Those Places Thursday: When the NYC Skyline Went Dark in 1965

Browsing through a book on New York Deco, I saw photos of the Chanin Building, located at 122 E. 42nd Street in New York City, opposite Grand Central Station.

Instantly it brought back vivid memories of the Great Northeastern Blackout of November 9-10, 1965--the one that left most of the Northeastern US and Canada in complete darkness overnight and into the next day. As a young teen, I was already home from school on that Tuesday, when the blackout hit during evening rush hour. Electricity was out and there was no way of knowing when it would return. We had battery-powered transistor radios and soon found out what had happened.

My mother was just finishing her work day on the 22nd floor of the Chanin Building when the power went out. Unless she walked down all the way to the street level and then hitched a ride from the middle of Manhattan to the northeast tip of the Bronx, she wasn't going to be able to get home that night. She didn't know then how lucky she was: If she had left 15 minutes earlier and gotten on a subway train for the hour-long ride home, she would have spent the night in a darkened subway tunnel awaiting the return of electricity.

For two teen twins and our younger sister, it was the start of a one-of-a-kind tame adventure. We were home, safe, in our apartment overlooking the Dyre Avenue subway line in the Bronx. In fact, because the outage happened when dusk was fast arriving, we could easily see that there were NO lights on the New York City skyline. This was a most unusual and memorable sight, to say the least.

Still, the phones worked, the gas stove and oven worked, so we could (and did) cook and play games by candle light and using flashlights. But Mom was stuck in the Chanin Building for the duration of the blackout. As it turned out, the lights came on about 13 hours later.

Mom had to wait her turn to call us, since the law office where she worked had only 1 or 2 phone lines. She called as soon as she could, before dinner, to check on us, and reassure us that she was OK. She called again later in the evening and told us that the people in the office had pooled their money to order from a sandwich shop down on street level, paying about $10 each for a sandwich that would have cost $2 or $3 on any other night. Of course the delivery guy had to walk up 22 floors to reach his customers, and then down again, so I understand why the shop raised its prices on blackout night, even though Mom fumed at the price gouging. That night she slept (poorly) on chairs pulled together to make a kind of bed.

At least Mom knew we were responsible teens and she didn't have to worry much about our safety, since we were already home. We kids were in a great mood, calling all our friends to yak endlessly about the blackout and ask whose parents were stuck where. My memory is that we even invited a friend to come over, and at some point she arrived (probably the next morning after the subways started running). I don't think there was school on Wednesday, Nov. 10th, and the day after that was Veteran's Day, which may have helped get things back to normal. 

Reports say that this was a peaceful blackout, with New Yorkers treating each other civilly and offering assistance where possible. My mother was tired but happy to be home when the lights came on and she could ride home on the subway. And I still remember the night of no lights in the New York City skyline. Very spooky.

Camp Days in Cleveland Heights, 1951 - Amanuensis Monday

Just yesterday I came across this photo reminder of my husband Wally Wood's days as a junior counselor at the YMCA camp outside of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Wally's third from right in front row, next to the guy who looks like a Marine drill sgt (the actual counselor). Wally remembers his parents dropping him off for the week of camp with a "car full of crap" (clothes, equipment, etc).

This is under the heading of "amanuensis" because the campers and the senior counselor signed the back of this photo! Below are all the names, transcribed, as best as I can make out. Looks like the campers were practicing their cursive handwriting skills.

Don MacMillan
Jim Palermo
Shepard Linsday
Ted Gaeblen [maybe?]
Bob Berd
Arthur Krueger
Fred Wilson
Michael Glaser
Marc Konrissen
Doa Leo
Toms Stevens

PS the envelope tells a lot about Stan's Studio Inc., which took the photo. What it says is:

Stan's Studio Inc.

Weddings - Baby Pictures - Portraits

See Our Kiddyland, Cleveland's Largest and Finest

3025 West 25th Street

Cleveland 13, Ohio

Tel. MAIN 1-7066

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - Bad Car Karma

This week's blog prompt is "cars." Actually, my first vehicle wasn't a car, it was a motorcycle (a Yamaha 50cc stepthrough, which I'm driving in the photo here). 

But that's a story for another day.

 My very first car was a used, powder blue 1969 Mercury Cougar "pony car," designed to compete with the fabulous Mustangs of the era. I didn't have a GT model, shown at top, but all other details were as you see them . The headlight covers rolled up when the lights were switched on, the center console was sporty and elegant, the seats were cushy and comfy, the engine purred. It was a real creampuff. So why don't I have a photo to put here, instead of a photo from "HowStuffWorks" site? 

Well, one night I was working late in my job as a retail store manager in suburban Boston, while a hurricane raged outside. After 9 pm, when I locked up to go home, I looked around the parking lot--my car was nowhere in sight! (It wasn't hard to figure this out, because there were NO cars in the lot at that point.)

I reported the theft, called hubby to get a ride home, and waited for the call that finally came two days later. The cops found my car! Only problem: They fished it out of a lake 200 miles away. (Now ask yourself: Who would steal a car in the middle of a hurricane and drive it into a lake?)

The insurance company totaled it and with the pittance I received, I bought a 1968 1/2 Mustang, another blue pony car. This one was the opposite of a creampuff: There was so much underbody rust that if you picked up the floor mats, you could see the road beneath your feet. Seriously. But the car had 4 wheels and drove well enough, and the price was right ($150 in cash). I drove that car for less than a year when my bad car karma struck again.

One morning, when I was already late for work, I went to unlock the driver-side door and noticed something funny. Instead of wheels, the car was balanced on cement blocks. Overnight, thieves had stolen all the wheels! New wheels would have cost more than the old car, so I sold the car ($50 net) and carpooled with hubby for a while.

My next used car was a 1970-something Dodge Dart, nicknamed the "Green Battleaxe." That car had one of the best engines of all time. It just kept going and going, with more than 140,000 miles on it, no problems at all. The outside was, well, beat up, but that was OK, since I was parking the car on city streets and didn't want to attract attention. The engine would have lasted for another 100,000 miles, easy. That's why bad car karma had to strike.

Getting ready to drive to the shopping center one day, I couldn't find the Green Battleaxe where I'd parked it. I walked round and round the neighborhood, but no car. Finally I came to the reluctant conclusion that once again, my car had been stolen. The cops mentioned how many thieves target Darts for the parts (especially that strong, sturdy engine). Many months later, the Dart was found at the other end of the city, abandoned and (you guessed it) with lots of parts missing. By then the insurance company had long ago settled the claim and all that was left was the paperwork (ugh).

Bad car karma has left me, finally. From 1995 to 2009, my husband and I replaced 13 windshields in our various cars, because of road debris kicking up to crack the glass again and again and again and again. But not lately. Can that good luck last?? 

(UPDATE in 2022: No replaced windshields yet! Little cracks but that's it.)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Baby Book

My husband's baby book has more than just fun facts from his early years--it also has names of relatives! It also has a lock of his hair from his first haircut decades ago :) No photos, but all entries were handwritten by my mother-in-law, and the book is in excellent condition. She even left notes about his formula and pablum.

The entries are easier to read in reality than they look in this scan, and there are lots and lots of names scattered through the pages. This year I'm going to start tracing his Steiner and Traxler lines, and both names are here. So my treasure chest item for today is this baby book. Are there baby books in your treasure chest?

Wordless Wednesday - Seeking Isaac Burk's Family

One of my research priorities this year is to find out more about the family of Harold Burk's father, my paternal grandfather, Isaac Burk (1882?-1943). Above is Harold (my father), when he was in his 20s, looking impossibly young!

2022 update: I've learned a lot about Isaac since then. See his brother's ancestor landing page.

Shopping Saturday - Browsing in the Bronx and Downtown NYC

Living in the Bronx, our big shopping excursion would be to Fordham Road, where chain clothing and shoe stores lined the big street leading to the Grand Concourse and major emporiums like Alexander's (founded by the Farkas family, but not my Farkas family). After shopping, we might visit Krum's for a malted and then walk back to the bus (and transfer to a second bus or the subway for the trip home).

It was really a shopping crossroads and on a busy Saturday, you could always count on meeting someone you knew. (In those days, there were no Sunday shopping hours, so Saturday was THE big day for browsing and buying.) One day, as a teenager, I had emptied my wallet and pockets buying a new sweater and skirt for date night that evening. Although I usually had subway tokens in my penny loafers in case of emergency, there were none that day. I stood at the bus stop and waited for nearly an hour until someone I knew (some adult, but I don't remember who) came by and lent me the 20 cents needed to board and get home! Big borough but small world.

Back to the late, great New York City stores that filled the newspaper ads of my childhood. Our penny loafers came from Best & Co, and lasted for more than a decade. Alas, Best & Co is long gone. For years I would walk past B. Altman at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street, on my way to a job at 31st Street and Sixth Avenue (renamed "Avenue of the Americas" but no self-respecting New Yorker ever called it that, ever). Above is the B. Altman building, which is now a graduate school center of the City University of NY.

The list of once thriving and now defunct NYC stores that I remember seeing (occasionally shopping in) goes on and on: Peck & Peck, Simon's, A & S, Gimbel's, Arnold Constable, Bonwit Teller, May's, S. Klein, Korvette's.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History - Winter

Week #2's challenge is to write about winter. Growing up in the Bronx, NY, nearly every December our parents took me, my twin, and our younger sister on the subway downtown to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and walk along Fifth Avenue gawking at the holiday displays.

Many years we went to Radio City Music Hall to see whatever blockbuster movie was opening and the main attraction, the Rockettes' Christmas show. (I think I recall seeing "The Sundowners" there.) It was thrilling to see the organ slide into view as the deep chords started the show. At intermission, the luxe bathrooms were a big attraction.

A real treat was going to the elegant Savoy Plaza (later the Savoy Hilton) Hotel, above, where my father Harold BURK and his brother Sidney Burk maintained their travel agency (see my father at his desk, below). The hotel had a Trader Vic's restaurant and we loved tiki meals! But once the GM building was built, it was goodbye to the hotel and the restaurant . . . and my father's travel agency. That's a story for another day. (2022 update with link to GM Building history)

In those days, we kids would drag our sleds over to Bronx Park after a big snowfall, spend an entire day going down the gentle hills, and return home positively encrusted with snow. I don't remember many times when snow forced schools to close, but this must have happened more than a few times.

The elementary school was 10 blocks away, no school bus, so yes, we really did walk 1/2 mile each way in all kinds of weather (and often we walked home for lunch and back again!). No wonder fitness wasn't an issue. No school cafeteria*, so anyone who brought a lunch (which we usually did during heavy rains or very cold weather) ate in the school basement, sitting on benches. *My sister says there was a cafeteria in the basement, and the food was (stereotypically) terrible and she preferred the bag lunches!

And who could forget my mother's beloved Persian Lamb coat? She's wearing in the above photo from her wedding day in November, 1946. For years, she'd wear that when the temperature dropped. We kids loved to run our hands through it, another winter memory.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History - New Year's traditions and resolutions

Happy new year! First, a couple of resolutions for 2011's genealogy projects:

• Learn all about my new Mac FTM software and move my files from the old PC version to the Mac. 2022 update: Switched to RootsMagic for Mac.
• Keep entering info and citing sources (this is one of my weak spots--I love to solve genealogy mysteries but don't find it anywhere near as much fun to write things up).
• Label more of the family photos that I protected in individual sleeves last year.
• Keep blogging as cousin bait! Can't wait to meet my newly found cousins this spring.

Now for traditions. Whenever my father and his brother and brothers-in-law got together (which might have been on New Year's Day but also one or two other holidays), they played pinochle. I still have the two-deck card set they used. Although I never understood the game, I know they were expert and enthusiastic about playing. So at the table would be my father, Harold Burk; his brother, Sidney Burk; and his brothers-in-law, Charles Lang (married to my aunt Millie) and David Bourstein (married to my aunt Miriam). Lots of laughter but also intense concentration.

The New Year's Eve I most vividly remember was when I was 17 and went to Times Square with my boyfriend, my closest girlfriend, and her boyfriend. Maybe we took the subway (who remembers? It was that long ago), or perhaps one of the guys drove us all from the Bronx. I remember the crowds and excitement, the cold, and the jubilation when the ball dropped at midnight. We all counted along (yes, just like on TV) and kissed at the stroke of the new year. Once was enough. I can say "been there, done that."

My husband's family had a quieter New Year's Eve in Cleveland Heights, because his father Edgar J. Wood always had a gig playing in a band that evening. Insurance adjuster by day, Ed was a professional piano player on the weekends and was booked for New Year's Eve by October every year. Photo above shows him in one of the college bands he joined while at Tufts. He and his friends worked their way across the Atlantic and back by playing on cruise ships, then picked up gigs in Europe to cover room and board for the summer between semesters.

May the new year bring you many family tree discoveries and reunions with long-lost relatives.

Family Recipe Friday - Grandmother McClure's Butterscotch Brownies

Floyda Mabel Steiner McClure, my husband's grandmother, made these not-too-sweet butterscotch brownies. You can see her below, reading to my husband (pre-TV days).

For a little Christmas family bonus, we gave out copies of this recipe held in a cute glass recipe holder clip, along with specialty toppings to be attached with icing.

Grandma McClure's Butterscotch Brownies

7/8 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (or margerine)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" or 8" round or square pan.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter and add sugar gradually to blend thoroughly.
3. Stir in eggs and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture. Then stir in sifted ingredients. Add nuts if desired. Batter will be fairly smooth and thin.
4. Spread batter in greased pan, bake at 350 for 20 min. Check for doneness with a toothpick. If toothpick is clean/dry, remove brownies from oven.
5. Cool, cut into squares, dust with powdered sugar, and serve with ice cream for best taste!

Sharing recipes from ancestors is one way to keep family history alive--as discussed in my genealogy book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past.

Sorting Saturday - Christmas Tradition

The origin of this family Xmas tradition is lost to the mists of time, but we have an annual Silly Sox contest. The goal is to make the youngest child (who's the judge) laugh and choose which pair of socks is the silliest. Not ugliest, not cutest, but silliest.

Years later, we're still laughing at the ridiculous socks family members presented in an effort to win the biggest laugh from the youngest child. (Last year's winner had a hawk head on a chicken body, which only an 8-yr-old would think is sillier than the pirate sox I entered, right?) Today the competition is cut-throat :) And although it's not the kind of competition that fits neatly into a Family Tree Maker category, it's fun to remember and even more fun to enter.

I've been runner-up for 2 yrs in a row. But this year, in sorting through the possibilities, I believe I have sure-fire winners. Take a look (above) and let me know what you think. I'll post other people's entries another day. This is a sneak peek of mine (the contest begins in a few hours). Note that I went to the scrapbooking section of the local craft store and gussied up my chosen sox just a bit. Skulls aren't silly unless they're doing something silly, right?

UPDATE: Nope, I didn't win (again). The judge disqualified sox that had been "customized." So all my wonderful creations were pushed to the side. This year's winners were the penguin slipper-sox wearing red hats (at 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock on photo above). The rest of the sox paraded on family tootsies were pretty silly too.

Next year's rules, according to the judge: The winner will be the pair that's most surprising. Hmm. Better get busy. Only 364 more days to go! Happy holidays to all.

Treasure Chest Thursday - "Cousin Bait" Blog

Over on "West in New England," Bill West posted a message he called "What is the worth of a genealogy blog?" Some of the people who commented on Bill's post mentioned genealogy blogs they called "Cousin Bait."

That's my theme for Treasure Chest Thursday--Cousin Bait.

I'm not a professional genealogist nor is my blog intended as a scholarly recitation of my family history. The real reason to maintain my blog is, as my masthead says, "Finding out about ancestors and connecting with cousins!"

In other words, the true treasure (for me) is in connecting with cousins. Thankfully, I've been blessed with quite a treasure trove of cousins to connect with. Most recently my 2nd cousin Lois "found" me when she searched for her grandfather's name and up popped a blog post I'd written about hoping to find out his story. Her grandfather was my great-uncle by marriage to my great-aunt, Ida Mahler, and in trying to learn about them, I've now connected with her.

Cuz Lois has lots of stories to tell about this line of our family! And she's delighted to share her stories with me. Just as important, she's introducing me to my other 2nd cousins--cousins that, thanks to Lois, I'll be meeting in person in just a few months. 2022 update: We are still in touch and it's a joy to know this part of the family.

So I like the idea of a Cousin Bait blog because it brings me closer to my treasured family connections. Yay for Cousin Bait blogs! And here's hoping that 2011 will bring more cousins together, in your family and in mine.

Wordless Wednesday - Numbers tell the story

465

That's the number of days until the 1940 Census is released. And I can hardly wait! For one thing, the Census asked everyone 5 and older where they were living on April 1, 1935, filling in some blanks for where my ancestors were living between the 1930 and 1940 Census periods.

The 1940 Census will include a special series of questions--more data! In addition, there will be extra info about housing, although Dr. Weintraub (see comment below) says this is unlikely to be released for individuals.

Looking forward to April 2, 2012! But first, happy 2011.

2022 update: The release of the 1950 US Census has been accompanied by a basic search function for name and location, enabled by AI/handwriting recognition technologies. For more about this Census, see my summary page here.

Ancestors in the Newspaper

Sometimes we find out something about our family tree because a distant relative or ancestor is mentioned in the news--often because of something bad that happened. My friend Mary's ancestors made the newspaper because they were involved in mysterious illnesses and death.

My grandfather Theodore SCHWARTZ made the newspaper because he was robbed.

His lone news coverage was in a New York Times article of Dec. 17, 1937, titled: "Band Robs 3 Stores; Three Armed Men Get $300 in Series of Bronx Raids."

Grandpa's grocery store at 679 Fox Street in the Bronx (above, with Grandpa at the counter) was robbed, he was hit on the head with a pistol butt when he resisted, and robbers stole $50 from his store.

That $50 represented a lot of money for my grandparents, especially during the Depression, when customers had difficulty paying their monthly tab.

So now, with Dec 17th just a couple of days away, I'm paying tribute to Grandpa's bravery in trying to resist...and then having to go home to tell Grandma that they were out of pocket by $50.

What Was Really Important to My Ancestors, the Journey Takers?

Leslie Albrecht Huber asks this question in her new book, The Journey Takers. It's a really interesting question to think about as I delve into my family's history, trying to figure out not only where my ancestors came from but also why they left on their journey to America, how they left, and what they expected in their new lives here.

I was lucky enough to be in the audience when Leslie spoke to the local genealogy club last night, and her presentation was both inspiring and informative. Her ancestors' immigration experiences were entirely different from those of my grandparents and great-grandparents, and so it was especially intriguing to follow along as she discovered her family's hometowns and pieced together a picture of what their lives were like before and after their decisions to come to America. I also got some new ideas for immigration research and for understanding the social and historical context of my ancestors' challenges and successes.

Don't miss her book, which tells the fascinating story of her decade-long search for ancestors in Germany, Sweden, and England--with some unexpected twists along the way! Updated 2022 with fresh link. 

Wordless Wednesday - family gatherings

Every summer for years, the Farkas Family Tree (my maternal grandmother's side of the family) gathered for a weekend at a summer resort or bungalow colony to talk over old times, let the cousins get to know each other, and just plain have fun. This photo was taken in June, 1958 (I'm a twin at far right). My grandparents had just retired and this was a chance to relax with kin. Since we had no car, I'm sure we carpooled with my aunt (Mom's twin).

This photo was taken at the Pines, a long-abandoned resort in upstate New York. Sad to see the current photos of what was once a comfy summer getaway area.