Reader Recalls Fresh Pond Road And A Doctor’s Drive-By Smile

On a radio show that relies on airing calls from listeners, there can be no program without audience participation.

While that is not exactly the case with the “Our Neighborhood” column, receiving letters and e-mails from readers certainly enhances our efforts—and publishing one can lead to others.

This week, we have an interesting letter from Louise Burns, of New Port Richey, Fla., a former resident of our neighborhood who was inspired to write after reading the comments of reader Mary Scaturro, as published in the Aug. 27, 2009 issue of this newspaper.

Ms. Burns also sent along some copies of vintage photographs.

In her letter, she writes: “In response to the letter dated Aug. 27 regarding ‘Our Neighborhood the Way It Was,’ I can relate to the store Mary Scaturro was referring to. It was called Kings Department Store.

“It carried men’s work clothes, undergarments for men and women, bedding, etc. It was a huge store owned by two sisters and their husbands. My mother would shop there. It was set back with a very large covered space. As Mary said, people would gather there to get out of the rain.

Established by George Klein in 1930, this diner was a popular Ridgewood eatery. With a change in ownership, it became known as the Fresh Pond Diner. “I lived in Ridgewood 60 years, until we retired to Florida in 1998.

“I was born in 1938 in a house on Menahan Street and Fresh Pond Road. I attended Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal School and later, Grover Cleveland High School. I was married in OLMM Church in 1956, as my parents had in 1934. We were both married by Father Kenny.

“My grandparents bought the house on Menahan Street, which had been built in 1928.

“On the corner of Fresh Pond road, there was an empty lot, which is now Karl Ehmer’s parking lot. that lot was our country playground. It was covered with tall weeds and as kids, we would collect beetles in jars, play marbles and roast potatoes. There was a huge Ford showroom across the street before Karl Ehmer built the smokehouse and butcher shop.

In this vintage photo, reader Louise Burns is pictured as a child in Madison Street Park, now known as Benninger Park, off Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood. “My neighbor, Al Long, owned the gas srtation next to Karl Ehmer’s. John Wolf owned the corner deli and I used to get 10 cents worth of cream cheese from a block of cheese kept in a small wooden crate.

“Another neighbor was John Riley, who owned the Riley’s Diner on the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road. The diner was an old stationary trolley car. Opposite Riley’s was George’s Diner. Another neighbor was the Giovanniello family. They owned the ice and oil trucks.

“On Fresh Pond Road, between Menahan and Grove streets, there was Sam’s Barber Shoppe; and Mabel and Harry White’s Candy Store, where you could buy the best egg creams and Mello Rolls and— who remembers?—Mission Soda.

“There was also Arte DeGroff Jewelers and the Oasis Theatre. Around the corner of Grove Street, there was Robert Tailor, Jimmy’s Pizza Place, then Wilkins Ice Cream Parlor, Yeager’s Butcher, the Wonder Bar, Whelan’s Drugs and the great Chinese restaurant (now a supermarket). Some of the other stores were Berner’s Clothing Store, Nelson’s Variety Store and Wolf’s.

“As a little girl, I remember Wolf’s well. I would have to wait for my mother to choose nylon stockings. The boxes were neatly stacked on the shelves and the salesperson would bring them down on the counter for my mother to pick the shade she wanted.

“Between Palmetto and Woodbine streets, there was a used book store called Richie’s, where my brother worked. Next to that was Werfel’s shoe store, where we would purchase our school shoes.

“Who could forget the Madison Bakery and Peter’s Delicatessan? I can still taste the fish cakes and homemade potato salad and the rice pudding and custard.

“The A&P Supermarket, Merkel butcher, Trunz butchers, the five-andten cent store and Smilin Bros. fruit market are some of the other stores that come to mind. Crossing over under the el station, I remember Mother’s Restaurant and next to that was a ladies hat store in the 1940s. As a child, I would admire all the beautiful hats and enjoy watching my mother try them on until one suited her.

“On the corner of Putnam Avenue, there was a ladies dress shop, which, I think, was called Esthal’s.

“Some of the doctors in the neighborhood were Dr. Bozenhart, on the corner of Bleecker Street and Forest Avenue; Dr. Silver on Menahan Street and Fresh Pond Road. And does anyone remember Dr. Weiss on Menahan Street and Forest Avenue? He had snow-white hair and would cruise through Ridgewood in his gorgeous powder-blue Cadillac convertible, with the top down. He always waved and smiled as he rode by.

“I also have to mention the Grandview Theatre on Grandview Avenue. It had wooden seats and no candy counter, only a candy machine, but the admission was only 14 cents. It also showed movies at night outdoors in the summertime. Other theaters were the Parthenon, Ridgewood and Madison on Myrtle Avenue.

“With the price of admission, the Parthenon Theatre offered a piece of china until the set was completed. When I got married in 1956, that was my first set of china. I still have a meat platter that I just can’t part with.

“We moved to 60th Place in 1967. We lived there for 31 years, until 1998, when we retired to Florida. Our house was a brownstone built between the years 1914 and 1925. It was originally owned by a milkman, then the Heeg family and we were the third owners. We were told the man who built the house had built the OLMM convent. Our house originally had horse stables with a hayloft above them. Later the stables were converted to six garages.

“It was in this house that we raised our three children—two girls and one boy. Our children also attended OLMM School and Grover Cleveland High School. Both our girls were married at OLMM Church. Our son was married in our daughterin law’s parish, St. Thomas the Apostle in Woodhaven.

“I worked for Dr. Tanur for 23 years until I retired.

“Ridgewood was a great place to live and it holds many fond memories for me. Whenever I visit my daughter, who lives in Rockaway Beach, I always set aside a day to pay a visit to St. John Cemetery and the Lutheran cemetery where our families are buried. Of course, we have to stop at Rosa’s Pizza for lunch and the day wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t bring home meats, cheeses and vegetables from Valentino’s Market.

“I love living in Florida, but I can truthfully say I miss walking ‘the Avenue.’ Ridgewood was the best place to live and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

Old Timer’s note—It’s a safe bet that Ms. Burns has stirred some memories among our readers. Possibly, just as she had been inspired by Ms. Scaturro, her remembrances will spur one or more others to share their thoughts.

Meanwhile, we have a vintage postcard view of George’s Diner, a neighborhood fixture for many years, both as it originally was founded by George Klein in 1930 and later, as the Fresh Pond Diner, operated by Fred Zickuhr, who advertised sauerbraten as his Sunday special.

The diner was located near the southwest corner of Fresh Pond Road and Metropolitan Avenue. It closed in 2003, much to the dismay of many regular customers. Today, it is the site of a bank.

At one time, there was a building on the corner, next to the diner, that had a saloon on the ground floor with an outdoor beer garden. The proprietor was a man named Jake Haas.

Some years ago, a reader with first-hand knowledge of the establishment advised that women had not been allowed to sit at the bar and a sign reportedly was posted, for those who may have been unaware of the policy. After entering through a side door (a common custom years ago; it was called the “family entrance”), female patrons would sit at a table. Families could sit outdoors in the beer garden and listen to music. Later, the building was torn down and the former beer garden was used as a parking lot for the diner.

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In the “Our Neighborhood” column that appeared in the Oct. 8 issue of this newspaper, we provided a list of old street names. We quickly heard from two readers.

Glendale resident John Rienecker writes:

“In this past week’s edition, you had 82nd Street listed as Barbara Place. My mother’s side of the family moved in 78-52 82nd St. in 1920. My mother’s aunt, Kay Kern (nee Scholl), says 82nd Street used to be Bertha Place. They lived on the west side of the street and opposite them on the east side were no houses. That’s where the woods started.

“She remembers the old movie studio on Myrtle Avenue and 88th Lane. Also, on 81st Street between 78th and 77th avenues was the Schmidt farmhouse which is still there. Their farm was from 81st Street to Woodhaven Boulevard, and 78th Avenue down to the LIRR tracks.”

Another reader, who prefers to remain unidentified, called to point out that he remembers when 60th Street between Metropolitan Avenue and Bleecker Street was known as John Street.

Old Timer’s note—In checking our reference material that was pro- duced by the Welfare Council of New York City, based on a committee’s research in 1934, we find both Barbara Place and Bertha Place listed as former street names in Glendale/“East Ridgewood,” with 82nd Street given as the name that replaced them. Possibly, one had given way to another, before ultimately becoming known as 82nd Street.

We thank both readers for their interest. As we had noted in the Oct. 8 column, the list is but a sampling of former street names in several local neighborhoods. Anyone with others to add is invited to do so.

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The Alumni Association of St. John’s Preparatory School has announced that alumni of St. John’s Prep High School/Lewis Avenue are invited to a reunion of all classes on Saturday, Nov. 21 in Manhattan.

As announced, the reunion will honor classmates from the years of 1949, 1959, 1969 and 1984.

It will be held at The New York Athletic Club, 180 Central Park South.

For more information about the reunion, call the St. John’s Prep Alumni/Development Office at 1- 718-721-7200, ext. 686.

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Old Timer’s note—If you have any remembrances, comments or reunion announcements that you would like to share with our readers, write to the Old Timer, c/o Times Newsweekly, P.O. Box 860299, Ridgewood, NY 11386-0299.

To send a submission via e-mail, our e-mail address is Old Timer@timesnewsweekly.com