Twelve Blocks, Neighborhood Stories of the 60s

There are history books written about the Town of Harrison and its contributions to the United States both in scientific innovation and production of goods both in peace and World War I and II.  There is however a book based upon the adventures of some kids who used East Newark, Harrison, and Kearny as their playground.  The book is entitled “12 Blocks. Neighborhood Stories of the 60s” written by Sam Pagano. It is a self-published book available on Amazon that probably could have used an editor but it is filled with interesting adventures and describes what it was like to be a kid in Harrison in the 1960s before video games, cellphones, and social media.  Through its stories, it teaches some life lessons learned on the street.  For those who grew up in Harrison, East Newark, and Kearny, a lot will resonate even if you grew up in the 1970s and 1980s.  I’m not sure kids play in the street anymore or at least not as intensely as they did before video games, the internet, cellphones, and social media took their attention.

Although Harrison has grown in the last two decades with redevelopment in its former industrial zone, it continues to have a special hometown feeling in its neighborhoods.  There is something about an urban city where there are kids from various ethnic backgrounds that must live with each other in homes with little alleyways between houses.  You have to respect your neighbors so they respect you in return.  You have to watch out for other residents’ kids because you want them to watch out for your kids.  The streets teach you lessons about dealing with “the bully” and  “the sore loser” and how to “win gracefully” so that the kid who brought the ball doesn’t run off after losing with his ball.  You learn that because the playground is locked it doesn’t mean it can’t be used for its intended purpose until the neighbor calls the Police to kick you out.  You learn how to climb a fence because how else are you going to get to play some Wiffle ball, soccer, or football.  You also learn to respect your elders.  Discipline was meted out by an adult without hesitation.  There was no running home and protesting to your parents about the neighbor who yelled at you. That would just get you in more trouble. These interactions built character and respect for those older and wiser as to what was wrong and what was right.  There was an unwritten code of respect for others even though you were unsupervised for most of the day.

 Sam Pagano’s book “12 Blocks.  Neighborhood Stories of the 60s” does not directly cover the above but it implies a lot of it.  There are interesting chapters like “Card for Comics”, “Roof Over Your Head” and it mentions familiar places that still exist like “Tops Diner” and the “Clark Thread Company”.  It also mentions places in neighboring Newark like the Klein’s Department store, McCrory’s, and Hahnes which are all no longer in business.  The Hahne's building is still there but it is now home to Whole Foods and apartments.  Those who saved the building are to be commended.  Where Klein’s and McCrory were located is now the newest Prudential Insurance tower in downtown Newark.

We thought that the following excerpt was very cute and something we had not thought about.  How parts of Harrison, East Newark, and Kearny are shared and that the towns are intertwined at various points that if you play your cards right you can be in all three in seconds.  Here is an excerpt about the latter:

 “ The corner of Sherman Avenue and [North] 4^th Street [now Frank E. Rodgers Blvd], is firmly in Harrison.  It’s a full 50-foot walk to get back into East Newark and almost another 20 yards before stepping into Kearny.  When we played football on the corner of Sherman, we often ran a play called three towns.  Tony would snap the football to Pete in East Newark, Charlie could make a fake cut through Harrison and catch the bomb on the bridge going into Kearny.  Tonight our pass route ended just short of the Kearny bridge at the front door of the Arrow, where we were greeted by Shorty who told us my Dad had just started dealing the back room.” [quote from 12 Blocks, Neighborhood Stories of the 60s]

Another quote which demonstrated what kids did before video games was this segment:

 “Walking back up Sherman Ave, Charlie and I caught some fireflies, squished them around our fingers, ran some doorbells with out “fire” fingers, and ran like hell.  We could usually run a half block away from a house before the neighbor would answer the bell, so we really didn’t expect Mr. Riley to open his door just as we were ringing the doorbell two times.  When we showed him our on-fire fingers, he was not mad at all and suggested we ring Mr. Murphy’s doorbell next.  As much as ringing and running could be, we called it “ding, dong, ditch” we were getting ready to watch the guys play a little seven card stud.” [quote from 12 Blocks, Neighborhood Stories of the 60s]

 As previously stated, the book is available on Amazon if this article sparked your interest.