Our stay on Roosevelt Island has provided us a great respite against the activites of the week. We wait for our tram to take us off the island and to Penn Station, where we are meeting our family to go to Long Island.
John has promised us a "Blake Tour" of the places he grew up.
The boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are on Long island, which contains 7.6 million people. It is the longest and largest island in the contiguous US, being 118 miles long and 23 miles wide. It is larger than the state of Rhode Island. If it were a state, it would be the 13th largest!
The start of our Blake tour is at the Long Island Railroad Terminal in Penn Station. One thing we learned, is that it isn't just a train --- it is the Long Island Railroad!
This board announced the various destinations and gives the time and the track from which you will depart. It only makes those visible about 10 minutes ahead of time, so you have to be watching and ready to go.
Once on the train our tour continues as John tells us about the history of the towns we will see and points out things along the way.
One thing we have been cautioned about and that is the space between the platform and the train. You don't want to get your foot caught or make a misstep. In Europe, they tell you to "Mind the Gap." here it's "Watch the Gap." This sign is everywhere!
The conductors are friendly and very New Yawk! Calling out the names of the stations is automated now, but John gave us his best impression of a conductor --Hollis, Queens Village, Bellerose, Floral Park, Stewart Manor, Nassau Boulevard, Garden City, Country Life Press, and Hempstead. We are getting off at the last stop in Hempstead.
Lots of old water towers outside, which are now used as call towers. Clever!
Here is the end of the line Hempstead.
Maria's Mom and Dad, Cesar and Mary take a seat outside the train station while we wait for the boys to go get the van we rented.
Our first stop is at the house where John and his sister Susan grew up , 262 Plainfield Avenue in Floral Park.
He pointed out his bedroom and other features of the house. They could climb out the windows on the dormers and sit outside. We also got to see how John disengaged his Uncle Bill's car one day and rolled back into the neighbors house. Also, Sunday nights were Pizza night, ordered from Belletown to eat while the whole family watched the Ed Sullivan Show. Other times when John was home alone, he got orange sherbert and chocolate ice cream and watched Gunsmoke. Stories I've heard many times, so it's great to see the actual places.
Next, we went on to the Floral Park Elementary School. This is quite a structure. Big columns outside, a circular driveway, and a spectacular auditorium that had a balcony and fold down seats.
John went up to the front door and soon a lady came out. He said with great glee that he was a graduate of the school and could he bring his family in for a tour. There was a look of sheer terror on the ladies face as she told him No! He had forgotten how locked down schools are these days. In the meantime, Maria went inside and took some pictures. It is indeed a magnificent place for an Elementary school.
Jack and Maria posed outside of John's Alma Mater.
John told us about having a paper route, and also walking with all his friends to school. He pointed out where they lived as we drove along. There was a little store, which is now a house, where they went to buy candy and soda, having saved their lunch money to go there. And how big the hills seems as he rode his bike around the neighborhood.
Right behind the school is Belmont Racetrack. literally abutting the school grounds. The kids would slip through the fence and into a wooded area to watch the races. If they were caught by the cops, actually Pinkerton police referred to as the "Pinkies", they were just escorted out, no big deal.
Next was downtown Floral Park. John told about the Volunteer Fire Department and how they held these contests each year, closing off the street. There were timed events as the firetrucks roared down the street, fireman leaped off, connected the hose, put up the ladder and put out the "fire." It was an all day event to both honor the volunteers and show off their skills.
Their fire stations are a work of art as well, and something of which the whole community is proud.
This tribute to the Floral Park volunteer firemen who died on 9/11 includes this piece of the Towers and the names of those who died.
Right across the street is the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was the family church during John's childhood.
He didn't know it was the first church built in Floral Park.
We went in through the parlor and a very nice woman came out to greet us. John told us about the important social aspects of this church, which was the community gathering point. He took a tour of the basement where some of the children's activities occurred.
The woman asked him who he recalled from those days, but no names came to mind.
Jack, Dixie and John pose before the altar.
The lady brought out a copy of the anniversary booklet published for the 155th anniversary of the church. He asked for another copy which he later gave to his sister.
The big surprise as he went through the book later, was that his grandfather was on the building committee when the church was rebuilt. That is him, top low, second from the right.
John didn't recall that his grandparents even went to the church.
Floral Park was a great place to grow up, an upper middle class American community, and a commuter community for NYC. The downtown area stills looks much the same. In fact, many of the streets look the same. John remembers having an Italian girlfriend whose mother cooked great spaghetti. (That's a story I've heard a lot -- all of his girlfriends had mothers who were great cooks. Hmmm.)
Next on our tour was Garden City. This is where his grandparents lived and where his father and sister grew up. It was the headquarters for Double Day Publishing for a long time, but it was primarily the residence of many of Wall Streets finest.
Dad Blake was a charter member of the Garden City Country Club. There were many family occasions celebrated there over a wide span of years. Dad was a good golfer. John caddied there for his grandfather, and once caddied for Perry Como. He says that none of the other caddys wanted the job because Como was a poor tipper.
One of the first times I was there was for the celebration of Nana and Dad's 50th anniversary. But over the years, there are many fond memories of family celebrations here. And of course, everyone got all dressed up in those days to go to the "Club."
We went inside and took a brief look. No one in the family belongs to the club now, and we didn't stay very long. But it has been beautifully maintained and is still one of the icons of the community.
The putting green was very busy on the day we were there.
John's grandparents lived in this house at 63 Brixton Road. It is a beautifully built Tudor style house, with a slate roof, wonderful details around the windows and a magnificent front door. Of course, as a child, John thought this was the biggest place around. He remembers being there for Thanksgiving and Christmas and being able to ride his bike there from Floral Park, up and down those "big" hills. And they went sledding in the street.
As a youngster, John's father had a horse in the garage/stable out back of the house, which he rode to the village green. There were back stairs, and a servant who presented all the family meals.
We discovered the house had been put on the market within the last week. So we took a peak in some of the windows. One of the things he remembers is the very large oritneal rug on the floor, and the Christmas tree in the window. It is in need of some work, but all in all , it is a beautiful house, and one filled with great memories for John and his sister Susan.
We took a little side trip to do a friend a favor. Our neighbor in San Diego, Betsy McIntyre, also grew up in Garden City, and her father was the Mayor. This is her house, facing the Men's Club golf course. There was a pond out back where she went ice skating in the winter. We were happy to get a picture for her.
The last place John's grandparents lived was 17 Keenan Place, also in Garden City, His grandparents had "downsized" in later years. This was a very comfortable house, also the site of many family gatherings. It had a screened in back porch, and there were lots of summer gatherings there.
John's grandfather was a very formal man, always in a suit and tie, which he wore to every meal. Breakfast was always the same - a small glass of orange juice, a piece of toast, and cereal. Dad took off his suit coat to put this on the table, and put on a white apron with the words J.H. Blake Flour, Inc. across it in red letters. After the preparation, he would put back on his suit coat for the meal.
And another family home, at 156 Wetherill in Garden City, where John's Aunt Peggy, her husband Bill Norris and cousins Gale and June lived. The cousins had a lot of interaction growing up. And Uncle Bill, I remember, served Spumoni and Neopolitan ice cream, always, for dessert.
John treated us to lunch at the Garden City Hotel. This is THE institution in Garden City. Many a wedding, prom, cotillion, debutante party, etc. was held at the Garden City Hotel. It was always the place to have any important event.
The old Garden City Hotel is the one we remember. But, it was rebuilt some years ago, and it was a wonderful place to have a superb lunch and think about all we'd seen.
The old hotel
The lobby
Out last stop on our tour was Jones Beach. This is a 6.5 mile long white sand beach, originally created in the 1920's by New York visionary Robert Moses.
Each year, the beach reeves 6-8 million visitors. It was badly damaged in Hurricane Sandy, completely submerged, and filled with debris. Many of the parking lots are not open, but Mayor Bloomberg has pulled out all stops to get it open for Memorial Day. The signature event of the weekend is the Bethpage Air Show.
Unfortunately it wasn't exactly swimming weather, but Maria wanted to take off her shoes and experience the white sand. And she did!
John's greatest memories of Jones Beach is the entire family packing up and leaving around 7 in the morning to spend the day at the beach. They would meet other families and friends down there. And they were always in Lot 9, which is at the end of all the beaches and one of the smaller ones. John and his Dad would sometimes fish for fluke, flounder and crabs. They would have lunch, and John and susan would go to the concessions to buy ice cream, which John remembers having been called Neller Rolls. (More about that later.) At the end of the day, John's Dad would grill a thick sirloin steak on the barbeque, and they would conclude a long, but magnificent day at the Beach.
What a wonderful childhood! John and his family moved to Florida when he was about 13, and he lived there until High School graduation. His parents eventually moved back to Long Island, and
so our trips to see them were always back in this area. We were happy with our Blake Tour!
After our ride back on the LIRR, John and I went to Grand Central Station and ate at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. This area was beautifully restored, thanks to Jackie Kennedy. I ate there with John's Dad when I first met him. Wonderful memories for me, too!
The Grand Central Oyster Bar.
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