Click on photos to enlargeShown here are:
* Don Davidson, class of 1960, age six in 1949. He was a Hopalong Cassidy fan.
* Howard Whidden, class of 1962, visits Santa in 1951 at Macy's in Herald Square.
* Marilyn Monsrud, class of 1963, age two.
* Louise Nicolosi Hayn, class of 1960, first communion.
* Toni Crescenzo Gelfer, class of 1968, at Freedomland in 1961 in her Sea Scouts uniform.
FREEDOMLAND
Do you remember Freedomland? Toni's picture might give you a flashback. Many Levittown dads drove their families to the park.
According to Wikipedia: Freedomland U.S.A. (usually just called Freedomland) was a short-lived, U.S. history-themed amusement park in the Baychester area in the northeastern part of the Borough of The Bronx, New York City. Its slogan was "The World's Largest Entertainment Center" (later, "The World's Largest Outdoor Family Entertainment Center"). Freedomland opened on June 19, 1960. It closed at the end of the 1964 season when it failed to make a profit.
7 comments:
Hey Toni! No plain old Brownies and Girl Scouts for you eh? And a much cooler uniform! Great picture!
Don and Howard - If I had copies of each of your pictures, they would be hanging in home right now. Absolutely terrific! Pat McD
Thanks Pat! As a 'Christmas baby,' I was just turning seven and was a fervent believer in Santa. I had memorized my list of toys I wanted, and as you can see by the look on my face, didn't want to forget even one.
Our family went to Freedomland several times. We would go our separate ways and always meet up in "Frontierland"!!
On one visit I saw a young boy singing and playing harmonica. It was Little Stevie Wonder. Amazing.
Barbara Reh Kemnitz
Thanks Marilyn..I'm really obsessed with my Sea Scout memories..My family thinks I'm crazy..The guy's uniforms had spats and sailor hats..Very cool.
I believe 12 y/o Little Stevie Wonder did record "Fingertips, Pts. I & II" there at Freedomland, maybe in '61 (?) or so.
The first summer I had a license to drive ('63) and about a month or so after graduating DAHS, I recall going up to Freedomland in the Bronx for a day of fun with a few people. Just coincidentally (because I hadn't known it ahead of time), Louis Armstong was playing the main stage there that day. He played a couple of jazz tunes on the trumpet and then sang "Blueberry Hill," which Fats Domino had made popular a few years before that. Never forget that gravelly voice of his (remember "Wonderful World") and didn't really appreciate what a legend I was seeing and hearing at the time.
Jim A
I remember Freedomland. The one thing I remember is my father complaining about how expensive it was. We went once.
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