Introduction

The Jersey City then website came about because I am very nostalgic concerning the era in which I was born and grew up in.

I then realized that I could create a website through which I could share my memories about not only that era, but the city in which I grew up in. So although this site is specifically for those who were born or lived in Jersey City, it could also appeal to the many who love the era of the '50s and '60s in general.

(Webmaster Joseph Elijah Barrett 'then' and 'now' photos below)

I was born October 23, 1951; Harry S. Truman was president of the United States and John V. Kenny was mayor of Jersey City. The '50s and '60s were the days of the process (or conk) and a capella street corner groups. And let's not forget doo-wop.

Back in 1951 gas cost an average of 19 cents a gallon, an average new car cost $1,500, eggs were 52 cents a dozen, and an average home cost just $9,000.

Popular movies of 1951 include The Day the Earth Stood Still, one of my favorite sci-fi movies, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A Place in the Sun. The I Love Lucy television show was very popular as was the singer, Nat King Cole.

Speaking of television, I have a partial picture of our first television set. It looks to be a 21 inch and it is sitting in our livingroom.

Jersey City gave birth to its share of musical artists. Al DiMeola, a sensational jazz guitarist was born there in 1954. Singers Marilyn McCoo (b. 1943) formerly of the 5th Dimension and Nancy Sinatra (b. 1940), daughter of Frank Sinatra, were born in Jersey City.

The Manhattans formed as a group in Jersey City in 1962. Original members Edward "Sonny" Bivans, Winfred "Blue" Lovett, and Kenny "Wally" Kelly went to Lincoln High School and George "Smitty" Smith and Richard "Ricky" Taylor attended Snyder High School.

A group known as the Jazziacs formed in Jersey City in 1964. They changed their name to Kool & the Flames in 1964. But to avoid confusion with James Brown's Famous Flames, they changed it to Kool & the Gang in 1969. Co-founder Claydes Charles Smith was born in Jersey City in 1948 and Robert "Kool" Bell (b. 1950) attended Lincoln High School.

In today's increasingly complex and troubled society, it is refreshing to have memories of a simpler era. Not that the era I grew up in -- the era of the '50s and early '60s was without problems -- but family life was much more evident allowing society to better cope.

Sometimes I have the mindset that was portrayed in a couple of Twilight Zone episodes in which the main character escaped into a simpler time.

I sometimes retreat into my memories to the simpler life I enjoyed in my childhood. With this website, I am able to take you along with me.

The racial demographics of my childhood neighborhood in Jersey City were mixed -- blacks and whites. As a matter of fact, I think we were among the first black families to move into that community.

From Chester, PA to Jersey City

My father Elder Joseph Elias Barrett (1898 - 1987) was born in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1898. He was called into the ministry as an apostle (an establisher of churches). He eventually wound up in Maryland. There he evangelized and built a church which thrives to this day. He also met and married my mother (the former Gladys Jenkins; b. 1930).

When and under what circumstances he left Maryland is unknown to me. But he landed in Jersey City. I have an agreement in which he leased the space above some stores located at 12-14 Troy Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. This space was to house a church.

The lease was to run one year from July 1, 1949 to June 30, 1950. His address at that time was 66 Summit Avenue, Jersey City. By the time I was born on October 23, 1951, my father had relocated to 45 Harrison Avenue.

Ahhh...to Reminisce!

The photo at upper right is my sister Ruth's class portrait. It was taken at P.S. 12 which is located at the corner of Astor Place and Crescent Avenue. (This school is now known as Julia A. Barnes No. 12 Elementary School).

This photo was taken in the late '50s or very early '60s. The photographers were Bray Studio which were then located at 784 Grand Street. (Ruth is located in the first row from the right, sitting third from the front).

Public School 12 is shown in the top photo as it looked in the 1950s. To its left is my graduation picture taken in 1966. I was 14 years old and about to enter high school (Lincoln).

The Barrett family consisting of myself and nine brothers and sisters were born in Jersey City between the years 1951 and 1961. And as anyone who has lived in Jersey City between the years 1931 and 1979 can tell you, we were all born at the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital (Photo right).

From the oldest to the youngest, my siblings consist of Ruth (b. 1952), James (b. 1953), Paul (b. 1954), Lois (b. 1955), Kenneth (b. 1956), Anna (b. 1957), Denise (b. 1959), Deborah (b. 1960), and Sandra (b. 1961).

Yes, you guessed it. My mother made ten trips to Margaret Hague. The photo of my mother (Gladys McCloud) at right was taken in the early 1950s. Ruthy is sitting in the chair making faces at the camera. I am the one looking on.

My father, Elder Joseph Elias Barrett, pictured below with me, took the pictures in which my mother is featured.

(Many more photos are located here).

Our Neighborhood/Our House

The photo at right was taken in the livingroom of our house located at 45 Harrison Avenue. The livingroom faced Communipaw Avenue. And at the other end, our kitchen faced Harrison Avenue.

Our house was physically attached on both sides. There was no alley separating houses.

Our house was located diagonally across the street from Lincoln High School and a couple of blocks from P.S. 12. When we exited our house, we could see the high school across Harrison Avenue and Crescent Avenue.

A couple of doors down from our house was the Smooth-On company. I remember trucks backing into their loading docks. Further down going towards Monticello Avenue was the police and fire departments.

The photo left was taken on the roof. The house was very old even then and consisted of two floors including a basement.

My father's study was located at ground level facing Harrison Avenue. It had a desk and was full of books. The ground level also housed a storefront which my father converted into a church. The entrance was located on Communipaw Avenue. The church had a small restroom.

Our basement was dark, scary, and full of cobwebs and rats. The house was heated by a coal-burning furnace. The coal chute was in the basement and it had a steel grate in the sidewalk on Communipaw Avenue through which deliveries were made. I regret that I have no pictures of our house from the outside, and it has long since been demolished.

We lived on the second floor which ran from Harrison Avenue to Communipaw Avenue. As I have already mentioned, the boys' bedroom ran off the livingroom; my sisters' bedroom ran off the kitchen which faced Harrison Avenue.

The second floor entrance was to the kitchen. Opposite the entrance, was the door to the roof. My mother would carry wet clothes up there to hang on the clothesline. My parents also took a lot of our pictures up there.

When I was born in 1951, our community was quite different than it later became. There were many more white families living there. As a matter of fact my first friend was white and his name if memory serves me correctly was Martin.

Two white families lived next to our house going down Harrison Avenue towards Crescent Avenue. One was named I believe Chases and there was an older woman named Mrs. Boxer (Part of her house is visible in this photo of Ruthy; top left). The Chases were photographers by profession.

Later, more blacks moved in. Across the street from us lived the Pettifords (50 Harrison Avenue), the Yarbroughs, and the Townsends (48 Harrison Avenue) -- black families.

We had our very own movie theater right around the corner from where we lived. The Monticello Theater was located on Monticello Avenue between Communipaw and Crescent Avenues. However the theater was taboo to us because our father was a holiness preacher and he didn't allow us to go to the movies.

My School Memories

I lived diagonally across the street from Lincoln High School (on Harrison Avenue between Monticello Avenue and Crescent Avenue). As a matter of fact, I could see the high school from the front steps. Public School #12 was located about a block and a half away from Lincoln H.S. going towards Astor Place.

I distinctly remember the cold winter days of PS 12; we had to remain in the school yard until it was time to go inside. Many a day my fingers and toes would be frozen to the point of numbness when we were finally allowed in.

I also remember that I stole a small wooden car from my kindergarten classroom. I don't remember if I ever got caught by my parents.

I remember some of my classmates names from our class photo at right. There was Patricia Cotton, Lafayette Stallings (class comedian), Barton Clark (who would often pick on me later on), Robert McKinley, and Alfred Gibbs who was stricken with polio.

(View this photo full-sized by clicking it).

Robert McKinley was tragically killed shortly afterwards after being hit by a car and a bus. I remember hearing that his mother had sent him to the store on a rainy night. He was first struck by a car which if I remember correctly, broke his arm. He was then run over by a bus which killed him.

I remember my mother taking me to his wake. The casket was open. I recall asking my mother what were those marks on his face. She replied that they were scars.

I only remember the first names of a few of my other classmates such as Linda, Denise, and Stanley.

I am trying to recall my age in this photo. I turned 5 years old in 1956 which is when I was enrolled in kindergarten. I had to repeat the 6th grade because I failed arithmetic. Hard to believe now, right? I graduated PS 12 in 1966 at age 14.

With these facts in place, This photo must have been taken when I was in the second or third grade which would put the year at 1959 or 1960.

I forgot my teacher's name in my class photo, but I remember that she could draw well.

The street that you see in my photo is I think Astor Place. Note the cars. They would be considered antiques now.

We went on a class trip to Washington, DC when I was in the 6th grade. This was in 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. We went by train and were given a snack of cold chicken to eat.

I remember being apprehensive when I was told by my teacher that we were going to learn how to write (as opposed to printing). I think that was the second grade.

I remember a teacher by the name of Mrs. Debus of P.S. 12 who led students gathered in the auditorium in singing popular songs. I particularly remember learning and singing the songs from the movie The Sound of Music.

It was standard for Public School 12 to have class photos taken every year -- at least during the '50s to early to mid '60s. I have only one class picture while my sister Ruthy has two. I thank God that this practice was in place because we have a permanent records of ourselves and fellow classmates, along with our teachers.

Earning a Living

(Photo right: Audubon Avenue, c. 1950s; courtesy Jersey City Free Public Library). Audubon Park is located to the right of this image.

My father held a job as a dental messenger during my formulative years. This job entailed picking up dental work from General Laboratories which employed him and delivering it to various dentists. General Laboratories was located near Journal Square although I cannot recall the name of the street.

When I and my brothers were old enough, he took us along to run up and down the stairs delivering and picking up work while he drove. His salary was $62.00 per week.

My father's areas were not limited to Jersey City. We delivered to dentists in cities such as Bayonne, Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken, West New York, and as far away as Tottenville in Staten Island.

I remember riding along with my father one as he was making pickups and deliveries in Staten Island. I heard on the car radio that Sam Cooke had been killed. That was in December of 1964, just after my 13th birthday.

We would bring our brown bag lunches with us and eat in the car. I remember sometimes he would stop at Audubon Park which is located in the Greenville section of Jersey City.

When I was old enough, my father got me a part time job working for a dental laboratory located on Hudson Boulevard in Journal Square. I remember working summers and after school.

I think that I began working there in 1966 when I was 15 years old. I know that I worked there then because one day the radio station was playing a song by Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66. The DJ then commented something to the effect of what would they call themselves in 1967.

I didn't have any transportation, so I walked to the laboratory and back home. My route would be Monticello Avenue to Bergen Avenue.

My job entailed making pickups and deliveries to dentists throughout Jersey City; my employer would give me the exact bus fare for my deliveries.

My father had a part time job cleaning that laboratory and he took me and my brothers along to help. We were just kids then and I think we did more playing in the hall ways than actual work. I remember we had to clean that laboratory one Christmas morning.

Recreation

(Photo right courtesy of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis)

Life for children was a lot simpler in the '50s and '60s. And this was true for every town and city of that era, not just Jersey City. One thing we didn't do a lot of back then was sitting.

There were no cell phones, smartphones, iPads, 24/7 cable and satellite, computers, video games, or home theaters. When we finally got a phone, it was just one (with a rotary dial) and it was placed in a centralized location.

Technology today keeps children indoors; in Jersey City then, as in every town throughout the United States, we were encouraged (made) to go outside and play.

The '50s and '60s were eras which saw widespread use of hula hoops (invented in 1958), marbles, and Duncan yo-yos. Children in that era were imaginative and inventive. Boys built themselves leg-powered carts out of milk crates, a 2 by 4, and roller skates. Girls loved jumping rope (single and double-Dutch), and playing jacks indoors. (Although jacks was typically a girl's game, I played too with my sisters!)

All of my sisters jumped rope well but I especially remember Neicy being very good at double Dutch.

We also played a lot of games with a small rubber ball which we purchased at our local five-and-ten store. I think there was one on Monticello Avenue although I am not sure.

One game that we all played with a rubber ball was on the sidewalk. The Harrison Avenue sidewalk was separated into two squares side-by-side. As I remember it, four of us would stand in one square and hit the ball with the palms of our hands to each other. The objective was not to miss the ball.

Other games we played with a rubber ball were step ball, punch ball, and stick ball. We would also play giant steps and hide-and-seek. Ahhh...those were the days. I remember playing army with my friend too.

There was another game we boys played which involved screw-on bottle tops. I don't remember what we called the game, but it was played in the street within boxes with I think numbers drawn in them.

We played the game by 'shooting' the bottle caps with our thumbs. I think the objective was to knock an opponent's cap out of their box.

We also raced a lot. I remember racing down the street to see who was the fastest.

Once I learned to ride a bike, we would take trips to the ferry. It was cool there in the dead of summer. The Municipal swimming pool was our go to place in the summer too. My mother would also take us to Westside Park. We would walk down Harrison Avenue to the park entrance on West Side Avenue. I also remember once my mother taking us to Bergen Point on the bus.

I remember going to Lincoln High School after hours to play outside on school property. We would climb over the iron rails to get to the large green lawn areas the high school had.

Our recreational activities weren't just limited to home either. Public School 12 and Lincoln High School, as well as all public schools of the '50s and '60s, had physical education programs. Gym class was as mandatory as was reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Children of the '50s and '60s did other things which may seem strange today. Some included using our imaginations.

Making airplanes out of paper was one of them and very common back then.

I would take an 8-1/2" by 11" sheet of paper and fold it into the shape of a jet. After 'launching' it, the paper plane would float a short distance in the air. We invented ways of getting it to go faster and 'fly' longer. I remember removing a circular piece of cardboard from the top of a bottle of milk and gluing it to the pointed end of the paper plane to give it greater range.