Family Life

Our modes of transportation in Garfield were horse and wagon, bicycles, roller skates, and, later on, buses. The horse and wagon was improved for transportation, the wagon fitted with round seats for people to sit on and travel from city to city. Deliveries were made by electric cars called "pie wagons," which were fitted with solid rubber tires. Later, the police used these cars, converted with a rear door and all the latest gadgets, to transport the drunks to the clink.

Most men and women had various trades, because in their home country it was required by law. My father's training was tailoring, but the only tailoring he did was make us all our clothes. (Sometimes my breath came in short pants.) Here, again, was togetherness. Neighbors helped each other, thus saving the cost of commercial material.

As kids, when we were able to read, the Herald newspaper became an integral part of our lives. We admired the funnies, like Buffalo Bill and Pop Wortle, the string saver (this grew into a giant ball of immense proportions). Then there was the "terrible Mr. Bang" and a little girl illustrated holding a handkerchief to her little sister's nose, saying, "Now, blow."' We had Bunkey Hill, Jr., who said "I wish my dear mother were here to protect me." There are still a few old timers to remember these antics. Each day, another illustration appeared, a completely black square, and underneath it was written "And so far into the night." It was years later that I realized what it meant. Other uses for the newspaper were insulation, stuffing holes in outhouses, sheds, and barns, singeing the hair off pigs, and also making sailor hats and sailboats.

During the winter, small ponds froze. We could not afford ice skates or skis, but we did have Yankee ingenuity. Our first encounter with the icy pond was to back off a few yards, run like heck, and slide over the ice. Some kid who had skates would lend them to us for a while. Sometimes if we found only one skate, we would still have fun, thus the origin of "cheap skate."