Lily's Memories

[Lily]

I have very *vivid* detailed memories of my prior life. The majority of my PL memories are of the mid to late 1930s in NY. The story of how my PL memories came to me is a long story in itself, but I believe this is an important part of my story and may be of interest to some of you who haven't read it...It will take me a number of posts to tell my story in detail, so I'll be posting my story here in parts.

In my present life I was born in 1940 in Los Angeles, CA. I have one brother, his name is Michael, and he is two and a half years younger than me...When I was a young child first beginning to explore my LA neighborhood, I can remember looking everywhere for a creek I was sure I would find somewhere near my home. I could clearly remember walking along a creek on the way to a small neighborhood market, yet no matter how many times I searched my neighborhood, I was never able to find the creek or the little neighborhood market. What puzzled me even more was that I could remember walking along the creek with my brother and friends who were on longer in my life.-- I knew that my little brother at home was not the same brother and I wondered what had happened to my (other) brother and family...I have a vague memory of asking my mother what had happened to the creek,(the water) but I don't think I was able to communicate well enough for her to be able to understand what I was really asking her about.

I think I came to believe (for a time) that there must be two worlds. I was fascinated by stories of brownies or "little people" and I'd keep trying to find this "other" world...Also when I was young I had reoccurring nightmares of falling (usually from a tall pole) and I would wake up feeling terrified, with my heart pounding...Beside these falling nightmares, I had many fears as a child, that I believe were related to my (recent) PL traumas...I eventually outgrew the nightmares and overcame many of my fears, but I've had a life-long fear of heights (though my fear of heights is no longer as severe as it once was)...The flashbacks and memories that confused me when I was young faded to the back of my mind as I grew older, and I had a pretty normal childhood after that.

I married my childhood sweetheart at age 16 and we were very much in love for the first few years of our marriage. In time my young husbands irresponsibility, money problems and both of our immaturity caused problems in our marriage. Ater 4 years of marriage, I divorced my husband, but ended up going back with him a year later, mainly because of our two children.

When I was 23 years old I began to feel very troubled. It started with my feeling a longing to find my "soulmate" (my truelove). I felt a deep emptyness inside and believed that I could never feel complete or happy until I was with my soulmate that I was meant to be with. My mind gradually turned inward until my fantasy world became my reality. My obsession with finding my soulmate eventually led to my having delusions...I insisted on having only a platonic relationship with my husband, because in my confused state of mind, I felt that I could only give my love to my (one and only) soulmate.

Not long after my delusions began, I had some very shocking and painful flashbacks come to me suddenly. These flashbacks came to me in bits and pieces, a little at a time, and they were so vivid that I actually believed they were memories from my current childhood,(memories I had blocked out somehow)...I struggled for years after this trying to fit the sad, painful, or traumatic new memories that kept surfacing in with my prior childhood memories--But the more I remembered, the more confused I became, because the new memories were just too different...Also the areas and places I kept remembering, (in great detail) were very different than any of the places or areas where I had actually lived,(in my present life)...My mind was in so much turmoil and pain during this all of this upheaval, that I was barely able to function...Of course my mental state was very hard for my husband to understand or deal with, and he eventually found another woman.

When my husband suddenly gave me notice to pack up and leave, it came as a terrible shock, and was a very rude awakening for me. I won't go into all the details here of what happened after that except to say that I was forced for a time to move in with my parents who took over my children and treated me like an outsider, or the family idiot, (but that's another story)...I was very miserable, lonely and lost in my own little world, during the year or so I lived with my folks, but I eventually managed to come out of my "inner world" enough so that I could get a factory job.--I did this out of shear desperation I believe, even in the confused state of mind I was in, so that I could move out and into my own apartment with my children.

By the time I was 27 years old, I was in a new relationship, still very confused in my thinking and pregnant with my 3rd. child. My boyfriend/father figure,(7 years my senior)and I moved in together soon after we found that I was pregnant. My boyfriend knew that I was in a very troubled state of mind and he encouraged me to tell him about the painful memories that continued to huant and disturb me...As I talked to my boyfriend about my memories, regularly, I found that I was able to remember more things in greater detail, and more of the pieces of the puzzle (as it seemed to me then) were connecting, but the memories still would not fit in with my other childhood memories.--It was like I had two separate sets of childhood memories and my newer, very painful memories were just as vivid as my other childhood memories.

One evening as I was reviewing and reliving (to a point) some of my more disturbing memories, and telling my boyfriend about the feeling they brought on, a picture of a creek flashed through my mind. Suddenly I remembered my childhood flashbacks of the creek and the little neighborhood market that I had tried to find in vain...After this I had a breakthrough in my memories, and it was then I finally realized, that the painful memories which had confused me for years, were actually memories of my prior life.

I could remember then that my name had been "Colleen" and that I had been 13 years old when my painful experiences (with boys) had first begun. I remembered that I had a brother named, Johnny, who was a few years younger than me, and that I had a half-sister named, Trudy, who was several years younger than my brother Johnny. (I later rememberd a baby half-brother, whose name I could not recall)...I seemed to just know that I had lived in New York, but I couldn't remember an address, or even the name of the city.-- I later remembered a street name, (Cortlandt) and after researching this name along with other clues that my flashbacks provided, I eventually came to believe that I had most likely lived in the S. Bronx.

As a young teenaged girl named Colleen, my self image was extremely poor and this was mainly due to abuse I suffered over a long period of time, because of my love (and obsession) over an older boy who used and abused me to bolster his own ego...I saw myself as a skinny, pale, freckle-faced girl with curly, bushy hair that was hard to control. I had a thin heart-shaped face and my hair was a dirty or rusty blonde color. I found that I was able to see pictures in my mind of most of my (former) family members and especially my brother Johnny.

In my next post, (part 2) I'll tell about some of the sad, painful and traumatic experiences I remembered that were so disturbing in this PL, (without going into too much detail) beginning when I was 13 years old and ending with my accidental death at age 15.

One of the main reasons it continues to be important to me to tell my story about this relatively recent Past life, is because I strongly believe I must have former family members (mainly siblings) who are still living. I can't give up the hope that I will one day be able to validate my PL memories and then locate former family members, but time is running out for me to be able to do this I feel.

 

[Lily]

More vivid memories of mid to late 1930's New York

I'll describe here some things I remember about the area where I lived in my PL that could turn out to be good clues.

I remember that the area where I lived had a very busy city atmosphere in the main part of town, yet it had a country atmosphere in certain other areas, (but this was in the 1930s)... Besides the creek which was near my home, their was a stream, quite a long walking distance from my home. I remember we would walk up a dirt hill on the way to the stream. I seem to remember that people went to the stream to fish for rainbow trout. My brother and I use to use bent pins for hooks trying to catch fish, but I don't think we were successful.

I have a flashback of walking in a large, flat, open stretch of land and there were small rocky hills to the side. Behind the smaller hills were some tall cone-shaped hills that came to a high peak. Up in the taller hills there were coyotes, or wild dogs, and if you walked by at night you could hear them howl. In the far distance I remember seeing a very large hill, (it may have been a mountain, but I think it was just a large hill). This hill was worn and barren looking and shaped like a smoke stack. I seem to remember that there was a much smaller dirt hill next to the larger hill, and both hills, and the surrounding area had very light colored soil.

Another very vivid memory I have is of seeing a life-sized statue of the RCA Victor dog on a wooden platform, out on the sidewalk in front of a music store. Music played from overhead speakers I remember...I've had flashbacks of a small neighborhood theater, and the name that came to me (phonetically) when I first remembered this movie theater was, "The Centarian" (it may really have been The Centurian). Around the corner from this small movie theater there was a pennyarcade. I have a distinct memory of going with a group teenaged friends to the back of the arcade where there we could find flip-pictures that were a little risque. We would look through a viewer and turn the handle to see the pictures move.

Another vivid memory I have is of seeing a latin-type man with curly black hair and who was missing both his legs. This man sold newpapers and magazines at a very busy intersection and would use his hands to propel himself on a small wooden coaster across the busy streets...I'll tell about one more flashback here that could provide a clue. I had a flashback of there being a special Lincoln Memorial train that came to town on Lincoln's birthday. People were allowed to board the train and walk through one of the cars that contained important papers and other Lincoln memorabilia.

There are other memories and flashbacks I have of the area that could provide even more clues. Eventually I'll get around to telling about the my others memories, but I'll bring this post to an end now.

 

[Lily]

PL Memories of 1930s New York continued

I'll continue my story about my PL memories, but first I would like to fill in a more background about my present life.

In my present life, I lived in the same house and LA neighborhood from the age of about 3 yrs. old until I was almost 10 yrs. old. My childhood memories are quite clear and connected at least from the age of 7 yrs. and up... I was very wrapped up in playing with the other children in my neighborhood and was a bit of a tomboy until I was about 8 yrs.old. At 8 yrs.old, the more feminine side of my personality began to blossom...With my neighborhood friends I was quite outgoing, but in school I was just the opposite. I was very timmid and afraid to initiate conversations with the other children, especially in a group atmosphere.

When I was almost 10 yrs. old, we moved to Manhattan Beach, CA. Manhattan Bch. had a quiet, small town atmosphere during the 1950s. I lived the remainder of my childhood in this quiet beach town and I was never exposed to rough type kids...I met my first husband when I was 15 yrs.old. We were both in the acapella choir in our high school (in Manhattan Bch.) He was the first and only boy I actually dated, or became intimate with. We married when I was 16 yrs. old and my boyfriend was 19.

Without going into too much detail, I'll now tell about some of the painful, shocking and traumatic memories that surfaced from the time I was 23 yrs. old until I was 27 yrs. old. (when I had the breakthrough in my memories)

I remember being approached by a new boy in the neighborhood who was much older than me. I found him very good looking and I immediately felt extremely attracted to him. As I remember, his name was Tommy, and he was very forward. At first he was very nice to me and charming, but he began making advances towards me very soon after this. Because of the extreme attraction I felt towards him, I wasn't able to resist his advances for very long...It didn't take much time for me to realize that Tommy was just using me, but by then I was so attached to him that I would do just about anything that he asked in order to hold on to him.

Tommy had a great need to brag about himself and I seemed to know this was because he had a terrible lack of self esteem. It wasn't long before Tommy began introducing me to other boys and I could see that he was using me to bolster his ego...In time Tommy began charging groups of boys from his high school to have sex with me. At first I would refuse, but he would always be able to coax me into it. He would say that I had to help him so that he wouldn't loose face and he would tell me that "we" needed money. When that didn't work, he would tell me that he would never see me again if I let him down in front of his high school friends.

The first few boys weren't really tough kids, but I hated my experiences with the them... I wasn't over the shock, heartbreak, and pain of having to meet with the first group of boys, when Tommy arranged for me to meet with a 2nd. group. The 2nd. group of boy were much tougher and unfeeling I soon found, and I was so traumatized by my experiences with these boys, that it caused me terrible mental pain and turmoil when these memories began resurfacing. I was forced to relive the many painful emotions I had experienced during this terrible ordeal, almost as if it had just happened.

I allowed myself to be used, abused, and ridiculed, by many different boys after that...Over time I grew numb, to a degree,at least on the outside, but I was really seething on the inside... There were times when I would try to break away from Tommy, the boys and the abuse, but no matter what Tommy put me through, I never seemed to be able to stay away from him for very long...I eventually was able to break away from Tommy and his (by then) gang of boys, but only after it became obvious that they were all making fun of me and were even trying to get me to leave.

 

[Lily]

Continuation of memories

Do you know what age you were when these experiences started happening with Tommy???…I noticed you mentioned he was older and in high school, so you must have been pretty young (although school ages are different over here in England to America, so I may be over judging).

If it’s not too personal … did you ever recognise Tommy as being someone you have encountered in your present life???

Kelly

I was 13 yrs. I finally remembered, (after I had the breakthrough in my memories) and was in junior high school. You also ask if I ever recognized Tommy as being someone I encountered in my present life -- This gets a little complicated for me to explain, but the answer is no. I was searching through my memories, trying to find Tommy, (who I believed was my soulmate for a time) but, since I didn't know that my memories of Tommy were from a past life, I was looking for him in my present life...When my painful PL memories first began surfacing, they seemed so recent and my wounds felt so raw, that I believed the memories were from my current childhood...I felt driven to search way back in my childhood memories to find out when the painful experiences had happened to me.

My current childhood memories were clear and connected enough, from the age of 7 1/2 on up, so I knew my experiences with Tommy and the boys couldn't have happened from that age on up. For this reason, I believed (in the confused state of mind I was in) that my painful experiences with Tommy and the boys must have happened to me when I was 7 yrs. old or younger. ( as ridiculous as this now sounds to me).

When the painful memories first began to surface, I was living with my first husband and I was in my own little world quite a bit of the time. I was able to go through the motions of caring for my 2 young children, but I really wasn't there mentally, even for my children.

You asked if I ever confided in my older brother. (I don't have an older brother, my brother is younger than me) -- When my mental pain and confusion became so great that I couldn't bare to keep it locked inside of me any longer, so I confided in my mother about my painful memories of abuse by Tommy and the boys... When I told my mother of the many painful experiences I had been remembering, and told her these things had happened to me when I was very young, she was shocked beyond belief. My mother kept saying she couldn't understand how I could possibly have suffered all the abuse I kept telling her about, (by boys who were so much older than me) without her ever knowing about it...My mother eventually told my father and brother about my painful memories, (even though I had asked her not to) but I never felt comfortable discussing any of my memories about the boys and the abuse with them...No one in my family ever really gave me emotional support through my years of mental hell. I know this was because they didn't understand what I was going through, or and how to deal with it. I believe my folks were ashamed of me.

 

[Lily]

Continuing with my Memories of New York

I'll continue on with my story about my PL memories of the 1930s in NY:

After I finally broke away from Tommy, I was very lonely and depressed. I had no friends my age, because the friends I once had would have nothing to do with me, because of my bad reputation. I would spend most of my time daydreaming about Tommy, only in my day-dreams Tommy would take me away with him and there would just be the two of us.

My memories skip then to a time when I met Tommy again at a familiar place. I was sooo happy just to see him and have him talk to me. I remember Tommy telling me that he had just joined a real gang and he was bragging about being in the gang. He told me that since I was now 14yrs. old, that I was old enough to join the gang too...I told Tommy that I was too afraid to join the gang because of the tough kids in the gang, but he told me they weren't that tough once you got to know them...As fightened as I was of the prospect of joining the gang, I saw it as an opportunity to be close to Tommy once again, and the terrible longing I had to be with Tommy again, won out (unfortunately).

I have a vivid memory of being told by Tommy that before I could join the gang, I had to prove myself by stealing something. At first I told him that I couldn't do this, but he said he would help me. Tommy said that there was a jackknife he had been wanting at the knife shop. He told me that he would distract the store owner while I swiped the knife...I remember how frightened I was as I walked into the knife shop with Tommy. And how terrified I felt as I slid the glass open and then grabbed the knife... After this I remember that we both ran out of the knife shop and soon the store owner came chasing after us, but we got away.

The initiation into the gang was especially terrible and it caused me a lot of pain when these memories surfaced...I remember that all the gang members had nicknames and I can distinctly remember a few of these gang nicknames..One was, "Tub-a-lard," Tommy was, "skinny-as-a-toothpick,"and one of the girls had the nickname, "Virgin."

I remember that there was a gang car and it was very old, even for that time period. I remember riding while standing on the running-board of this old car and it would keep stalling and would have to be cranked up again.

I can remember that the boys in the gang would leave in a group at times carrying a pillow case, and they would go out to steal things.. While the boys were gone we girls would sit together in a circle with both our fingers crossed and our arms crossed for good luck, until the boys returned with the stolen items.

I hated being in the gang, all the girls were used and abused by the boys. Also, once I joined the gang, Tommy ignored me which really broke my heart (or what was left of it)...I wanted desperately to get out of the gang, but I was too afraid, because once you knew the gang secrets, you weren't suppose to leave the gang.

My memories skip then to a time when my brother Johnny (who was about 11yrs. old then) kept trying to get me to play a game with him... I was very disturbed and depressed I remember and about all I ever did (while at home) was sit and daydream about Tommy,(trying to escape from my intensely painful emotions)...Johnny finally asked me what was wrong. I didn't want to tell him at first, but after I made him swear that he would never tell anyone, I blurted out the whole story about the gang the boys and all the abuse I had suffered, because I my love for Tommy... Johnny knew who Tommy was and he knew that I had hung out with Tommy and his friends at one time, but he had never known about the abuse. Johnny already didn't like Tommy, but after I told him the whole story, he told me he hated Tommy. I worried after that, that Johnny would tell our mother.

Johnny told me he would try to help me get out of the gang and we eventually came up with a story... I told the gang members that my mother needed me to stay home and take care of my baby brother (Johnny had told me that he would back up my story if anyone ever asked him). To my great relief the story worked and I was given permission to leave the gang, but I was warned never to tell anyone about the gang.

 

[Lily]

Nicknames

There's something I need to add to the above post. When I was telling about the gang nicknames, I forgot one of the names, it was, "bag-a bones."-- I believe, skinny-as-a-toothpick was the first nickname Tommy had, but it was replaced by, bag-a bones.

 

[Lily]

The breakthrough in my memories

The breakthrough in my memories took place soon after I was able to face some of my most traumatc memories...After my memory breakthrough, I knew that my painful memories were from my prior life, when I was a young teenaged girl named Colleen...Even though I was able to remember my name and the names of two of my siblings (after my memory breakthrough),I wasn't able to remember my last name, until over a year after that. (I was eventually able to recall two sur names, but I remembered these names only after pushing myself very hard to remember them, and I've never been as certain of these last names as I was of the first names, which came to me spontaneously).

I remembered that I lived in a yellow house and that we didn't have much money, but we were able to get by...I could see pictures in my mind of most of my (former) family members and also some friends and aquaintances from my PL...I tried to remember what my mother's name was and the name Wilma finally came to me, but I wasn't certain. I could remember the names of some friends and aquaintances, (but mainly just their first names)...Based on my memories of car models and styles of dress,etc., I was fairly certain that the time period was the mid to late 1930s...I didn't remember how I had died until about a year after my memory breakthrough.

My memory of the creek brought on a cold, sad feeling in me at times,and I began to feel that the creek was in some way connected to my death. I wondered at first if I had tried to take my own life, but I also had a strong feeling that I had fallen to my death.

Shortly before I had the memory breakthrough,I had a series of falling dreams (nightmares)that were very similar to the reoccuring nightmares I had,experienced as a young child...One nightmare began as most of my nightmares,-- I dreamed I was climbing a tall pole, but then suddenly (in this dream) the pole became the branch of a tree. I then heard a cracking sound and realized it was the sound of the branch breaking from the tree. I became terrified and I clung very tightly to the branch as it broke from the tree. I then experienced the usual falling sensation and I woke up with my heart pounding loudly. This nightmare seemed especially real to me I remember.

I finally had a series of flashbacks that I had to piece together, and when I had put enough of these pieces of memory together I was able to remember fill in the gaps... I remembered that when I was about 15 yrs. old, and in my first year of high school, I was in the habit of going off by myself in the creek area where I would sit and daydream for long periods of time (I was very mentally disturbed by this time)...I remembered that one day I had walked far into the creek area to where there were many tall trees. I climbed up high in one of the trees and slid out on a branch that overlooked the water. The part of the branch I was sitting on felt uncomfortable, so I slid further out on the branch, but it was too far...I heard a cracking sound then, and realized it was the sound of the branch breaking from the tree. I clung very tightly to the branch, feeling terrified, (just like in my nightmare) as the branch broke from the tree...As I fell, it seemed like I was falling in slow motion and I could see some large jagged rocks near the water below...

My next memory was of waking up under water and feeling pain in my lungs from the water I had breathed in. Immediately after that, I felt a terrible, deep penetrating, stinging pain in my head.--I knew that my head had hit one of the rocks as I had gone into the water and that I had been knocked unconscious until I breathed the water into my lungs. In my terrible pain and panic, I struggled to get to the surface of the water. I finally managed to get to the surface, but by then I had breathed in too much water to be able to keep my head above the surface for long, as a result, I drowned.

 

[Lily]

Continuing my story

Close to the time I had the AD flashbacks, I had some vivid memories come to me of my earlier childhood in this same past life.

Before relating these memories, I should memtion that I had, had a number of very vivid flashbacks of riding on trains for years --Long before my memory breakthrough, (before I realized that my "extra" memories were memories from my prior life.)--For example,I had asked once my father (in my present life)if he remembered the time we were traveling by train and I choked on a prune seed. My father looked puzzled and told me that I had never been on a train and that I must have been remembering riding on the streetcar...I told my father that I distinctly remembered being with him on a train when I was quite young (around 4 yrs. old) and that I was choking on a prune seed, and that he had to stick his fingers down my throat and grab the prune seed so I could breathe--This was a very traumatic experience for me, and I found it strange that my father had no memory of this incident. Also I was sure that my memory was of riding on a train, and not the streetcar. (This was only one of many puzzling memories I had of riding on trains when I was young.)

When my early childhood PL memories began to surface in more detail and really connect, the memories about trains finally made sense.--My earliest PL memories were of riding on trains I realized. I had the impression that I took train trips often with an aunt or a grandmother. I have *vivid* memories of becoming very frightened whenever the train would go through long tunnels, because everything would become pitch black for a long time and I would feel claustrophobic. My aunt? would have to hold my hand and try and calm me down by telling me that we would be coming out of the tunnel soon. I also remember being afraid when we went up into the mountains, because the train would go very fast and I was afraid it would go off the tracks...I also had a flashback of riding on the train all by myself for the first, I believe I was going to visit my grandmother. I had a vivid flashback of my mother putting me on the train with a note and giving me a lot of instructions. Then she handed me a nickle and told me to hold on to it. She said if I forgot where I lived to look at the Buffalo on the nickle and it would help me to remember, "Buffalo." (Because of this vivid flashback, I believe it's very possible that I spent my early childhood in Buffalo, NY, and I may have even been born there.

I remember that when I was about 5 years old my life changed very suddenly. I seem to remember that my father was killed in some kind of accident while he was away from home. I had the impression that my father was away from home often because of his job. I connect my father to trains and the railroad for some reason and I believe his job may have been working on trains.-- (If this is true, then it would explain why I have so memories of riding on trains when I was young)...I have flashbacks of seeing my mother cry and not quite understnding why. Soon after this my mother, my brother Johnny and I had to move far away to a large city where the busy atmosphere and the people seemed strange to me. By this time I believe I knew that my father had died and that I would never see him again.

I have vivid memories of moving into a large red-brick tenement building where we had to share a small apartmemnt with a woman we had just met. My mother had to go to work right away I remember, and she had to work long hours. My brother and I were left with the woman we shared the apartment with... It was very difficult for me to adjust to both the sudden move, and having my mother go to work and leave me with an unfamiliar woman and I remember it left me feeling frightened and insecure.

I have some very distinct memories of the apartment building (tenements) where we lived...There were many sets of steel stairs (outdoors) that led up to each of the apartments, and they zigzagged back and forth. There was a tiny steel porch in front of each apartment, and there was a white twist-type mop and bucket on each of the porches. I believe we lived on the 3rd floor and I have a flashback of my mother hanging the laundry on a clothesline just outside the window. I remember looking out the window and seeing clotheslines everywhere with peoples laundry hanging on them... I have a flashback of going up on top of a black, tarred rooftop to play with other children who lived in the apartments...(Later while researching my PL memories at the library, I found that the old red-brick tenements in Brooklyn looked very much like the apartments I remember, from my vivid flashbacks.)

From several flashbacks I had to piece together, I believe that during the time we lived in the tenements, my mother became friends with an older widowed woman who lived in the apartment next to ours. I believe this neighbor friend of my mother's introduced my mother to her son, and this is how my mother met my stepfather...I seem to remember that after my mother married my stepfather, we moved away from the tenements.

This post and discussion is continued in the thread Memories of The 1930s NY

 

[MiniWinkz]

New York Lifetime Update

I know it's been a long time...I attempted to validate some of my PL memories at the Bronx Board (this was over a year ago).-- I was hopeful that I could find the info I needed to help me validate that my memories of the area really fit the Bronx (as it was during the 1930s)...I came a little closer I believe, but it was difficult for me to ask questions without letting on why...Most of the B Board members are older Bronxites, but I don't think many go back as far as the mid to late 1930s, or they were too young to remember....I did get a few interesting validations of my memories, and a few disappointments

When I asked the Bronx old timers, if anyone remembered a teenaged girl who drown in a creek or river, there were no replies...When I asked if anyone remembered a latin looking man who had no legs who sold newspapers at a busy intersection, I received a "yes" reply, and the Bronx oldtimer verified that the description I gave, fit the man he remembered, and that this man sold newspapers in the S Bronx...Another question I asked was, if anyone remembered a knife shop where kids could buy pocket knives. (I don't know if you'll remember, but one of my vivid PL memories was about helping my boyfriend steal a (pushbotton) jackknife from a local knife shop. I also remembered that we kids all had pocket knives.--From the replies I received, I found that the boys of that time period and area carried pocket knives, and one man told how he treasured his push-button knife....When I asked if anyone remembered a tall red-brick school building that had a slide from the top floor down, used as a fire escape, several people replied that they remembered or attended school in a red-brick school building, but most did not remember a slide (fire escape).-- Then one man said that he had seen a red-brick school building (I think he said he had walked by it when he was young) and that he did remember such a slide.

 

[MiniWinkz]

Further Update On My PL Research

I found a helpful site called, "Ask Librarians Online" (which is connected to the main NY public library site) and what I really like about this site is that you don't need to live in NY or have a NYC library card use it,-- the web address is, and I would recommend it to anyone researching PL memories of NY...They also have a live "chat with a librarian" site, but I have been using the site where they email you back later.--I believe they spend more time researching your questions that way.

For those following my story, I'm copying and pasting a couple of my research questions and answers (below), including a few of the web sites they sent me, in case any of them prove helpful to someone else,-- (it also shows how thorough they are)...When asking certain questions I have to fib a little, so that the librarians will think I'm researching my grandmother's memories (for example),--I don't think they would take my questions as seriously, if I told them that I was researching past life memories

Question History:

Patron: I would like to know if Courtlandt Ave.
(in the South Bronx) goes up hill (at some point). I am trying to locate a certain area, (possibly in the S Bronx) where my grandmother once lived during the mid to late 1930s.-- My grandmother use to mention walking up the hill on Courtlandt to see the pretty houses there and as I remember she said the houses were Dutch houses that were very colorful...If this description sounds like it could have been Courtlandt Ave. (in the Bronx) I would very much like to know the approximate address or intersection where these houses were.

Librarian 1: From the Web site, Bronx Blotter, 40th Precinct, Courtlandt Avenue, 2003.

"Courtlandt Avenue in history:
This name appears as early as 1850 when Andrew Findlay surveyed North Melrose. Courtlandt is apparently an anglicized version of Major Stephenus Van Courtlandt who signed his name "S:V:Cortlandt", at times adding the "u". He witnessed documents dated 1686 and 1687 signed by Governor Dongan (whose name was originally affixed to E. 163rd St.). When the Village of Melrose and the Village of Melrose South came into being in 1850, this avenue on the crest of the hill was lined with small homes. It gained the nickname of "Dutch Broadway" due to its German beer gardens, Turnvereins and Teutonic population. East 151st Street had a gymnasium and social hall that was frequented by Gen. Franz Sigel. The Haffen house was at E. 152nd Street, the Arion Singing Society had its HQ on E. 154th Street, and the First Lutheran Church was organized at E. 156th Street."

Sites of Interest and for possible further information:

THE BRONX MALL Cultural Mosaic - Bill Twomey's Courtlandt Avenue


Patron: NYC History

I would like to have any information available about the man with no legs who sold newspapers at a certain busy intersection in the S Bronx during the mid to late 1930s... This man road on a wooden coaster, and would use his hands to propel himself back and forth across the street.--I believe the intersection where he sold his papers was near Prospect Ave. (but I'm not certain).

I would like to know the exact location where this man sold his newspapers, and the time period he sold them.-- I believe he owned his own newspaper or newsstand business at one time. Also I would like to know if there were any newspaper articles written about this man (as he was certainly a well known figure in the area at one time)--And, if there are any photographs of him available, I would very much like to obtain copies if possible.

Librarian 1: Unfortunately it would be nearly impossible to identify a particular newsstand or licensee from the information that you have. The 1930s for newsstands, according to article headlines from the New York Times, was a period of great Tammany graft in the Licensing Department in New York City. It was called the "Newstand Racket". Newsstands were leased on city property and licenses were to go to the crippled, the blind and the disabled with preferences to disabled veterans first. Licenses cost as much as $7000.

If an article was written about your particular newsstand in one of the many newspapers of that time period, you would have to sift through the microfilm of these papers.

Sites that may help you with further asisstance:

This site is for all New York City official records: NYC Department of Records - City Hall Library