Growing up Levittown New York...The Way it Was on Long island
I wondered how to write this post and figured I'd sit down and let it write itself. It's hard to describe my childhood or what it was like to grow up in the famous (or infamous) Town of Levittown, Long Island NY. It was, in a word Magical. And it was sad that none of us really realized we had the "perfect" childhoods.
Maybe I can't describe it....Maybe I can SHOW you!
I can't speak for everyone of course but I have met and reconnected with SO many friends from the "old days." We all agree we never realized just how lucky we were. When my father got out of the service, he wrote to Mr. Levitt himself. The homes only came in two styles, Ranches or Capes. The trees were tiny and Servicemen and their wives were moving out here in droves, mostly from Brooklyn or Queens.
Historic Jones Beach, Wantagh NY
They loved it here. They thought it a perfect place to raise children. My father was a traveling man and didn't want to set down "roots" (my brother was born in San Antonio, TX and my sister was born in Louisiana) but my mother refused to "waste" their money on rent. They bought a ranch home in Wantagh, NY, along the border to Levittown.
The Old Flower Farm, Circa 1961 Wantagh Long Island
Eisenhower Park....Former name is Salisbury Park. Across from the Lake is the Harry Chapin Theatre.
It was the days of stores being closed on Sundays and family getting together for dinner always followed by Poker :) Mostly, they loved to get together at our house. We didn't lock the doors because there was no reason to; our biggest thrills were The Levittown Pools, Carvel, Jolly Rogers/Nunley's and Cherrywood. The Circle M Diner was for Pizza burgers and there was no place like Zorns for chicken.
Jones Beach Concerts--The BEST concert Venue anywhere says any Long Islander :)
Simple Times
My dad would whistle for us (sometimes I swear I can still HEAR it!) and we never knew what treat was in store for us! Putt Putt, Carvel, The Movies or Chinese Food were just a few things we'd get called for. If friends were over, they came along. That's part of what Growing Up Levittown was.
We actually HAD a litte red School House in Levittown new York! My first school...
Hard to read but it's official....The School House is Historic (and so am I : )
My first school is still there, now preserved as an historical sight (ok, I'm old : ) In Junior High I made friends from ALL the elementary schools and had more fun then I'd ever imagined; it stayed that way all through High School at General Douglas Mac Arthur.
Levittown Long Island New York--General Douglas Mc Arthur High School; It looked like a prison back then (sometimes it still does!)
There were no fences put up back then. We didn't want "privacy" we wanted to play with our friends and run from house to house. ALL the mothers would watch us! Sand Hill Park was my childhood park until I got older-then it was Salisbury Park (now called Eisenhower Park).
In Memory of those children who lived, loved and laughed in our Community. Wantagh Long Island New York State Park.
Our Post Office! Thank goodness they preserved it.
And the old train station, now a museum.
I don't remember hearing once about MONEY issues, I just knew that when it was shoe time, my mother would only buy us Buster Browns (because they measured your feet so many different ways : ) Besides, I didn't want to walk around without that cute little dog inside my shoes.
Cherrywood Shopping Center, Wantagh Long Island New York Circa 1961. It had Buster Brown Shoes and Pizza was 15 cents!
No one said a word about Health Care. As a matter of fact, when I came down with Scarlet Fever, the doctor came to ME. I was the only one in my family born on Long Island in a hospital that has since been torn down (I always wonder if that means anything).
We saved our Green Stamps and only shopped at stores that had them. We were a family and we were a community. We all watched out for each other and we all helped each other.
Jones Beach was for picnics and "being VERY careful" by the water and if you're a Long Islander, I don't have to tell you there is no better concert venue then the one at Jones Beach. Period. There were concerts here all the time. At Roosevelt Raceway (which actually HAD been a raceway and then a giant flea market), at Nassau Coliseum (where I saw Led Zepplin in 1973 for a whopping $5.00) and at the Westbury Music Fair (where I just saw Huey Lewis and the News!).
There was no Road Rage, no Home Invasions, no gangs. There was fun, friends and a feeling of safety. Junior High and High School were a time of laughing more then studying, meeting at the "Candy Store" and later at the "Family Lounge." What a perfect time to be a child in such a wonderful community. We truly CARED about each other.
Facebook is covered with Long Island sites and if you read them, I'm not the only one with great memories of a time that doesn't exist anymore. We wouldn't DARE talk back to our parents although we could have anything we wanted---as long as WE bought it!
The name of my post comes from a group on Facebook. There is another group called A Little Bit of Long Island and so many more. I miss it; people have left and life somehow got complicated. But I couldn't have asked for a better childhood and I don't believe I would have had it if it wasn't in Levittown, Long Island.
The OLD St. Francis Church...before it burned down and they rebuilt it.
Pictures are from both Wantagh and Levittown as they bordered each other. It didn't matter because ALL of us ‘Grew up Levittown.'
http://www.LongIslandFengShui.com
*Carole Provenzale is a Certified Feng Shui Consultant serving all of Long Island, New York City, Brooklyn and Queens for Feng Shui/Design Consultations.
Carole - what a great care-free childhood you describe, in all the ways that matter:-) I am in a place somewhat modeled after Livettown now - but I guess people change and the doors here are, indeed, locked most times. Some would say fences make good neighbors - I disagree. I too miss the days and places of no fences, and no locks:-)
Great story so well told and illustrated - thank you for sharing.
Carol, funny, I'm letting my post write itself, too! And it's similar - reminiscing about what a great childhood I had, how safe it was, how simple it was, and no locked doors! I enjoyed reading about your childhood. It was perfect!
Sharon
Hi Carole-What an awesome write-up and beautifully illustrated picture of your childhood. Those were definitely simpler times. Thank you for sharing it with us. :-)
Great memories for me Carole as I grew up next to Salisbury park sailing little boats on the water. Love the photos.
Great walk down mamort lane Carole!
I love Jones Beach Theatre for concerts!
And, even though I lived in Hicksville (right next door to Levittown for those unfamiliar with Long Island geography) I never saw that post office.
Well done my friend!
And thank you!
Carole - your memories are priceless. You descriptions of that time in your life ... truly pictures painted with words. Genuine, heartfelt, living, breathing feelings.
I would love to write a post about growing up in the burbs of Boston, but all my old photos (pre 1970) were lost in a fire. :( And most of what I have now isn't Boston. LOL But that's ok - nobody can take the mental images.
Thanks for sharing a part of you. You're a special lady, for sure.
Inna, I loved my childhood...it was so carefree and easy! This was the perfect contest for me.
Frank & Sharon, Weren't we lucky that we got to grow up in wonderful times...and places? I feel so fortunate.
Pat, They were definitely happy times. And SO carefree!
Gary, I just toured Eisenhower Park---stay tuned but it's probably very different then you remember.
Craig, That will always be my favorite concert venue...watching the water and stars and listening to some great music!
Carol, Write it with words, you always write SO beautifully! I would love to read it and I'm sure many people would as well. We had wonderful times, you need to share them with all of us!
Carole..It is so funny we have a Levittown here in Bucks county,Pa..I guess they build them all over..I saw a documentary about these homes it was pretty amazing..Thanks I enjoyed the story
HELPFULHANNAH
Hannah, I know you do...I do think the same Mr. Levitt built those as well. When I do a search for Levittown I have to remember to choose the state :)
Carole,
What a heart-warming place to grow up in...I loved reading this account of your childhood memories and seeing the pictures....it really was a much simpler time.
Jo
Jo, We had the BEST of times...we were very, very lucky. I haven't met anyone that disagrees with me :)
Wow, sounds like an amazing place to have grown up. The pictures really made it come to life! Thanks for sharing it. :)
Oh Carol Carol - I'm feeling so nostalgic - where did all the years go - how quick the moments pass and then they're all in retrospect. Beautiful memories - thanks so much for sharing! :-)
What beautiful memories you have, Carol. And I love the photos you attached as well. Thank you so much for sharing.
Carol - I love the photos, too! Seeing that parking lot reminds me of visiting my grandmother as a kid. There was a strip center in Corpus that looked almost identical.
Kevin & Monica, It was a very special place during a very special time.
Liz, The years go WAY too quickly. I don't think we ever realized how fortunate we were!
Heather, Thank you for stopping in. I'm feeling nostalgic with this post :)
Jason, It was such a great time and place to grow up....what wonderful memories to have!
It was great to stumble upon your article -- and its all true. I'm Levittown Memorial, class of '60, worked three seasons at Jones Beach Field 9, and lived on Twin Lane South, nearly across from the nursery in your photo. It was Daunheim's Nursery, owned by August Daunheim, "The Poinsettia King". I remember walking down to St. Francis with my friend Mike so he could go to confession. I tried to spot Hefroes in the Cherrywood Shopping Center photo. All the kids loved it because they always had great novelties and things like magic tricks. Do you remember the "luncheonette" at the small King Kullen shopping center? Early one Sunday morning my friend Ronnie and I headed down there while it was still dark to assemble the Sunday papers. Daunheims house, across from Cherrywood was blazing away, and it was so cold that water shot up at the roof by firemen in the back hit us as little chuncks of ice as we stood in front watching.
David, Thanks for more memories! I remember Bohacks and Woolworths and always saving Green Stamps. I also remember the Family Lounge and the "Candy Store" everyone hung out on on North Jerusalem Road.
I DO remember a luncheonette that was open on Sundays on Wantagh Avenue. And you were not far from me, I grew up in the W section.
Today there is a sign on Wantagh Avenue...I'll have to get a picture. It says "Welcome to Levittown -- America's first community" I'll get a shot of it.
Thanks for sharing your memories and I do remember the Nursery and all that precious land they owned!
Carol - It sounds like a wonderful, idyllic childhood. If the homes had been on one acre lots, you wouldn't have had the same kind of interaction or closeness with friends and family. You hear all the negatives about suburbia and conformity, but in so many ways the suburbs at that point in time was a great place for kids. You had freedom and community, friends and family, comfort and excitement. A perfect mix of experiences.
Gail, They just recently put up a sign that says Welcome to Levittown---America's First Community. As children we never realized just how fortunate we were to have things with the idea of a Community in mind such as the Local pools, the Family restaurants, Carvel and "Happy Land." It was really a wonderful childhood I wish I could have re-created for my own children.
Carol- Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I'd seen photos from the old Levittown and Wantagh, but you really brought me back. Your synopsis brought tears to my eyes. I was there with you and I remember our friendship very well. It was fun to go to your house to play and be around your family. I have a vague recollection of the Candy Store. I wonder if anyone has a photo of that? Thanks again. It was all of the above and more. We always had a dog growing up. Our "Champ," used to be in the street and the lawns, playing with the kids. He always knew where to come home to at night- when the lights came on!
Hi Louise! I was so THRILLED to find you on Facebook! It's funny that people don't really believe what a wonderful childhood we had there but it WAS. I have never found ONE person who didn't love growing up there! Dolly used to run The Candy Store where they had the BEST chocolate egg creams anywhere and I loved Jolly Rogers.
My dog was Buff and everyone stopped on their way home to say hello to him :) They just put up a new sign for Levittown (which is in my camera but not yet downloaded). It says "Welcome to Levittown---America's FIRST Community"
Quite an accurate description! Please let me know if you're still on Long Island; I got all the way to Farmingdale :)
Rest in Peace Carole. We will miss you and treasure our memories of you. Thank you for sharing your Long Island memories with us. Thank you for teaching us about Feng Shui.
I grew up in Levittown and now live in Deltona Florida. Seeing these photos made my day. Don't ever remove them. Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
Maureen, It is Laura Cerrano Thank you for your kind words :)
Butch, glad these photos helped you visit the memories of way back when :) they will always be up