I received my January (1998) Juniper Berry and was immediately taken back in time to the late 1930’s when as a young boy, my friends and I would buy flashlights, batteries and small penknives in Rey’s Hardware Store.I remember a kindly elderly woman waiting on us patiently as we made our choices. I remember the building was very old looking and I was astonished to see most of it still standing today with alterations of course.

We came from Clinton Avenue (56th Rd.) and went from Rey’s Hardware up a little ways and watched the blacksmith next to Griff’s Hardware shoeing a horse or making horseshoes. Then we window shopped in Griff’s for a new tool to save for. At the time there were two entrances and they had a lot of window display space.

Further up Grand Avenue the orange trolley which came up Borden Avenue, crossed Grand Avenue by Brown P1ace next to the car barns. My Dad was a trolley mechanic for that line.

In 1943 we moved to 73rd Street and to tie in with Bill DeMaso’s story, I also met my future wife Eleanor in Frank’s Candy Store in 1946 and we were married in 1948. We used to stay in Frank’s till the trolley would come to take us to the subway. In the blizzard of 1947 no trolleys ran and we had to walk to Queens Boulevard. We remember Mary and Jenny well and were also friends of Bill’s uncle A1 and his Dad Nick who delivered oil for Paragon.

In 1952 when we opened Gene’s T.V. Repair on 72nd. Street and Grand, Bill’s dad and mom where our customers. Nick was a lot of fun and he was always cheerful. It is great to see that Bill and his family still live in the same house as his mom Emily was born in.

Do any of the readers remember a stable and wagon shed in the 1930’s and 1940’s across the street from what is now Fabric Bonanza where the pizza store is?

I have lived in Maspeth for 68 of my 70 years, the last 54 years on 73rd. Street.