Kraken Kronicles

Hey Everyone, Last April Joe, Dad, Michele and I and the kids headed over to the other side of the river and had a very interesting couple of hours touring around the USS New Jersey. It was really fascinating and I highly recommend it. The kids loved it too, especially the big guns! Spending time during the Holiday season out at sea or in some far off distant land is no fun, let me tell you. Say a prayer for our men and women serving and far away from home during this time of celebration.
The BB62 Offical Site.

I was born in 1938, my mother, Anastasia and my father, John Albert, lived in South Philadelphia at 1516 E. Moyamensing Ave. Permit me to describe the house: a 3-story brick row house, facing east, and 2nd from the North end of the block. Full basement, with coal fired furnace, hallway from the front door running parallel to a large formal living room and ending at the dining room, a large kitchen and bricked yard in back, and an alley connecting the yard to the street. The upper floors were accessed by a wooden stairway with turned banisters. The 2nd floor had 3 bedrooms and a large bath in the rear, the 3rd floor: 2 bedrooms.

The front bedroom was Aunt Laura’s, the 2nd, Uncle Con’s, the 3rd, Grandma, (Dad’s mother) and me. The 3rd floor front, my Mom and Dad’s, when I was old enough to leave the crib, I was moved to the other bedroom on the third floor. Uncle Harry was serving in the South Pacific in the construction branch of the Navy called the Seabees.

This house was a great place for a small boy to live. Dad, Aunt Laura and Grandma worked. By day Mom and Uncle Con would take care of me, and at night everyone helped. Dad had a dog named Jiggs. I was the house toy.

I remember Friday or Saturday nights, uncle Con would play an old upright piano in the living room and my Mom and Dad and Aunt Laura and her current beau would dance. Sometimes my Dad and Con would play instruments and we would all sing along. Remember, I was born at a time the “Great Depression” was nearing an end, due to the Second World War which brought needed jobs. In the late 1930’s folks crossing the Delaware River Bridge sometimes had little money in spite of the fare being only .25 cents. Many traded clothing, household objects and among other things, musical instruments to make the crossing to try to find work. The bridge management would sell off these items in the local area. That’s where the instruments came to be in our house. I think the piano came from a nearby church, where a friend of Aunt Laura’s worked.

In the evening, I loved listening to the radio bring us shows like Jack Benny and Fibber McGee & Molly, war news and sports.

The Christmas of that year, I learned later, my Dad and Uncle Con fabricated a fire place, which not only I believed to be real, but Santa Claus brought. How about that, Santa not only brought toys to fill your stockings but a place to hang them, what a guy. The fire place even had a place to send a letter to Santa, which my Mom wrote and I mailed. Mommy and Daddy put me to bed up in my 3rd floor back bedroom and left a light on, I didn’t like the dark. Like every child, I tried to stay up and kept looking out the window to try to see Santa. Mommy and Daddy’s front room was right down the hall with two large windows overlooking the Ave. Well, this was war time and blackout curtains were necessary, we wouldn’t want any of those German planes to find our house, so I really had a night of it with air raid wardens blowing whistles and banging on the front door, telling my folks to stop light from shining on the street and my Dad talking about taping the curtains closed, or me to the bed. I can hear Mom say “Golly, Jack, you told him Santa and his reindeer would be coming right down Moyamensing Ave”. I suppose I finally went to sleep.

In the morning, Mom had to wake me as I was up pretty late and ran down 2 flights of steps. I found, under the Christmas tree a model of a B17 and 2 small race cars. On the mantle of the fire place were cutouts of the seven dwarfs with bubble lights and candy in my stocking.
Oh boy, just what I needed, more sugar.

What a wonderful time to be living in a big house with lots of loving people.

God bless them all.

Dad/ Jack/Grandfather
12/18/2005

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