My memories of Christmas in Jackson Heights in the 40s and 50s are so many and so varied that I will just have to jump right in and ask you, dear reader, join in the festivities.
The season began when the lights went up on 74th Street and 82nd Street. These were special lights strung across the our two main commercial streets and how glad we children were to see them.
Gene Autry came out with Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1949 and followed with Frosty The Snowman a year later.
The Post Office became a hub of Christmas activity. You bought Christmas seals there and mailed your Christmas packages.
At PS 69 we decorated our windows with artificial snow. Mr. Ball, the kindly old custodian played Santa Claus. At JHS 145, Mr. Adolph led us in song for a Christmas/Hanuka festival. I can remember the songs, but I still can’t spell Hanuka.
Most apartments in the neighborhood decorated their lobbies. The Greystones on 80th Street had a particularly impressive display of trees and lights. Every good old bar in the neighborhood put up decorations as well, and so did the liquor stores.
Christmas trees went on sale in parking lots, street corners, and fruit stands. Douglas Fir Trees were the only trees available; there were no Scotch Pines or other exotic flora to be had.
We had bubble lights.
On Christmas Eve we filed into Community Church for candlelight service with Doctor Karl F. Moore. Every year he told the story of how he tried to photograph a candle for the cover of a church bulletin -- and how all the darkness in the world couldn’t extinguish the light of that single candle.
Saint Joan Of Arc had midnight mass, and services at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church were conducted by Rev. L. Roper Shamhart.
When the holidays were over we had huge Christmas tree bonfires in the vacant lots. I distinctly remember some kids chanting: "Hitler's house is burning down," while the trees burned.
Merry Christmas from yesteryear. Do you have Christmas memories to share?
Topic: Christmas In Jackson Heights (Read 2791 times)