The flat we lived in on Blue Hill Ave, was on the second floor, over a Hardware store, Kramer's.
Anne, who was 19, got a job there, don't know what her work was, though. That flat was very close to the corner of Quincy St.
Phyllis was in Patrick T. Campbell Jr. High. Betty was at Horace Mann School, and Paul was at Phillips Brooks Elementary, across the Avenue, and down a ways on Quincy St. along with me, I think .
Fay and I would walk home from school, as far as Blue Hill Ave. I would go across, and walk the few steps to Maywood St. up a few houses to my home, right there, and she would have to walk way up the Avenue to her home. Think she was too far out of the district to be going to our school, so her folks must have gotten permission to have her attend there. I don't remember Paul walking back and forth with me, but he must have. I remember him going to our previous school at Julia Ward Howe, and us being together there.
On winter days when I stayed home, for whatever reason, I'd look out the bedroom window that overlooked the Avenue, and watch people trying to walk in all the dirty slush from the snow, and all the cars and streetcars going by. That was the most cars I ever saw any place, because it was a main thoroughfare. Seemed like an awful lot of them.
But once we moved from there to 61 Maywood St. just two streets over from Quincy St., we hardly ever saw a car on our street. We kids could play in the street sometimes, without much chance of getting run over. Mostly what traffic there was there were horse-drawn wagons, driven by men yelling out their wares, fruit and vegetables, mostly, and the rag man who collected rags, newspapers, and odd things like aluminum foil or the balls of string my father saved, etc. That guy would holler 'Rags, any old rags ' ! Then, if my Dad had anything to sell, he or Mamma would let the man know to come up the three flights to our flat.
You can look at that map now to see how close we were to school, and to the Savin St. Clinic, that was a block long, from Savin St. to Maywood, because of that big fenced-off cemented area, where I've mentioned before how we got under the sprinklers there in the summertime. I don't know what the purpose of all that area...don't remember ever seeing cars parked in there. Odd.
Anyway, by looking at the map, you can picture some of the things. How about the big, green water fountain I've spoken of before ? It was right on the sidewalk, near to the street, right between Savin St. and Maywood St, halfway between. can't you just picture that ??
To go to Kasanof's Bakery, we would walk from our flat there on Maywood, down to Blue Hill Ave, just a short walk, then, go left on B. H. Ave, just another short walk, and we were at the bakery ! If we were going to Dewey St. Drugstore, we had to cross the Avenue, and continue walking another short way to get there.
Sometimes, during the winter, Mamma would send Paul and I, pulling his wagon, to the National D store to get bags of 'coke', a fuel for the stove. It was cheaper than coal. Our Daddy had hurt his back from all the bags he used to haul on his back, and it caused a hump from all the coke he carried, so when we were old enough, we would do it, with the wagon.
The National D store was not a supermarket, much smaller, and painted a bright blue. It was just a little further than Dewey Drugs, on that same side of the street.
Right ON Dewey St. was a little Mom and Pop store, where we could get cups of sherbet, or 5 cent grab-bags full of candy. You didn't know what kind of candy until it was opened. Usually, they put some pretty good stuff in there ! Didn't get those too often...nickels were hard to come by.
One of the streets you can see on the map is Waverly. The Pastor of our church, Dudley St. Baptist church, lived there with his wife. Don't recall if they had a family or not. They were very sweet to us kids, had us to their home sometimes. I've mentioned before, how Pastor Brooks looked a lot like the Monopoly game man, a little chubby man like that, mustache and all. such a nice man, too. He would give all us kids a geranium plant during church services, to take home to our mothers on, I think, Mothers' Day. I was always thrilled to have something to give to Mamma !!
Ok, think that's enough for today. Now you can have some fun looking at the street map, and putting all the stories together with where everything happened. I hope you have fun doing it !
Until next time, I love you all so much, my precious children, and grandchildren., nieces and nephews. You all mean the world and more, to me. Always stick together, and be kind to one another .
D
