December 9, 2010

The Natives in their natural habitat, Levittown's North Village Green


Here's a 1961 photo that really turns back the clock for those who spent any time at the North Village Green a half-century ago. It seemed like most of these kids were always sitting on a park bench or tossing around a ball. Going home during daylight hours on non-school days was not an option.

Left to right: unknown, Bobby Lombardi, Tommy Byrne, Doug Duffy, Artie Reiersen, Ira Nerzig and George Vine. All of these lads, except Reiersen and unknown, were charter members of The Natives. To learn more about the group, see Ken Taylor's blog story about The Natives posted here on November 1.

Jackie Bernstein Karp snapped this picture with a Kodak Brownie camera. She attended Division Avenue High but her family moved before graduation. Jackie's brother Perry was in the class of 1960.

3 comments:

Marilyn Monsrud Frese '63 said...

HEY- I still LIVE in Levittown, and i follow your blog closely! And you are right on the money with all you say. And it's interesting still being here after all these years, with my kids graduating from DAHS, and having worked at DAHS for 12 years. I live behind my old house now, where my Mom still lived when I moved around the block. What can I say- to me LEVITTOWN WILL ALWAYS BE HOME!

Anonymous said...

Great pictue---The unknown in the picture is "John Hamel". He was as much a Native as all the others. I wonder how he's doing! Anyone know?
Doug Harvey--class of 65

Anonymous said...

Jackie Karp, who provided the photo, had this reply to Doug Harvey's comment. We are assuming that John Hamel was class of 1965, although he could not be found in DAHS yearbooks.

Jackie wrote: If he was in the class of 1965 he would be my age. I was 13 at that time. Does he look that age?