My name is Chris Guarino. My father is Frank Guarino. So how do we fit into the Bodholt's Diner picture. For 25 years my father owned the Saturday night newsstand on the corner of Roseville and 8th.

Saturday was always my nightmare because I knew I had to work this shift with him until at least 12 midnight. My relief came when I was sent to the diner to get the coffee or hot chocolate during those cold winter nights.
I also remember that Bodholt's also had good air conditioning providing relief on those hot city nights during July and August.

Every single customer that came to that corner knew my Father. Every single police officer from the sixth street station was there with a warm hello and also hot coffee on those cold winter nights. What a great neighborhood. Never a hint of violence and we stayed there until 4 am. Customers with smiles on their faces and always polite and never shy about giving us tips.

If you remember at that time there was at least a dozen different Sunday newspapers. Some people had to have them all, some people just needed them for the " numbers". My father knew every single car and what they wanted. As a car approached he would hand me the selection of papers and was never wrong. What a memory. What service. Fast, polite and right. He just enjoyed people. At one time this was his only means of support after the war.

My father stayed at that location long after he really needed it. If fact he said I am not leaving until I have 25 years of service. When his 25 years were completed he never even sold the location. He just gave it back to his brother who was generous enough to set him up at the location in the first place. The corner was still very marketable at the time. I never understood that move but he said it was what made him feel good.

Good stories, nice people and a great neighborhood. Great Bodholt's coffee.

Hi Chris,

My old man used to send us up to your father's stand every Saturday night for the NY Sunday News. I remember a friendly, efficient gentleman there, and the stacks of papers lined up alongside the bank. Thanks for the great memory.

Back then, the Newark Evening News was still in business and The Ledger (at that time The Newark Star-Ledger) was a much smaller operation. Also, the Daily News used to put out a "Night Owl" edition, a throwback to the World War II years when factories ran three shifts. Today you'd be hard-pressed to find even one factory in Newark with anything more than a skeleton crew.
That is a bygone era, when people's main source of news was the print media. The papers began to lose ground with big-time television news. Nowadays with cable and the 'net and the 24-hour news cycle it seems we're in an age of information overload, with so much stuff coming in that there's no time to analyze it all. Then on top of that, we're avalanched with trivial bullshit about the antics of Britney and Lindsay, et al. This as we prepare to enter another spasm of "All O.J., all the time."
The positive side of all this is that people of all economic classes have easier access to all sorts of knowledge. In theory this should enable them to make informed decisions. But then there's the difference between theory and practice. In theory, practice and theory are the same; in practice, theory and practice are miles apart. And so as time marches on, we see that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

A most comprehensive analysis, Marty!

Marty, Well said. My memory of the news-stand was a green wooden enclosure on the corner of Roseville and Orange Sts., just outside of the Wonder Bar. Not outside of the bank. Am I mistaken? Bob

I don't recall an actual wooden stand, just stacks of papers piled in the doorway of the Nat'l Newark and Essex Bank, hawked by a guy who stood out there in all kinds of weather, year 'round. There were green booths at other locations, most notably Broad & Market, and Bloomfield Ave at Broadway.

WOW!!! Marty, i'll have what your drinking :^)

I agree. No Stand other than pile's of newspapers and Bobby the shoeshine Boy's brother shoe stand. at least into mid 60's

Marty,

I am sitting here with the guy from the corner, my father Frank. He thanks you for the kind words about him. You brought a smile to his face.

I kept this e mail for him knowing he would be in my home someday so I could share it with him.

You are correct, the newspapers were only at the bank location. I have the boss with me to confirm.

Regards,

Chris Guarino

I remember a young boy who used to sell papers at the National Newark and Essex Bank on Roseville. We would go there on Saturday night and get the Sunday paper. He'd say "get educated, buy the paper."