My Early Years

I was born at Muhlenberg. Hospital in Plainfield New Jersey on March 20th 1934. My Mom had lost a child earlier and almost died having me, so I was destined to be an only child. My first memories start at about age 3. We were living in Jersey City, New Jersey on Danforth Avenue in a multi-family house. At that time, each neighborhood was like a small community. There were Italian, Polish, German, English, Oriental and Black sections. They had their own shops within walking distance, usually a deli, barber shop, grocery and bakery. There were neighborhood churches reflecting the makeup of that neighborhood. I remember playing all over the neighborhood, without being aware that we were always watched over. Neighborhoods were very close and took care of each other. Several sections still exist today in New York. Driving by my old neighborhood a couple years ago, I was surprised how little it has changed.

The country was in a depression, but I was too young to know what that meant. To my knowledge, my father always had a job and My mother stayed at home. That was typical until the late 60's. Being an only child, I did become somewhat selfish.

It was about at age 6 we moved to Plainfield, New Jersey. My Mom said traffic was getting to bad, but I believe that the family was moving in together to save money. From that time on, we always lived in the same house or very close to my mother’s parents.

Plainfield was a fairly small city. It was really a suburb of New York. My Father took the train to the City every morning and returned every night. He worked for the Commodities Exchange. My Grandfather was a butcher by this time, but had owned his own Deli until the depression. My Grandmother was the one that drove the family, a true matriarch, one I got to love so much. A chapter on her later. My Grandfather insisted that all his grandchildren knew how to care for horses. So he bought me one. I can remember to this day, cleaning stalls, caring for and exercising that horse.

Listening to my Grandparents, I was just beginning to understand how fortunate I was to live in this Country. I was also just starting to get to know my family. I loved spending time with my Uncles. Then our world changed. Even at seven, I knew something was really bad when President Roosevelt addressed the Nation. My Country and my family would never be the same.