the waitress with a tray of burgers, hot dogs, fries and some Cokes. Of course it may not have been exactly what we ordered but who cared anyway?
It was great place to hang out, meet girls, listen to rock-n-roll over the drive in speakers. Those were the days!
In the 60's at High School, there always seemed to be a contest among the boys to see how low we could wear our jeans without them falling off!
Ah yes, the good ole manual stick shift. They are about gone now! But, they were fun to learn to drive. And when you "geared down" for a stop sign... now that made you cool.
You girls won't believe that your mothers and grandmothers wore all those petticoats, but in the 1950's, petticoats were in.. layer upon layer of petticoats.
How about roller skating in an indoor roller rink.. there may be some parts of the country that still have them, but they're just about gone now.
Who remembers seeing Elvis Presley for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show? And shortly thereater it was the Four Seasons followed by The Beatles. Boy was that ever cool.
The Soprano's? Hell no! We had Ed Sullivan memorialized in song forever by the late Paul Lynde in Bye-Bye Birdie.
But alas the day our music died and our innocence ended was with the Kennedy assasination in 1963..
I noticed a somber atmosphere the second I walked into the house, but didn't know what was going on. I asked what was going on?
"Somebody just shot the President" Then, Walter Cronkite confirmed taking off his glasses for effect, that President Kennedy was dead. Two days later, we saw Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed on live TV by Jack Ruby.
Soon after the Makowsky magic of Peter Pan disappeared and we all grew up way too fast.
How about interviewing in college in the mid 60's? I remember a recruiter telling us that white shirts with a suit were required. And no sideburns below the middle of the ears.
But now thanks to Rob, Mitch, Larry, Steve, Judy, Phyllis, Jackie, Lenny, Laurie, Bernie, Mike, Roy, Roberta, Susie, Nona, Augie, Shari, Bruce, Flash, Hy, and all of you fellow Makowskyite's, we get to re-live this wonderful time all over again.
I think I speak for everyone when I say...God Bless Milton & Frieda for welcoming us into their home every summer.
You actually brought tears to my eyes. Not just of laughter but you reminded me of many special moments that I thought were lost. But they're not. You shared them with me and have kept them alive in your hearts ever since.
Bobby Hutt you are amazing, what a memory, some addendums. Do you remember when the road over the mohonk wasn't paved,1959/60 probably paved 61/62, my father never went around the mountain in our Rambler station wagon, much better then my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Soda fountain:Lime Rickey medicine;coke syrup straight the legal stuff Rob: I forgot you had brooklyn roots and near Ebbetts Field.
We lived down the block from Ebbetts field ..Then DA Bums left for LA and they put up a high rise.(Just Like Joni said) Right near Freddie Fitzsimmons lanes
Hey Steve & Bob , You guys musta knocked a few pins there, right?
Yo Augie , Do you like those bottle caps? You inspred me to find them. Be careful what you ask for...I'm dangerous (Bad to the Bone! , actually more like Fat to the Bone)
Wow skully ! I used to play that game when I lived in Brooklyn after school every day. My mom hated it because I used to tear holes in my jeans...eh excuse me... my "dungarees" because you had to play that game on your knees.
Still thinking about Skully Bob. I remember in those days there were no "twist off bottlecaps" and you had to be oh so careful to get the caps off the bottles without crimping it. When you got that special pristine cap it was great...you could control it with ease..... G-d the things I'm remembering....
I haven't addressed my sister Nona's comments posted previously today...but there was one small thing she left out.
When we finally arrived at Makowskys for the start of summer....Nona, Steph and myself were always soooo excited and we were screeching and screaming inside that big blue Oldsmobile we had.
Well, my dad would always take his foot off the gas pedal and as the Makowsky sign became visible the car would go slower & slower & we kids never thought we'd get there.
Hey Roy, How many pink kickballs did we bust during the summers? After a while Hy wouldn't replace them and made us do more arts and crafts instead. I think that's where we found out that going to the store for snacks and listening to the small 6 transistor radio or records by Bobbys was a lot more fun.
Thank you all for the nice compliments. Many of the younger generation, I know your names, but never had a chance to know you back then because you were too young.
But now with the passage of time, everything seems to have evened out.
Hell, even some of my campers are now older than me? Is that possible?
LOL.
In any event, reading the posts from you, the younger generation, experiencing the same wonderful things we did who came before you, makes me smile. I too look forward to meeting you at the reunion.
It looks like Skully brought back some real memories about the City games.
Funny, that none of us ever played it at Makowsky's. And do you know why?
In the City, our backyards were cement and asphalt.
At Makowsky's we had beautiful green grass, lots of sunshine, and cool crisp fresh air nights with a twinkling cluster of stars from the heavens.
But most importantly, we had family. We should never forget our wonderful parents who were kind enough to love and give us these beautiful friendships and memories that have lasted our lifetimes.
Speaking of "Spud" ...I remember playing that game with you all the time @ Makowskys...
The best was when we played it at night...it was "pitch black"
When we threw the ball up in the air between my bungalow & the luncheonette everyone scattered and that ball would be rolling down the hill, sometimes all the way to the camphouse...
By the time someone finally found the ball and yelled Spud you could have used a bull horn and nobody would have even heard you !
No one mentioned the YooHoo Yogi Berra bottle caps which leads me to some of the classic hannah Barbera cartoons: Yogi Bear, Augie Doggie ,etc. I love when my kids put on boomerang chanel but they like the newer ones more.
Bottle caps? Todays beverage containers are soo boring , the caps are lame and the bottles can't even be used for 'spin the bottle' our nightime sport. Don't deny it people , those kisses were great, soft , innocent and sweet. (I'm sweatn' now)
I remember the girls were into the sealing wax thing for their letters. SWAK
Joel Bofshever was the King of the Merry Go Round , he could actually make us fly off that thing . I think the G forces he would get that thing up to was unreal. He could make you fling off or puke. , or both. Sometimes he would grab the tree branch above him and run on the merry go round like mad. It was like a cartoon. Disney...eat your heart out!!!
Roy you might remember me since i was always a big kid and loved to wreck havoc in the pool. The store on Kings highway was where everyone went for sneakers and got great egg creams under the station. Except when the JCH on 79th and Bay Parkway started selling Adidas and Puma's
Jackie: Now there is a fireworks display from the Mohonk. You can see most of them from Makowsky's as they clear the top of the tower.
You, know, everyone was so excited to get there for the summer. I used to ask my parents if we could leave school a couple of days early since the teachers were doing anything anyway....but no good. I didn't want to be the last one to get there in case I missed anything.
Rob reading your comment about Ron Swoboda striking out four times brought back a special memory.
Not only did he strike out four times but I remember a doubleheader in St. Louis that I watched with my Dad. Of course the Mets lost the first game but were leading in the bottom of the ninth in the second game.
A routine fly ball was hit to Swoboda in right field with the bases loaded and the Mets leading by two runs. Swoboda fittingly enough wearing a batting helmet in right field lost the ball in the sun and it hit him in the head. Three runs scored and the Mets lost both ends of the doubleheader.
And from striking out four times and getting hit in the head who made the greatest sliding catch by a rightfielder in World Series history? None other than Ron Swoboda.
In 1969 backing up the superlative pitching of George Thomas Seaver, Ron dove headfirst with abandon while sliding toward centerfield. If the ball got by him the Mets and history would have been different. But the ball stuck in his mitt and with it 7 years of misery for NY Mets fans ended.
My-my how the ugly duckling became a beautiful swan!
Yeah he did.......and Al Weiss was probably really out!
Mitch I went to the U of Md in 1969. That year every NY team beat every Baltimore team: Mets vs Orioles Jets vs Colts Knicks Vs Bullets I even wet to the second game of the World Series in Baltimore. This was the first game that the Mets ever won in World Series Play. I still have the completed program and scorcard from that game.
switching to Basketball my greatest event ever was the classic game 7 in 1970 when Willis dragged himself out. To this day it was the loudest I've ever heard a crowd...before the game was played. i was in the front row of the old blues directly across the court from the entrance willis came out. The crowd roar was like a wave and when it hit us everyone was jumping up and down so much i thought the blues were going to collapse. I was in 10th grad at Lafayette HS and slept over outside the garden with fires set in garbage cans, sleeping bags, soem good old fashioned underage drinking, anyway after Willis hit his first two shots it was total bedlum the whole way,hardly remember Clyde having best game EVER!!! BTW my 8 year old son is: Reed
The date: July 9, 1969 The Place: Makowsky's "The Hill"
A 12 year old is babysitting his infant cousin. Pacing frantically, clutching his trusty transistor radio, he waits on history. A mere 90 miles away in a 5 year old structure known as Shea Stadium, a 25 year old Californian is making his bid for immortality.
It is the bottom of the 9th.Bob Murphy has instructed us to "fasten our seatbelts". The "Amazins" lead the Chicago Cubs 4-0. The score is immaterial. Tom Seaver has retired all 24 batters he has faced.Seaver retires the leadoff man to begin the inning. Two outs from baseball nirvana,rookie Jimmy Qualls steps into the batter's box. The 12 year old is besides himself.He prays to Hashem, Jesus, Buddah and whoever else he thinks might guide the right arm of his favorite Met. Behind the closed bedroom door he hears the baby roaring, howling, crying hysterically for attention...let em wail, there are more important events unfolding. Catcher Jerry Grote flashes the young prodigy the sign. Seaver unleashes a fastball. Qualls takes a feeble swing, making just enough contact to launch the ball into the short outfield between Tommy Agee in center and Cleon Jones in left. They look at each other helplessly as the ball falls safely between them.
The transistor turns to mush as the 12 year old crashes the handheld against the ancient Frigidaire.(He'll later deny all culpability for the fractured ice box by asking incredulously "What dent?"
That was one of two indelibly etched memories of the "summer of love". The other was my mother telling me I was out of my f___ing mind if I thought she was going to let me go to a place called Woodstock.
Steve... In fact in ' 69 they used to call New York "The City of Champions"
Augie... I never forgot Clyde's Game 7. He was my favorite Knick. He had 36 points and 19 assists. What a lot of people forget is that after Willis hit those two shots he never got back in the game again.
My favorite sporting event from the summer 69 was watching the camp girls running in the track meet. Young Boobs bouncin , butts shakin and Summer hormones flying around everywhere. Good thing the pool was nearby ! LOL
Forgive me ladies, I mean no disrespect, rather a compliment.
roberta,I'm in love with you. would have like to hang with you and your gals, I would have been laughing to tears to watch you torture the enemy. You go girl!!!
47 Comments:
At 3/14/2006 9:21 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Is that an Egg Cream?
1/2 inch Foxes U Bet chocolate syrup, !/2 inch
MILK (none of that 2% crap)
and fill the rest with seltzer.
Oh by the way this MUST be done in a coca cola glass!!! (No exceptions)
At 3/14/2006 10:10 PM ,
Mitch said...
I still have my "Rawlings" baseball glove I used @ Makowskys.
A signature Tom Tresh model. I always babied it w/ a little saddle soap.
At 3/14/2006 10:17 PM ,
Mitch said...
Steve...
When I got married in 1977 I lived in Bayside. There was a little store on Bell Blvd. that served some mean egg creams. The place was called "The Creamy Egg Cream"
Bye the way...it was always served in a coca cola glass !
At 3/14/2006 10:34 PM ,
LARRY said...
you guysmust be younger then me, we use to call egg creams 2 cent plains.Steve you did get the right ingredients.Mitch, i also had a Rawlings baseball glove.Remember going to bed at night putting the softball in the glove and then under the matress so the pocket was perfect for the big game.In fact i think i slept with my glove more then i did with my firt wife??? The best gum was the one in the baseball card pack,.The best smell was a spalding ball just bought, the best summers were at Makowskys..
At 3/14/2006 10:36 PM ,
LARRY said...
you guysmust be younger then me, we use to call egg creams 2 cent plains.Steve you did get the right ingredients.Mitch, i also had a Rawlings baseball glove.Remember going to bed at night putting the softball in the glove and then under the matress so the pocket was perfect for the big game.In fact i think i slept with my glove more then i did with my firt wife??? The best gum was the one in the baseball card pack,.The best smell was a spalding ball just bought, the best summers were at Makowskys..
At 3/14/2006 10:36 PM ,
Mitch said...
Does anyone remember Pensie Pinkie?
At 3/14/2006 11:14 PM ,
steve kiv said...
I always thought that the Pensie Pinkies were better then the SPALDEENS. The rubber ball from Spalding had extra rubber around the middle which allowed the pitcher to throw a cureve ball.
I couldn't hit a curve but throw me a fastball with a Pensie Pinkie and POW..........some of the longest singles you ever saw.
At 3/14/2006 11:54 PM ,
Mitch said...
Steve
I agree...Playing punchball w/ Pensie Pinkies made you feel like "The Mick"...and also were easier on your knuckles. Those Spaldeens were almost as bad on your knuckles as a hard game of "Knucks"
At 3/15/2006 7:39 AM ,
Bob Hutt said...
Spaldings, Pensie Pinkies and Clincher Softballs. What about Duncan Yo-Yo's? Who wants to Walk The Dog or go Around The World?
At 3/15/2006 7:47 AM ,
Bob Hutt said...
And while we're on the subject, what was the name of the balsa wood airplanes we flew by throwing it in the air?
You remember we had to slip the wing though the slot in the body without breaking or chipping it. The same for the small part through the tail.
How about the kites we flew on the ballfield on a breezy day. The ones where we had to add the tail and had a ball of twine to let it fly as high in the sky as we could.
What were the names of that?
Stevie, I have a feeling you'll know the answers.
At 3/15/2006 8:06 AM ,
Bob Hutt said...
Where did we get the sticks to use as bats to play stickball?
I still remember drawing that square box with charcoal as the strike zone at the handball court so we could belt those Spaldings or Pensie Pinkies?
And beside the pitcher, we always had one fielder per team. Yeah, like someone standing behind us was really going to catch the ball when it was hit a mile deep up to the top of the Mohonk.
Too Funny!
At 3/15/2006 10:06 AM ,
steve kiv said...
Just a funny story......
Several years ago I wanted to buy a Spalding Hi-Bounce Ball. I couldn't find them anywhere. I called Spalding and they told me that they didn't make them anymore. Oh Well.
Anyway, about two years later I visited Sabreena when she lived in Hoboken and I went to an army and navy store. What did I see...............you guessed it, a complete dump display with Spalding balls and the accompanying
stickball bat. (in the 60's they sold the bat with some tape on the handle. Now they even have the bats hot stamped like a real baseball bat.)
So I bought 3 balls and a bat and when I went up to the counter to pay for the I said to the guy behind the counter........
"CHIPS ON THE BALL" He cracked up and told me that he didn't hear that expression on over 30 years.
At 3/15/2006 11:06 AM ,
Rob said...
Pennsy Pinkies were definitely the better bouncing balls. Spaulding had the big name and distribution . But ,here's an old secret ...If you took a tennis ball and burned off the fuzz it would leave enough surface interest on the ball so you could throw a curve. Plus, without the fuzz the ball would fly if hit on the sweet spot.
I've also ruined many of my mothers broom handles. Most broom handles were thinner than Stickball bats , so if your eye became good with the broom handle,you were great with a stickball bat.
Steve, made my 'bones' in stickball at PS 221. A homerun if you hit it over Empire Blvd.
Sorry Ladies , all this sports talk.
At 3/15/2006 12:49 PM ,
Bob Hutt said...
I Remember When..
See if any of this brings back a rush of forgotten memories?
I remember when every home in Brooklyn, Da Bronx, Queens and Staten Island had clotheslines and poles.
Forget about Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut as the exodus out of the City had not as yet begun. We were all New Yorker's and so very proud of it.
The biggest effect growing up was how the clotheslines affected the layout of the baseball diamond for playing in the backyard.
And when you went for those foul balls with your eyes in the sky, you had to "sense" where the clothesline was, or really get "clotheslined".
But on the last day of school we rushed home. There were our parents somehow stuffing our bathing suits and clothing into cardboard cartons and managing to squeeze the entire family belongings, which included our bedding, into the family car.
In those days, the sweltering summer was oppressive. Air condtioning for us meant opening the push out windows wide open and they did not have any screens to keep out the mosquito's.
I must admit I thought about pushing my brother Gary out a time or two, but nothing bad ever happened to him or anyone.
We couldn't wait to jump into the car and take the scenic Palasades Parkway north stopping along the way at the RED APPLE INN for some fabulous Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Pizza and Malteds.
When we went reached New Paltz and drove to the the top of the Mohonk where only one car could pass in any direction, the excitement reached its zenith.
We all knew in a few minutes, we would unpack as fast as we could as we looked forward to seeing you our special summer family at Camelot better know as Makowsky's Cottage Colony. The good times came and went way too fast to suit me. From there it was off to college and a new type of experience.
In college, girls dorms and sorority houses had curfews! This has to be one of the biggest differences between life in the 60's and today. All freshman girls had to live in a dorm and be in by 10 on weeknights and 1:00am on Fri-Sat
Guys.. forget about it.. except that some of the individual fraternities had their own rules for freshmen.
In college, girls had a dress code, guys didn't.. at least none that I remember.
I remember the rule that the girls had to wear dresses on campus, until the temperature hit, I think it was 11 degrees, or some such odd temperature like that. Then, the girls could wear pants. But, they were still kind of dressy.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Turning back the clock, I can still remember our first TV set in the mid 50's. The first program I saw on our set was Superman with George Reeves.
We had a test pattern until five o'clock, then programming until about 10 or 11:00 pm, then a test pattern again.
I remember Sundays were the best: Our Miss Brooks, Amos n Andy, and Jack Benny. But, I believe it was Tuesday's that wasn't far behind: Fibber McGee and Molly and The Great Gildersleeve (Leeeeeroyyyy!).
At Makowsky's we wore tee shirts. But when Little League arrived there were wool baseball uniforms.. Enough said.
And, yes, they itched. And yes, they were hot. And, yes, they were baggy. And, yes, I'm glad I don't have to wear them anymore!
Well, maybe one more time with you guys but only if I can wait for Al Markowitz to throw that 2 strike changeup. Duh!
Most homes in our neighborhood had one bathroom.. I don't remember how we all got along and managed to survive?
Do you remember when real Milkmen delivering milk in Real Glass Bottles?
You had a certain schedule with the milkman, and you left your "empties" on the porch for him to pick up.
I think our milkman came three days a week and I think my brother was born about nine months later?
Did they really need to ask our mothers if they wanted homogenized or pasteurized milk (with the cream on top).
And they came in a white milk truck with white uniforms. What a job? Probably the best in the world ever?
Finally how about The Car Hop & Drive In Movies.. The gals at White Castle would take your order on roller skates.
Then came Jack in The Box where we gave orders through the microphone speakers which we never understood what they were saying at the other end.
Soon out came the waitress with a tray of burgers, hot dogs, fries and some Cokes. Of course it may not have been exactly what we ordered but who cared anyway?
It was great place to hang out, meet girls, listen to rock-n-roll over the drive in speakers. Those were the days!
In the 60's at High School, there always seemed to be a contest among the boys to see how low we could wear our jeans without them falling off!
Ah yes, the good ole manual stick shift. They are about gone now! But, they were fun to learn to drive. And when you "geared down" for a stop sign... now that made you cool.
You girls won't believe that your mothers and grandmothers wore all those petticoats, but in the 1950's, petticoats were in.. layer upon layer of petticoats.
How about roller skating in an indoor roller rink.. there may be some parts of the country that still have them, but they're just about gone now.
Who remembers seeing Elvis Presley for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show? And shortly thereater it was the Four Seasons followed by The Beatles. Boy was that ever cool.
The Soprano's? Hell no! We had Ed Sullivan memorialized in song forever by the late Paul Lynde in Bye-Bye Birdie.
But alas the day our music died and our innocence ended was with the Kennedy assasination in 1963..
I noticed a somber atmosphere the second I walked into the house, but didn't know what was going on. I asked what was going on?
"Somebody just shot the President" Then, Walter Cronkite confirmed taking off his glasses for effect, that President Kennedy was dead. Two days later, we saw Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed on live TV by Jack Ruby.
Soon after the Makowsky magic of Peter Pan disappeared and we all grew up way too fast.
How about interviewing in college in the mid 60's? I remember a recruiter telling us that white shirts with a suit were required. And no sideburns below the middle of the ears.
But now thanks to Rob, Mitch, Larry, Steve, Judy, Phyllis, Jackie, Lenny, Laurie, Bernie, Mike, Roy, Roberta, Susie, Nona, Augie, Shari, Bruce, Flash, Hy, and all of you fellow Makowskyite's, we get to re-live this wonderful time all over again.
I think I speak for everyone when I say...God Bless Milton & Frieda for welcoming us into their home every summer.
Keep the memories coming!
At 3/15/2006 3:12 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Nona and Bobby,
You actually brought tears to my eyes. Not just of laughter but you reminded me of many special moments that I thought were lost.
But they're not. You shared them with me and have kept them alive in your hearts ever since.
"God Bless Us Everyone"
At 3/15/2006 4:07 PM ,
augie said...
Bobby Hutt you are amazing, what a memory, some addendums. Do you remember when the road over the mohonk wasn't paved,1959/60 probably paved 61/62, my father never went around the mountain in our Rambler station wagon, much better then my Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Soda fountain:Lime Rickey
medicine;coke syrup straight the legal stuff
Rob: I forgot you had brooklyn roots and near Ebbetts Field.
At 3/15/2006 8:57 PM ,
Rob said...
Hey Bob , since you came on I've had to get a new set of glasses. Thanks
I've got tears in my eyes too, ,,from looking at the screen too long LOL
At 3/15/2006 9:05 PM ,
Rob said...
We lived down the block from Ebbetts field ..Then DA Bums left for LA and they put up a high rise.(Just Like Joni said)
Right near Freddie Fitzsimmons lanes
Hey Steve & Bob , You guys musta knocked a few pins there, right?
Yo Augie , Do you like those bottle caps? You inspred me to find them.
Be careful what you ask for...I'm dangerous (Bad to the Bone! , actually more like Fat to the Bone)
At 3/15/2006 9:48 PM ,
Bob Hutt said...
Anyone for a game of Skully?
We used colored chalk to draw a large square box on the sidewalk with 13 bases.
We then filled a soda bottle cap with melted crayons and let it dry to a hard wax inside.
We shot the caps using our index or middle finger and played against one opponent.
How about boxball, Off The Stoop, Punchball, Shooting marbles, flipping baseball cards, and ringaleavio?
Anyone remember any other City games?
At 3/15/2006 10:07 PM ,
Mitch said...
Bobby
Wow skully ! I used to play that game when I lived in Brooklyn after school every day. My mom hated it because I used to tear holes in my jeans...eh excuse me... my "dungarees" because you had to play that game on your knees.
At 3/15/2006 10:15 PM ,
Mitch said...
Still thinking about Skully Bob. I remember in those days there were no "twist off bottlecaps" and you had to be oh so careful to get the caps off the bottles without crimping it. When you got that special pristine cap it was great...you could control it with ease..... G-d the things I'm remembering....
At 3/15/2006 10:17 PM ,
Mitch said...
Roy
Wow we were thinking about the same thing at the same time...wierd!
At 3/15/2006 10:23 PM ,
Mitch said...
Roberta
Every morning when I woke up...the first thing I saw out of my window was that Merry-Go-Round
At 3/15/2006 10:32 PM ,
Mitch said...
I haven't addressed my sister Nona's comments posted previously today...but there was one small thing she left out.
When we finally arrived at Makowskys for the start of summer....Nona, Steph and myself were always soooo excited and we were screeching and screaming inside that big blue Oldsmobile we had.
Well, my dad would always take his foot off the gas pedal and as the Makowsky sign became visible the car would go slower & slower & we kids never thought we'd get there.
At 3/15/2006 11:02 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Rob:
I learned how to bowl at Freddie Fitzsimmons lanes.
I'd walk there almost every Saturday and pay $.25
for shoes and 3 games for $1.00.
The ball returns were above the alleys and I thought that is was pretty cool.
Bobby, Also hit the penny, pitching pennies, and catch a fly up. Also how about SPUD!
At 3/15/2006 11:06 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Hey Roy,
How many pink kickballs did we bust during the summers?
After a while Hy wouldn't replace them and made us do more arts and crafts instead. I think that's where we found out that going to the store for snacks and listening to the small 6 transistor radio or records by Bobbys
was a lot more fun.
At 3/16/2006 6:50 AM ,
Bob Hutt said...
Thank you all for the nice compliments. Many of the younger generation, I know your names, but never had a chance to know you back then because you were too young.
But now with the passage of time, everything seems to have evened out.
Hell, even some of my campers are now older than me? Is that possible?
LOL.
In any event, reading the posts from you, the younger generation, experiencing the same wonderful things we did who came before you, makes me smile. I too look forward to meeting you at the reunion.
It looks like Skully brought back some real memories about the City games.
Funny, that none of us ever played it at Makowsky's. And do you know why?
In the City, our backyards were cement and asphalt.
At Makowsky's we had beautiful green grass, lots of sunshine, and cool crisp fresh air nights with a twinkling cluster of stars from the heavens.
But most importantly, we had family. We should never forget our wonderful parents who were kind enough to love and give us these beautiful friendships and memories that have lasted our lifetimes.
To all our Mom & Dad's God Bless You.
At 3/16/2006 11:45 AM ,
Mitch said...
Judy
I think you found our modern day time machine...Call H G Wells !
but.......
If we turned the merry go round at top speed counter clockwise and I was on it.....
Judy you better not be sitting next to me
At 3/16/2006 12:00 PM ,
Mitch said...
Steve
Speaking of "Spud" ...I remember playing that game with you all the time @ Makowskys...
The best was when we played it at night...it was "pitch black"
When we threw the ball up in the air between my bungalow & the luncheonette everyone scattered and that ball would be rolling down the hill, sometimes all the way to the camphouse...
By the time someone finally found the ball and yelled Spud you could have used a bull horn and nobody would have even heard you !
At 3/16/2006 1:43 PM ,
augie said...
No one mentioned the YooHoo Yogi Berra bottle caps which leads me to some of the classic hannah Barbera cartoons: Yogi Bear, Augie Doggie ,etc. I love when my kids put on boomerang chanel but they like the newer ones more.
At 3/16/2006 5:13 PM ,
Rob said...
Bottle caps? Todays beverage containers are soo boring , the caps are lame and the bottles can't even be used for 'spin the bottle' our nightime sport. Don't deny it people , those kisses were great, soft , innocent and sweet. (I'm sweatn' now)
I remember the girls were into the sealing wax thing for their letters. SWAK
Joel Bofshever was the King of the Merry Go Round , he could actually make us fly off that thing . I think the G forces he would get that thing up to was unreal. He could make you fling off or puke. , or both. Sometimes he would grab the tree branch above him and run on the merry go round like mad. It was like a cartoon. Disney...eat your heart out!!!
At 3/16/2006 8:48 PM ,
Rob said...
Roy e,Koufax & Hodges were my heros as a kid , Hodges was a class act and a great manager with the Mets. Damn Dodgers , I still haven't forgiven them.
Funny how Chuck Taylor 'cons' are back in style again . This time it's a sportswear thing not sports.
At 3/17/2006 12:47 PM ,
augie said...
Roy you might remember me since i was always a big kid and loved to wreck havoc in the pool. The store on Kings highway was where everyone went for sneakers and got great egg creams under the station. Except when the JCH on 79th and Bay Parkway started selling Adidas and Puma's
At 3/17/2006 11:39 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Jackie:
Now there is a fireworks display from the Mohonk. You can see most of them from Makowsky's as they clear the top of the tower.
You, know, everyone was so excited to get there for the summer. I used to ask my parents if we could leave school a couple of days early since the teachers were doing anything anyway....but no good. I didn't want to be the last one to get there in case I missed anything.
The first Great Race!!
At 3/18/2006 9:18 AM ,
steve kiv said...
Jackie:
You guys are all nuts.
Hutt's no hitter???
I was against the Midgies!!!
At 3/18/2006 9:27 AM ,
Bob Hutt said...
Best team? Worst team? Midgets? You're all wrong.
Don't you guys remember? I pitched the "no-hitter" in 1964. It was on Father's Day.
Rumor has it that Senator Jim Bunning pitched it? But real Makowsky fans know it was really me.
I struck out rookie catcher John Stephenson to end it. Jackie, my catcher jumped on me reminiscent of Yogi Berra doing the same to Don Larsen.
Yes, that horrible team I pitched the "no-hitter" against was none other than the NEW YORK METS.
As any true baseball fan knows they were the worst team ever.
LOL
At 3/18/2006 10:53 AM ,
Rob said...
Bobby, I was at Shea when Bunning pitched his No-Hitter. Ron Swoboda struck out 4 times.
At 3/20/2006 9:55 AM ,
Bob Hutt said...
Rob reading your comment about Ron Swoboda striking out four times brought back a special memory.
Not only did he strike out four times but I remember a doubleheader in St. Louis that I watched with my Dad. Of course the Mets lost the first game but were leading in the bottom of the ninth in the second game.
A routine fly ball was hit to Swoboda in right field with the bases loaded and the Mets leading by two runs. Swoboda fittingly enough wearing a batting helmet in right field lost the ball in the sun and it hit him in the head. Three runs scored and the Mets lost both ends of the doubleheader.
And from striking out four times and getting hit in the head who made the greatest sliding catch by a rightfielder in World Series history? None other than Ron Swoboda.
In 1969 backing up the superlative pitching of George Thomas Seaver, Ron dove headfirst with abandon while sliding toward centerfield. If the ball got by him the Mets and history would have been different. But the ball stuck in his mitt and with it 7 years of misery for NY Mets fans ended.
My-my how the ugly duckling became a beautiful swan!
At 3/20/2006 2:50 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Tommie Agee did the same thing!
At 3/20/2006 3:34 PM ,
Mitch said...
Steve...if memory serves Tommie Agee made two miraculous catches in that game
At 3/20/2006 4:54 PM ,
steve kiv said...
Yeah he did.......and Al Weiss was probably really out!
Mitch I went to the U of Md in 1969. That year every NY team beat every Baltimore team:
Mets vs Orioles
Jets vs Colts
Knicks Vs Bullets
I even wet to the second game of the World Series in Baltimore. This was the first game that the Mets ever won in World Series Play. I still have the completed program and scorcard from that game.
At 3/20/2006 5:24 PM ,
augie said...
switching to Basketball my greatest event ever was the classic game 7 in 1970 when Willis dragged himself out. To this day it was the loudest I've ever heard a crowd...before the game was played. i was in the front row of the old blues directly across the court from the entrance willis came out. The crowd roar was like a wave and when it hit us everyone was jumping up and down so much i thought the blues were going to collapse. I was in 10th grad at Lafayette HS and slept over outside the garden with fires set in garbage cans, sleeping bags, soem good old fashioned underage drinking, anyway after Willis hit his first two shots it was total bedlum the whole way,hardly remember Clyde having best game EVER!!!
BTW my 8 year old son is: Reed
At 3/20/2006 5:33 PM ,
glenn said...
The date: July 9, 1969
The Place: Makowsky's "The Hill"
A 12 year old is babysitting his infant cousin. Pacing frantically, clutching his trusty transistor radio, he waits on history. A mere 90 miles away in a 5 year old structure known as Shea Stadium, a 25 year old Californian is making his bid for immortality.
It is the bottom of the 9th.Bob Murphy has instructed us to "fasten our seatbelts". The "Amazins" lead the Chicago Cubs 4-0. The score is immaterial. Tom Seaver has retired all 24 batters he has faced.Seaver retires the leadoff man to begin the inning. Two outs from baseball nirvana,rookie Jimmy Qualls steps into the batter's box. The 12 year old is besides himself.He prays to Hashem, Jesus, Buddah and whoever else he thinks might guide the right arm of his favorite Met. Behind the closed bedroom door he hears the baby roaring, howling, crying hysterically for attention...let em wail, there are more important events unfolding. Catcher Jerry Grote flashes the young prodigy the sign. Seaver unleashes a fastball. Qualls takes a feeble swing, making just enough contact to launch the ball into the short outfield between Tommy Agee in center and Cleon Jones in left. They look at each other helplessly as the ball falls safely between them.
The transistor turns to mush as the 12 year old crashes the handheld against the ancient Frigidaire.(He'll later deny all culpability for the fractured ice box by asking incredulously "What dent?"
That was one of two indelibly etched memories of the "summer of love". The other was my mother telling me I was out of my f___ing mind if I thought she was going to let me go to a place called Woodstock.
At 3/20/2006 6:54 PM ,
Mitch said...
Steve...
In fact in ' 69 they used to call New York "The City of Champions"
Augie...
I never forgot Clyde's Game 7. He was my favorite Knick. He had 36 points and 19 assists. What a lot of people forget is that after Willis hit those two shots he never got back in the game again.
At 3/20/2006 8:35 PM ,
Rob said...
My favorite sporting event from the summer 69 was watching the camp girls running in the track meet. Young Boobs bouncin , butts shakin and Summer hormones flying around everywhere. Good thing the pool was nearby ! LOL
Forgive me ladies, I mean no disrespect, rather a compliment.
At 3/21/2006 5:27 PM ,
augie said...
roberta,I'm in love with you. would have like to hang with you and your gals, I would have been laughing to tears to watch you torture the enemy. You go girl!!!
At 3/22/2006 9:31 PM ,
Rob said...
Sports ? What about this?
When awards were given, what was the difference between most valuable player and all around athlete?
Was this politically correct?
Weren't these award hand calligraphy? Done with india ink?
If anyone has theirs after all these years please send a photo...
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