For better or worse, it wasn’t the way it is today…

THE WAY IT WAS

An early baby boomer, I’ve witnessed countless changes through the years. Post World War II saw sweeping transformations in our nation and our city as pre-war institutions and habits adjusted to the new world. Advances in technology has allowed us to live longer, healthier and, in many ways, easier lives. But as the world was becoming more complex many things have been lost; some looked back on with gentle nostalgia; others sorely missed.

In those simpler times, mornings saw milk and other dairy products waiting in an insulated box outside our front door. How many still remember the clang of the grinder’s bell as he drove slowly down the street offering to sharpen our knives and scissors? Horses still had regular jobs as vendors could be found parked by the curb, offering their produce or wares for sale as the kids bravely approached to stroke the docile beast. In the summer, tingling bells of Good Humor, Bungalow Bar or one of the many independents served up frozen treats to the kids on the block.

Relatively few women drove and those families fortunate enough owned one car rather than one per driver. Traffic jams were rare outside of Manhattan and there, much calmer than today. You never had to worry about street cleaning rules or parking meters; just pull your car to the curb and walk away. Men in white uniforms wielding huge brooms with large cans on wheels kept our streets clean. Sharing those streets were trolleys; rapidly disappearing from the scene but still plying their way through the streets of Brooklyn.

The airlines were beginning to come into their own as the drone of propellers could be heard overhead from the last generation of large commercial prop planes that served the major routes. Domestic travel was still dominated by railroads and going abroad usually meant days on the high seas. New York was served by two spectacular palaces of rails with the still extant Grand Central Terminal and the ruefully demolished Pennsylvania Station as travelers hustled to points throughout the continent. For those of lesser means there was long haul bus service, primarily with Greyhound and Trailways. Luxurious ocean liners could be seen one after the other lining the Hudson River piers in Manhattan. The advent of the jet age in the late 1950’s signaled the end as the once invincible railroads and steamship lines surrendered to flight.

Throughout our history, New York had been the port of entry for most goods entering the country, a tradition carried on in the post war period as the Port of New York handled more cargo than all other ports in the nation combined. Foggy nights brought an orchestra of foghorns echoing across the borough. And a savvy New Yorker could always find the ultimate bargain that “fell of the truck” between ship and market.

There were three subway systems; IRT, BMT and IND. Lines within each had their own routes, with primary lines running both local and express. The system was fast and efficient and delays rare.

Baseball was still our national pastime with all other sports taking a back seat. There were but sixteen major league teams; none south of Washington D.C. nor west of St. Louis. The purity of the game was sacred; never a thought of designated hitters or interleague play. Of course, there was our Brooklyn Dodgers where Jackie Robinson had just broken the “color barrier”, playing in Ebbets Field, that wonderful little ballpark in the middle of residential Brooklyn. And who can forget crosstown rival New York Giants in the horseshoe shaped Polo Grounds, which ended its life as the first home of the New York Mets. And the then hated Yankees in the original stadium with the monuments on the playing field. The fans didn’t subsidize the stadiums; owned and paid for by the teams. And just about anyone could afford the price of admission! (Today we pay for the ballparks and can’t afford to get in!!!)

At home, the early post-war years still saw people huddled around their radios listening to the dramas and comedies that had not yet transitioned to the fledgling television stations. Although starting to make inroads, frightening the studios, people still flocked to see their favorite stars at the local cinema. Every shopping strip had at least one; some several; showing double features, newsreels and a couple of cartoons along with the coming attractions, providing a full afternoon or evening of entertainment. For the kids, Saturday afternoons included ten cartoons.

With only the occasional car coming down the block, residential streets were our playgrounds. A spaldeen, the hi-bounce rubber ball produced by Spalding, was required. With a bunch of kids on the block, there was usually enough for a punchball game. The sewers provided home plate and second base while the fender of a parked car or a tree were first and third. Hit the ball too high and it bounced around the canopy of trees; where it might emerge was anyone’s guess.

Not enough kids available? There was always stoopball with its many variations. Served the purpose for just a few; even solo!

Grids for hopscotch, potsy in Brooklyn, could be found in chalk on the sidewalks. Primarily a game for the girls but occasionally the boys would give it a turn as well. Unless you were a boxer, jumping rope was just about always the girls. Of course, the differentiation between gender preferences was much more distinct. And there was always hit the penny for just about everyone.

For a curious youngster once old enough to get out of the neighborhood, New York was a wealth of places to explore, even if there was only a bit of change in your pocket. The greatest museums in the world were free and just a subway ride away.

Each neighborhood had its own ethnic flavors and mom and pop stores to fill its needs.  For serious shoppers, Manhattan was S. Klein on the Square (Union Square); the great bargain department store; Macy’s vs. Gimbels, with Saks 34^th Street sandwiched in between. Brooklyn’s Fulton Street was anchored by A & S. If you knew where to shop, bargains abounded in what is now Tribeca which included the electronics district as well.

And, of course, for recreation in the summer there was Coney Island, America’s Playground, mostly intact and in full swing, where millions went for fun, sun and inexpensive amusement and excitement.

Science has answered countless questions and prolonged life and its quality immeasurably. Despite setbacks in social progress in recent years, overall we are a much more tolerant society with equal rights and greater opportunities. But so much has been lost; some simply outdated and others by the blindness of ignorance or lust for money.