Traditionally speakingby Pat Larsen - Brooklyn, NYFlashback to the 50s

Join me for a stroll down memory lane especially if you’re enjoying the blessings of your 70’s-80’s. Together I think we can piece together bits and pieces of our lives as memory still serves.

Being a child of immigrants in the 50’s was an amazing gift. I got to know,  though briefly, my great-great grandparents for just a brief span of 2 years. Can you imagine?

Brooklyn, at that time, was mainly a patchwork of ethnic enclaves that included Italian, Jewish, and Irish Immigrants.

I vividly recalled so many of the activities inclusive of these ethnicities that brought us together back then. 

“Feasts” associated with the honoring of patron saints were week-long festivals. The local churches held a major event that drew in hundreds or more to enjoy the specialty foods from this particular area. The sights and smells coming from local vendors were likened to Grandma on a Sunday but in this case, ALL at the same time everywhere you looked.

Shopping was a special treat, especially on the weekends when the farmers markets were a mass of vendors ready to sell items not always available locally. I would get up early with my grandma to accompany her on the long walk from Conduit Blvd to Jamaica Ave to get items she couldn't get all the time. Stuff like specialty cheeses, semolina flours for pastas and breads, and fish that came from the fish markets as specialty foods for the holidays.

It was at these markets that my grandma taught me the value of choosing just the right fruit by eye. Knowing that a head of lettuce had to have a certain weightiness to it to be worth the price that she always thought was too high.

I loved watching the negotiations take place between my Grandma and the vendors as they spoke in Italian. Sometimes I knew what was being said by the loudness of their voices and sometimes they’d whisper and that’s when I knew words were beingexchanged that would require a confession to the priest to be forgiven. Ha! That’s where I first learned to be feisty.

Occasionally my grandma and I would take the walk to City Line where we’d go to the meat butcher to make a purchase. I can close my eyes and still see the open cases where the leg of lamb was situated on a bed of straw with a few flies buzzing around. 

There was a technique that my Grandma had that I began to witness where she would walk by the desired item as though totally disinterested. Then the butcher would call out to her to inquire what she was looking for. Again, she’d remain disinterested but then she inquired about the lamb and in such a way that I thought the butcher was going to pay her to take away the meat before he had to toss it. And so that night at home, we enjoyed a delicious roasted dinner with my folks wondering how much it had cost. Grandma never revealed her secrets though and always just gave me a wink as if to say, it’s between you and me. 

Brooklyn was the place to be. The “L” is where my kin lived and walking to their apartment as a kid was a great fun experience. My Uncle would always agree to keep his eye on me when I wanted to go visit his family. The first stop on this 30 min walk was always to this really cool place where I’d get a Pepsi Cola in a bottle with a straw and my Uncle would always get a bottle or two of something while I was allowed to play pool. 

He was the coolest uncle right up until my folks found out about the place we stopped at. Hey, I was a kid, how did I know kids weren’t supposed to be in a bar?.

One of my very favorite things to do in Brooklyn as a kid was to meet up with my Grandpa after a short subway ride to walk around Prospect Park. That was always a great day. Just before I was sent back home on the subway, Gramps would take me out for an egg cream and I would drink it ever so slowly because I never wanted that day to end.

That’s my remembrance of Brooklyn. I know it's so different now but I don’t care. I have the best part of the best borough ever in New Year tucked away in my memory bank.

When Brooklyn was the world…! And it was ya know.

Pat Larsen lives, works and plays in Greene County, NY

She’s a syndicated columnist in the surrounding area where she also brings fitness classes for Seniors. Many of whom come from Brooklyn as well.

Her latest endeavor…Reflections…anything but an ordinary life is available on Amazon.com. 

PLEASE contact Pat if you have a memory to share of Brooklyn, NY. She’s available at 518-275-8686.