Tom Urban's North Village Green drug store memories

A long way from his old Levittown NY drug store job, Tom Urban on a beach in Tahiti.

By TOM URBAN

Class of 1960

The owners of the North Village Green drug store in Levittown were Al Averbach and Milt Schulman. They were brothers-in-law. My brothers Norm, Jim and Dale and I all worked for them in age sequence. Al and Milt were generous and benevolent employers who treated our family with kindness and opportunity.

To this day, every time Kathy or I crack open a hard boiled egg, we think of counterman Artie Hertz, father of Division Avenue High School class of 1961 alum Sandy. Artie would make the egg salad which, in the process, would smell up the store. he would say "if it came out of your a _ _ it would smell too." He was a funny character and a single dad who taught me numerous Yiddish curse words. He would say something to me and I would run to Marv Bellows (the pharmacist) and he would translate. What a hoot!

Officer Chuck Kelly's brother Bill worked with me and my brother Norm at the Levittown post office. Chuck, who patrolled the North Village Green area, was a great beat cop as were two others I got to know well.

Since I worked at the NVG Drug lunch counter all through high school, I had an opportunity to bridge the Rock-Jock gap by serving all the local characters as well as the families who lived nearby and frequented the store (too many to name here). I got to hear all the gossip and the job served me well as a growth opportunity. So many memories revolve around my experiences at North Village Green Drugs.