February 9, 2013

GOOD HEDGES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS



GOOD HEDGES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS


By TONI CRESCENZO GELFER '68

My father, Tony, pictured here on the right, loved his house and especially the freedom of having a large garage for his tools, trucks and even a cement mixer. What he missed about Ozone Park, Queens was the camaraderie that was always felt on the stoops, corner stores and local social clubs for Italians.

In Levittown, he substituted Charlie's Gulf station, the luncheonette by Marcals (both on Newbridge Road) and the front yard, talking over the hedges with Kingfisher Road neighbors such as Gerry Silvestri who is shown here with my dad. Silvestri is wearing a type of undershirt often seen in Levittown. Most of the men who wore them grew up in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx.

I have continued in this time honored tradition, never seeking the shelter and privacy of my back yard. If you drove by my house in San Antonio today, chances are you'd see one of my family sitting out, waving to neighbors, talking to the mailman. Some things never change.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice story, Toni.

Emily Estow Carroll 1960 said...

Hi Toni, If you lived on Kingfisher Rd. did you have an older brother named Tom, or another name, who was older and went to Memorial? We used to play across the street in the "field."

Anonymous said...

Dennis A. Champney wrote:

My Italian relatives wore the sleeveless T also. But as an added fashion statement on a hot day their ensemble went like this: White tee,black Bermuda shorts,black dress shoes, black socks, and the piec de resistance,garters for their socks. Swear to God, some of them looked like stuntmen in the skin flicks.

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