My Brooklyn (270)

Marty

What's left to say? After looking at many of your posts here I find it difficult to say anything new, but Mr. Miller asked me to try so. . . . Born in 1933 and my first home was at 64th St. & 23rd Ave. in Bensonhurst. Few years later moved across the street and, in 1940, to 62nd & 23rd (kinda stuck in the same place, eh?). Grandparents owned bakery and luncheonette near corner of 65th & 23rd. . . . Attended P.S. 226 (remember the stern principal, Mr. Mason) . . . shoveling snow after big December '47 snowfall (me, not Mr. Mason) . . . Mr. Caso, the barbershop owner on 65th St. . . . stickball in street and stoopball-baseball off sharp-edged brick steps of my house . . . softball in P.S. 226 schoolyard and knowing I had finally grown up when I could hit one over the fence a full block away . . . going to Lafayette High via Veterans' Bus Service in 1947 (hated high school) and then on to Brooklyn College in '51 , but by now living in Bath Beach (Bay 22nd off Cropsey Ave.) . . . dropping out of college in '54 and going to radio announcing school in Manhattan and then on to DJ jobs in Georgia and Liberty, N.Y. . . . then, in '56, still living in Bath Beach, joining The Associated Press . . . marriage (to a Brooklyn gal) in '58 and, finally, leaving Brooklyn for Staten Island in '67 after having lived 6 years in Canarsie. To Florida in '78. . . . Only back to B'klyn a couple of times since and very sad to see what had become of my old haunts (same too for Staten Island.). . . . Sorry Mr. M. to be so long, but once I got started I couldn't stop. In case anybody remembers any of the places I mentioned and would care to swap tales of them with me, please write.

3 July 2000

Lester Segarnick

I was born, raised and lived in Brooklyn, New York, all my life, except for the time that Uncle Sam asked me to help him out, which I did from March 1943 to May 1947, wearing the uniform of an army infantryman in the European Theatre of Operations. Other than a bad case of trenchfoot (that's what they called it then), for which I was awarded a 10% GI disability rating, not to mention the Purple Heart, I slogged my way through France, Belgium and Germany´then back to good 'ol Brooklyn, where I still live today. . . . I started out on Middleton St., lived on Pulaski St. and Ellery St., then So. 5th St., all the time in Wlliamsburg and/or Bed-Sty (graduating Mark Hopkins J.H.S. 148 and Eastern District H.S.); then, after WWII, graduated NYU (Wash. Sq.), got my NYC teaching license, married my beautiful wife, Esther (Donner), had two great children (Marianne and David), and now have three great grandchildren (Brian–14, Maxine–10, and Lahna–7)—and STILL live in Brooklyn (Fillmore Gardens Co-op, in Mill Basin area.) Would love to hear from all and any old or new friends, classmates, etc.

5 July 2000