In the "NJ Holidays - Christmas" folder at the NPL, I dug up this shot of holiday decorations on Orange Street! I'd put it at 1958 or so. As the decorations used to go up about this time every year, it makes for a good Bodholt's image. Bring back any memories? (Photo courtesy NPL.)
My brother Marty had the job of lighting them every day.
Of course he had me do it for 50 cents. I would walk with
a stick that had a hook on the end of it. Each pole had its
own on/off switch. Use to take about 45 minutes or longer
depending on throwing snowballs at the buses, a short game
of king of the hill, etc.etc. He would turn them off in the
morning. I don't know how he got that job?
Jim, Those were the days. The Christmas lights, the holiday shopping on Orange St. and Broad St., and don't forget Midnight Mass at St. Rose's. The only thing missing from the picture was the snow piled up along the curb, sometimes covering the parking meters. The stores with the Christmas displays and Christmas songs being played at some stores. I miss those days. It's good to be back in touch with classmates and neighbors. It's the next best thing to being there. Happy Holiday's to everyone. See you all at the Christmas Party at Cryan's.
My absolute earliest Christmas shopping memory was one dark evening on Orange Street when I went all by myself to the Rexall Store to buy my mother a bottle of Trushay lotion. She kept a bottle on her dresser along side the other mysterious perfumes and stuff on an oval mirror, and it was nearly empty, so I figured out -all by myself- that a new bottle was a good gift. It was. I have no idea where I got the money. Probably returning 2cent soda bottles at Ratners. If memory serves, and it often doesn't, it cost around 50 cents!
Walking down Orange Street, with the Christmas lights, the stars and bells glowing, and a snow falling was true magic that comes to me still every Christmas.
Ditto on the "Thanks for the memories." Now I'm remembering those awful woolen snow pants we wore, and after playing in the snow all day,how wet and uncomfortable they were. Loved the lights on Orange Street, and all the hustle in the house as my brothers got ready to sing in the choir at St Rose's midnight mass. I just couldn't figure out how Santa, who usually came down a chimney, was going to be able to get into our apartment in the big apt bldg we lived in at 533 W Mkt. St
Wow, this all came back to me. The bell, wreath, and star decorations would be repeated in sequence all up and down Orange Street. Did they go up around Thanksgiving? They weren't very elaborate but they sure signaled the start of the season and the excitement for a lot of us kids in Roseville. Nowadays the "season" starts as early as the retailers can force it on us--right after Halloween?
Thanks again, JC for another "forgotten" memory that Bodholts jogged.
Martha mentioned to me that the store windows on Orange St. used to be decorated during Halloween (as we had done too in Harrison). I wondered if they were also painted/decorated for Christmas too? She believes they were.
Does anyone have a recollection of painted store windows on Orange Street way back when?
Hi Peggie! Do you recall if all the stores were involved or just a few? In Harrison it seemed that every store on the two main crossroads got invloved. The scenes were painted by high school students and there was a competition for best decoration.
I remember that alot of the stores from Bath Gate Place up were painted. That's the area close to where I lived. Don't know who did the painting. Or if they were judged by a committee like other communities. But I do remember when somone stole some of the statues in the Nativity Scene at Washington Park around the corner from me. We used to call that the Old Ladies Park because alot of old ladies and a few old gents would sit on the benches there. The statues that were stolen belonged to St Rose. The church put a notice in the bulletin stating that whoever left their pack of cigarettes in the Nativity scene could pick them up at the Police Station.
Hi Jay, Oh how I remember the burning of the May Shrine in the auditorium. The beautiful "velvet drapes" were set on fire. Tino was something else. He lived around the corner from me an 9Th Street. Sometimes gays and gals that didn't always act in the best ways when they were young, turn out being great adults. I pray that is the case with Tino.
what ever happen to Kenny's brother Kurt. He was a long time ago, a good friend as were all the Jaegers from Myrtle Avenue. I have not seen or heard from the Jaegers since 1964.
The Jaegers had moved to West Orange (I think)
from Newark. We e-mailed one another last year.
Before I marched with the Imperial Lancers, we
would watch the Newark St.Pat's parade near
McGoverns. Our fathers led the parade with the
Fr. Washington VFW Post. They would circle back
and we would await St. Rose's contingent.
The trivia question, only the Jaegers could answer
was: What was the name of the Irish bar our
families would go to after the parade? It was
somewhere near downtown. Had the long shuffleboard
table where we played for hours.
Hi Ken,
I was in your class. It's always good to hear from the old neighbors. I live in Ohio now but my sister is in Kearny so I get back home when I can. This site has been a great way of connecting with people from Roseville
Hello Linda, I remember you well. I never thought I would get a chance to talk to you again. I can not believe the names and people that this website has reunited. It's wonderful.
Hello Jim, you remember Hickies (The bar that is!), our parents favorite watering hole. It was close to St. Patrick's Church. I'll have to ask my mother what street it was on. It had a good shuffleboard.
Hello to all my old friends from St Rose. This is Kenny Jaeger, Class of 65. This is my first visit to this wonderful web site, and WOW, does it ever bring back some great memories. We moved to West Orange in august 1965. I280 took our house at 20 Myrtle Ave. My brother Kirk, class of 64, lives in Nesco, NJ, Atlantic County. I live in Stillwater, NJ, Sussex County. I'm only minutes away from Camp Mohican. My mother still lives in the same house in West Orange, and my father passed way in 1995. I saw the Murphy's around 1980 when Mr & Mrs, Jack and Tim came to visit my parents. I think most of them lived in Las Vegas at the time. Newark was a great place to live because of all of you wonderful people and our great school and Troop 115.
I remember the model white house very well. I delivered the Newark Evening News to Roseville Ave starting at 7th Ave and ending a few blocks past Park Ave. I guess an evening newspaper had it shortcomings.
