The wonderful article in the October issue of the Aberdeen Times about Pearlman’s Candy Store woke up a memory in this Bronx boy’s mind. It had been asleep for many years since Candy Store Communication was long ago replaced by Cell Phone Mania.
Back in the day, if you were fortunate enough to hang around in a neighborhood Candy Store you were part of the “in group.” It was your meeting place, your town hall, your comfort zone. You were there with your friends, since it was the place to go. You were also there to meet new friends. Substitute “friends” with “girls” or “guys.”
Jerry’s Candy Store, at the corner of 183rd street and Beaumont Avenue, in The Bronx, was where our crowd hung out during our teen-age years. Jerry and Louise Fortunato were our away-from-home parents who allowed us to share their Candy Store as our second home. A side agenda to their generous hospitality had something to do with their lovely daughter, Jeanne, being one of the sisters in our crowd.
Jerry’s store had an alcove with 4 booths that were always occupied by the Clovers or the Cloverettes; the name of our baseball team and the beautiful young ladies who supported the team. It was a team to support and be proud of since it had a winning record every year. Another activity that occupied our crowd was the softball games played on concrete across the street at the PS 32 school field. On Sundays, the games were watched by as many as forty or more folks from the neighborhood.
The crowds were even larger at the stick ball games played on the street, where your talent was determined by the distance you hit the Spaldeen, which was determined by how many sewers the ball traveled. The Spaldeen high bounce ball has been referred to by some as the Rosetta Stone of Urban Childhood Fun.
Jerry (& Louise) made the best egg cream in The Bronx. For those unfamiliar with our Champagne Cocktail, an egg cream consists of milk, carbonated water and chocolate syrup. There is no egg and no cream in this wonderful beverage.
Jerry permitted us to use his back room to play cards (yes, for money). Some of our card games lasted for hours except when a guy heard his code knock on the door, which informed him his girl friend had arrived. My code knock from Joan was 2 knocks followed by a single knock.
I would like to pay tribute to a quartet of my friends who attracted crowds when they harmonized outside Jerry’s in the evenings. It is more than 70 years ago but I remember Rocco (Black) and Frank (Stoogie) Balazano, Joe (Cat) Miele, and Sylvio (Chip) Mastroanni being referred to as Little Italy’s version of the Ink Spots. Didn’t y’all have nicknames growing up?
Our group of guys and gals deserve high fives. We came together from different neighborhoods, enjoyed each other, grew together and never were faced with problems that required police attention.
