40 DECEMBER 21, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Life in the Roaring Twenties in Ridgewood
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The years aft er World War I and
just prior to the Great Depression
have been called "The Jazz
Age" and "The Roaring Twenties." For
those who may wonder what it was like
to live in our neighborhood during
those years and the ones that followed,
we have a special treat in the form of a
letter from reader Catherine Almstadt,
who was born on Jan. 1, 1926.
She writes:
Before my eyes fail me, I want to take
this opportunity to stroll down memory
lane. I am referring to the 1920s.
Aft er reading my story, I am sure the
young people of this generation will
be very grateful for all of the modern
conveniences they enjoy today.
Can anyone these days think or
even imagine what life would be like
without a television set, an automobile,
telephone, refrigerator or steam heat
and hot water? What about the latest
convenience of a computer? Or, dishwasher,
air conditioners and ceiling
fans? These things never even entered
our minds in the 1920s. But, somehow,
we survived it all and as children we
were always content and happy.
We lived in the so-called 'coldwater
fl at.' There were two large windows
in our huge kitchen and two in the far
end of the house. We had a really big
yard to grow whatever we wanted and
a great big apple tree.
By 'we,' I mean my mom, dad, brother,
sister and grandma—and occasionally,
a cousin or two, or some other relative.
I never knew what it was like to have a
living room until I grew up.
The long cold winters were very
rough on everyone. In those days, we
always had lots of snow and blizzards
were not uncommon. Very few people
Horse-drawn wagons made most of the local deliveries during the 1920s, reader Catherine Almstadt recalls. This
photo of Flushing Avenue at Beaver Street in Brooklyn was taken in 1923. Note the trolley tracks in the foreground.
owned an automobile. Perhaps, maybe
one or two had an old jalopy that had to
be hand-cranked to get started. We did,
however, have the trolley car on Seneca
Avenue. A ride to Myrtle Avenue
cost all of three cents. Most essentials
were delivered by horse and wagon.
My father, who lived to be 93, once told
me that when he was a little boy, even
the dentist came around to fi x teeth by
horse and wagon.
As for keeping the house warm in the
bitter-cold winters, we had our trusty
big black stove in our kitchen; we used
'Dazzle' to keep it nice and shiny. Dear
Mr. Granieri and Sons delivered the coal
through a chute in our cellar window
and then we carried it, pail by pail, back
to our cellar bin. In order to heat the
stove, we used lots of pieces of wood,
newspapers and coal. Because there
were not many stores nearby, there
were many empty lots and that is where
we gathered the wood for the stove.
We also had fun roasting 'Mickies'
in the lot. We would put potatoes on a
small fi re and they sure were so good
to eat. Children were brought up to be
responsible in my day. Surprisingly, I
never ever remember there being any
fi res anywhere in our area.
As the day was over and the fi re in
the stove fi zzled out, there were many
ashes in the little door below the grate
of the stove. We did have a big black
fl ue pipe in the back of the stove for all
the smoke to go. As for the ashes, it was
my job, as the oldest, to sift through
when the stove was not lit. All of the
children had chores assigned to them.
Somehow, I grabbed a white hot ash
and it stuck in my hand. I still have
the scar in the middle of my right hand.
We had to sift the dead coals so as not
to lose a precious piece of coal. Even
though, according to today's standards,
coal was a bargain.
At night, my dear mom always made
sure we were nice and warm in our
beds, we wore Dr. Denton pajamas as
they were nice and fl eecy and cozy and
had the feet in them. She also would
crochet nice warm hats for us to wear
to bed. We always had nice clean white
sheets and very warm blankets. How
she got by with no washing machine or
dryer I will never know. She would put
a big tub on top of the stove and when
the water would boil she put the wash
in the tub and when it was all clean she
put it through a wringer to get out the
excess water.
Christmas was always a happy time
for everyone. My father would take us
around the corner to Nardello's store
and always bought a great big tree. We
had many beautiful decorations and
always a big Nativity scene made by
hand, under the tree.
Children in those days were always
surprised at Christmas. We received
only one big present each. One year,
my sister and I would get a beautiful
Dy-De doll all dressed in pretty clothes
and the next year, a small doll carriage.
My brother would get a big red wagon
one year and the next, a set of soldiers
and a mold to make more. Lead had to
be used and poured in the mold. I was
always afraid he would get hurt, so I
melted the lead on our stove and he
liked the soldiers he made.
If you have memories to share with us,
send an email to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.
com (subject: Our Neighborhood:
The Way it Was) or write to The Old
Timer, ℅ Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell
Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. Any mailed
pictures will be carefully returned to
you upon request.
This photo was taken in 1926, the year that reader Catherine Almstadt
was born. It shows the John Schenck and Nicholas Wyckoff homestead,
which was located on the north side of Flushing Avenue at Seneca
Avenue in Ridgewood.
