From Newark to Union NJ 1948 – 1951

We moved from Newark, New Jersey to Union, New Jersey in 1948. My sister “Edy” was born on New Year’s Eve, December 31st the prior year, 1947. She was a toddler, only eight months old at that time.

I was assigned by my folks to check out the Newark Star Ledger newspaper, classified section, and look under, “apartments” to find a five room, two-bedroom apartment listed for under $100.00 per month. In those days, there were many to choose from.

I found a number of listings, but the best one which fit those parameters was located in a brand new development, a garden apartment complex called, “Stuyvesant Village”. It was just being built at the time of the ad.

We visited “*1815 Manor Drive, Apartment A” that weekend and, because the sidewalks were not yet constructed, we had to walk in the mud, which was all over the area due to a soaking rain, which had happened, the prior evening.

This apartment layout fit our needs and our budget, perfectly. It was a downstairs apartment which had a common front steps entryway which led to a common area hallway. “Apartment A” was located on the left side (as were our political leanings at that time) and the rent was a perfect $90.00 per month.

My dad filled out an application and when we received word that the Temkin Family was accepted, we moved in during the mid-summer, just after the school year ended in that same year, 1948.

In those days, there were no school buses so my folks found some local families with children my age, who were also new occupants so I could have other kids who would be walking to school It was an hour walk to Franklin Elementary School. I can only remember one teacher named, “Mrs. Urban”.

She was the only teacher I was ever assigned to who had “blue hair”. It seemed to me like blue, but it was probably a blue-gray color.

I distinctly remember the lesson which taught the class, “HENRY HUDON DISCOVERED HUDSON BAY IN 1609”. Why did I remember this? I have no idea, but it seems that Mrs. Urban must have done her job very well.

Stuyvesant Village was located right across from a Dairy Farm, called, “Connecticut Farms”. The dairy products were fine with us, it was just the cows who relieved themselves, it seemed, every minute of every day and the odor were just devastating. In the wintertime, it was not so terrible, as I guess the cows were not being let out to pasture during a heavy snowstorm or ice storm.

I made friends with a neighbor boy named, “David Ben-Asher”. He had an older brother who I really never knew but heard about. David joined our walk-to-school entourage, five days a week.

The food in Union was great as far as I was concerned. The local delicatessen was much different than those in Newark. “Kartzman’s” was a strictly kosher Deli while the one in Union was not. My mother had just decided when my sister was born that she would no longer keep “Kosher”, with two sets of dishes, only kosher food etc, etc.

So, when we went to the local Union Deli, I asked my mother if I could taste, “Some of that stuff’… it was Bologna! The clerk gave my mother a slice for me to taste and I KVELLED! (that is a Jewish WOW!)

I now had tasted “Potatoes O’Brien, Bacon” and now Bologna! I was becoming a real “Goy”! What a thrill for me to come out of my “Jewish Shell”! My friends in Union were of all faiths and, as I remember, I got along with all of them. There was one girl with whom, I had my first crush. I sat next to her in school. I asked my mother if there was something which she could find that I could give this girl as a “gift” to show her that I liked her. Isn’t it funny, I don’t remember her name! (It might have been “Carol Einhorn”, I believe).

I was her defender when the kids in our area had a snowball fight. She was always on my side and hid behind my well-built snow wall. Those days were really fun and I will always remember those cold shivering days as “not so cold” when we all wore mittens and gloves and our bodies were not as frail as they are today at my present age.

I also vividly remember standing on top of the toilet seat looking out the window at the green wooden crisscross patterned fencing which surrounded the clothesline drying area. For some unknown reason, I promised myself that “I will never forget this scene!” WHY? I have no idea why or still have any reason for the purpose in keeping this particular memory in my mind, up to today! But for some unknown reason, I can still see it there!

Most kids in those days, had a toy that they loved and wanted to own. “*Howdy Doody” became the highest rated TV show almost when TV started in 1947, For children in those days, it was “Howdy” himself and then, “*Clarabell” who was a clown character who all the kids admired. “*Flub-a-dub” was a combination of eight different animals. It had a duck’s head, a cat’s whiskers, a giraffe’s neck (encircled with rings), a cocker spaniel’s ears, a seal’s flippers, a raccoon’s tail, a dachshund’s body and the memory of an elephant. The only lady character on the show was named, “*Princess Summer-Fall-Winter-Spring”.

“*Buffalo Bob” (Smith), a singing piano player and chatty radio disk jockey who created Howdy Doody and then teamed up with the puppet on one of early television’s most enduring children’s shows!

The characters were all created by Bob Smith, who was the originator. This show was first aired on the NBC Network on December 27th, 1947 and ran every weekday. All the kids I knew watched that show every day after school. It was a first children’s show on TV. This was years before, “Kukla Fran & Ollie”, “Mr. Rogers”, “Mr. I-imagination” or “The Mickey Mouse Club”. These were the shows that 99% of kids watched in the early years of television. They were all “clean”, “positive”, “light and free” and all inspired a child’s imagination!

Exercise was important to kids and parents in those days, but by the end of the school day, children were encouraged to take time to watch television and study and then get ready for bed.

These were the best times of my life. No work, other than school work. No “have-to’s” and an open door any time we wanted to go home after play. Summer was the best .. No school … YAAAAYYYYY!

I will always remember the times of change from Newark to Union … a major step in life.

What fun we all had, in those days of the early 1950s!