Keensburg in my early years

Who remembers the bungalows and boarding houses on belleview ave? 1 lady owned one and had a son named tom who played the piano, i watched the other kids play stickball in the street then, then ran and played with the other kids, down the street, one or two i remember, paul and his sister way down the street from the beach ave.....lots of fun....then went over to the next street by the atlantic and played with some kids there, we all played baseball on that corner lot near the amusements along by the beach, i don't think they ever built anything there on it, we bought tops and played with those, then went to the movies, seen jason and the argonauts or something there, topkapi and casino royale thru the years there also, the best place i knew of for meatballs and sausage sandwiches then was at the pavilion, susan served them to me, one day i went there and she asked me if i'd like tio try a meatball hero, i said sure, loved them ever since, she married the guy down the boardwalk who ran the shoot the star out with that rapid firing ball bearing machine gun, they had a baby and sat there at that amusement feeding their girl, coulda used one of them ball bearing thing's shooting at the fish by the marina.....

The bar and restaurant across the street from the kiddie rides had good food, i think they had pizza there also, i know they served pizza right on carr across from the boardwalk, I was hoping american bandstand, shindig or hullabaloo would come to keansburg and film there since it was the In-Place to be then, play "be seen" liked hearing petula clark, sam the sham, bobby darin, nancy sinatra, early early rolling stones and all the others on the boardwalk speakers the businesses and amusements had up, kiddie rides was fun with the little boats with their bell, the train ride, the mini carousel ride and i think the animal ride and teacup rides were there also, it was great, we played box ball, skelsies, hit the stick, tag and all the other games running and playing in our day's in the sun....gee, i miss those day's, too bad i never got a chance to take my son there, we lived far away from keansburg when he was young, oh well, where there's a heaven there will be those days waiting for us again....thank you God for giving us those day's then, God bless all +

The helicopter, spaceship and junior roller coaster were good also, i remember being 3 or 4 and crying while i was already in the coaster car, my aunts couldn't get me to stop crying for nothing, we got off the ride i stopped, funny thing I didn't start to cry when getting on, that was 1958 what a year, remember the gypsy fortune teller's, i don't think they got much business, the mayor kept an eye on them when he came around the boardwalk, then the gypsy fortune telling machine, miss zoltrad or something like that, the copper machine where you put a penny in and turned the dial to letters and numbers and out it came with your name or whatever you squeezed onto it, the penny arcade was fun with their baseball pinball machine, skeet ball, get your tickets and go collect your prize's, the shoot the water into the clowns mouth was fun, won a few fish there at that game, didn't they have crazy go carts then? Warm summer night's with family and friend's super fun.

The junior rides were fun, the helicopter ride, space ship ride and the roller coaster, i cried on that ride way back in 1958, 2 of my aunts took me on the ride, seems i just wanted to cry, we got off and never went back on it until a couple of years later, i liked the boat rides in kiddieland with its bell, the mini train with its whistle and bell, the mini merry go round and the teacups and animal's ride then the cotton candy wow, in heaven theres those days in the sun waiting for us again.....then we stopped going in 1968, 1969 came around and we took a bus trip from the port authority there but it wasn't the same, crowded as heck, loud rock and roll from the speakers, if they turned it down it would have been okay, looked like alot of hippies enjoying the last of the 1960's there, amusement games where you won mirrors with saying's and rock group pictures of the doors and others on, it sure changed, i didn't go back until 1974 or so, too bad, i might have been missing on good times then because i judged and talked myself out of going there for the time being....a few families we knew then moved to keansburg, good move, spent alot of good times there at backyard barbecues and going in the pool....

Now I remember the pizzeria and hero stand right on Carr ave next to the carr skilo entrance, great buy....goldfish in colored water, 3 foot balloons, walking the beach and looking for shells was fun....putting them in a pail to take home....

I could go for some of that corn on the cob, pretzels with mustard, ice cream cone, popcorn, salt water taffy, knishes with mustard, cotton candy washed down with birch beer for this mother's day, strolling along the boardwalk in memory lane, take out those lazy--hazy days of summer friend's.....Happy Mother's Day to All.....

Lou wrote:

Who remembers the bungalows and boarding houses on belleview ave? 1 lady owned one and had a son named tom who played the piano, i watched the other kids play stickball in the street then, then ran and played with the other kids, down the street, one or two i remember, paul and his sister way down the street from the beach ave.....lots of fun....then went over to the next street by the atlantic and played with some kids there, we all played baseball on that corner lot near the amusements along by the beach, i don't think they ever built anything there on it, we bought tops and played with those, then went to the movies, seen jason and the argonauts or something there, topkapi and casino royale thru the years there also, the best place i knew of for meatballs and sausage sandwiches then was at the pavilion, susan served them to me, one day i went there and she asked me if i'd like tio try a meatball hero, i said sure, loved them ever since, she married the guy down the boardwalk who ran the shoot the star out with that rapid firing ball bearing machine gun, they had a baby and sat there at that amusement feeding their girl, coulda used one of them ball bearing thing's shooting at the fish by the marina.....

I was just trying to remember the street where we rented a bungalow every summer in the 50's and 60's.....We rented every year from a woman named "Millie" Ring a bell anyone?

Played some good games of chance at The Walk In Boys stands........

The Walk in boys amusement games of chance were good, we thought we could get it to land on our number if we pressed the metal button on top of the numbers, only 1 time I won that way, anyone remember the 52 games in one set game, really cool, that was back in '62....those were fun year's......

those amusement on carr were the Walk in Boys stands, joe reno and the wagon wheel were there in the 50's and 60's, i heard the wagon wheel and another bar near laurel ave went and became gay bars, too bad they were good places before that...

Deb wrote:

<quoted text>
I was just trying to remember the street where we rented a bungalow every summer in the 50's and 60's.....We rented every year from a woman named "Millie" Ring a bell anyone?

Yes we did as I recall it was on bellview ave 2 flights and above her old green screen door was a bell with string, I remember that because I looked up , tried to reach way up ther, but couldn't and wished I could reach it, we rented on the second floorand ate our meals on the veranda there with the table and chairs, could see the beach from there since it was close, we also rented across the street and down a bit where the street took a slightly sharp turn and there was a motel there, that was fun times......there was also a bell hanging over the door at that one, a slightly larger bell like it belonged on a ship......nice to reminisce with you, God bless +

Lou wrote:

Who remembers the bungalows and boarding houses on belleview ave? 1 lady owned one and had a son named tom who played the piano, i watched the other kids play stickball in the street then, then ran and played with the other kids, down the street, one or two i remember, paul and his sister way down the street from the beach ave.....lots of fun....then went over to the next street by the atlantic and played with some kids there, we all played baseball on that corner lot near the amusements along by the beach, i don't think they ever built anything there on it, we bought tops and played with those, then went to the movies, seen jason and the argonauts or something there, topkapi and casino royale thru the years there also, the best place i knew of for meatballs and sausage sandwiches then was at the pavilion, susan served them to me, one day i went there and she asked me if i'd like tio try a meatball hero, i said sure, loved them ever since, she married the guy down the boardwalk who ran the shoot the star out with that rapid firing ball bearing machine gun, they had a baby and sat there at that amusement feeding their girl, coulda used one of them ball bearing thing's shooting at the fish by the marina.....

we used to stay in bungalows owned by a very large woman named "millie" but I believe we were on seabreeze way.....unless she also owned property on bellevue. I used to play with her grandson, a blond kid and for some reason tom sounds familiar....unless it's just wishful thinking!!!

Lou wrote:

<quoted text>
Yes we did as I recall it was on bellview ave 2 flights and above her old green screen door was a bell with string, I remember that because I looked up , tried to reach way up ther, but couldn't and wished I could reach it, we rented on the second floorand ate our meals on the veranda there with the table and chairs, could see the beach from there since it was close, we also rented across the street and down a bit where the street took a slightly sharp turn and there was a motel there, that was fun times......there was also a bell hanging over the door at that one, a slightly larger bell like it belonged on a ship......nice to reminisce with you, God bless +

do you remember her having a high pitched voice? I love reading the posts on this forum....one day I'm going to sit down and write everything I remeber. Hopefully I'll be able to remember as much as you! We went during the 50's and 60's, you?

I remember 1 lady with a sort of high pitched voice, kind of teeth that grew together, wore glasses and she was thin with a short skinny husband, i think they lived by the family with all those kids, one of their brothers was named bartholemue, I called him bart that was around 1965, we stayed for our two weeks in keansburg during the same time as you and your's mid 50's to summer of 1967, then we stopped going there....by all means write a book, get some postcards of keansburg on ebay, I bought 2 postcards there, 1 is the keansburg boat and pier with the train tracks on it, 2. is the small train that used to take passangers back and forth from the pier to the boat, old tom who owned the pavillion bar owned the trains and boat, he lost the trains during the hurricane in 1960, do you remember dinah west, i met her we were both 10 in 1965 and hit it off well, she took me on the rides, her parents and aunt and uncles owned the helicopter kiddie rid, the whip, the spook house and the bumper cars, we had a great time running and playing and listening to the new rock and roll songs of that time while we ate at a rerstaurant next door to the old belvedere movie theatre.....

Lou wrote:

I remember 1 lady with a sort of high pitched voice, kind of teeth that grew together, wore glasses and she was thin with a short skinny husband, i think they lived by the family with all those kids, one of their brothers was named bartholemue, I called him bart that was around 1965, we stayed for our two weeks in keansburg during the same time as you and your's mid 50's to summer of 1967, then we stopped going there....by all means write a book, get some postcards of keansburg on ebay, I bought 2 postcards there, 1 is the keansburg boat and pier with the train tracks on it, 2. is the small train that used to take passangers back and forth from the pier to the boat, old tom who owned the pavillion bar owned the trains and boat, he lost the trains during the hurricane in 1960, do you remember dinah west, i met her we were both 10 in 1965 and hit it off well, she took me on the rides, her parents and aunt and uncles owned the helicopter kiddie rid, the whip, the spook house and the bumper cars, we had a great time running and playing and listening to the new rock and roll songs of that time while we ate at a rerstaurant next door to the old belvedere movie theatre.....

we rented from different people then, because Millie was definitely a "large" not thin woman. We vacationed at the same time, so you never know....maybe we were on the kids train, boats, rocket ships and "spooky" house (as we called it) at the same time! Funny you should mention postcards because yesterday I purchased one of a few kiddie rides. Now I have a bug to take a ride down there...

was the bungalo down the street from the atlantic hotel and restaurant? There were many bungalows there, we rented on in '65 out in east keansburg past saint annes church, then in to east keansburg......have fun....oh she probably played skilo at tke skilo parlor on the boardwalk, my moms aunt played there all the time we were in keansburg, tickets for prizes......

lou wrote:

was the bungalo down the street from the atlantic hotel and restaurant? There were many bungalows there, we rented on in '65 out in east keansburg past saint annes church, then in to east keansburg......have fun....oh she probably played skilo at tke skilo parlor on the boardwalk, my moms aunt played there all the time we were in keansburg, tickets for prizes......

The street where the bungalows were, were just across the street from the Wagon Wheel....check out google maps for seabreeze and you'll see it. My grandparents were from Scotland, and my grandfather liked a good beer...at that time they were 10 cents a draft....she gave him $1.00 a day and he was happy....So you see, staying in those bungalows was very convenient for him! He was the best...we didn't have much money, so to make sure my brother and I had our vacation every year, he would borrow from the "money store" and take all year to pay it back. He did this many years for us. He and/or my grandmother got up every morning and walked down to the bakery to get rolls and jelly doughnuts. All week we begged him to go in the "spooky house" as we called it, and by the end of the week we wore him down, when he came with us it was the best. Of course this just scratches the surface of my memory, but as you know we could spend all day sharing....

Lou wrote:

The junior rides were fun, the helicopter ride, space ship ride and the roller coaster, i cried on that ride way back in 1958, 2 of my aunts took me on the ride, seems i just wanted to cry, we got off and never went back on it until a couple of years later, i liked the boat rides in kiddieland with its bell, the mini train with its whistle and bell, the mini merry go round and the teacups and animal's ride then the cotton candy wow, in heaven theres those days in the sun waiting for us again.....then we stopped going in 1968, 1969 came around and we took a bus trip from the port authority there but it wasn't the same, crowded as heck, loud rock and roll from the speakers, if they turned it down it would have been okay, looked like alot of hippies enjoying the last of the 1960's there, amusement games where you won mirrors with saying's and rock group pictures of the doors and others on, it sure changed, i didn't go back until 1974 or so, too bad, i might have been missing on good times then because i judged and talked myself out of going there for the time being....a few families we knew then moved to keansburg, good move, spent alot of good times there at backyard barbecues and going in the pool....

I loved those rides....I have pics of my 2 sons riding those as well...warms my heart to think they may have been sitting in the very same car, spaceship or train car I did as a child.

I'm sure I seen him and I'm sure my grandparents knew him, they both were from scotland also and they went to keansburg every summer also as we did, and their favorite bar was the wagon wheel, I seen those bungalows and seen a short a little round man from scotland walking across the street to go back to those same bungalows, no kidding, they also went to the center bar where ray bartended, but their home away from home was the wagon wheel, wow this is amazing, great recall when you mentioned who he is and where the bungalows are or were, I was young but always attentive....yeah it is nice that your sons were on the same rides, did they still have the tiny train and the water ride biats that went round and round, i liked them, i remember coupon tuesday 5 dollars all day rides, that was great also the tea cups and the fire truck rides where you rang the bell on the front of the ride just like the little boats....my son has never been there, too bad, now we are in calif and hes over 18, maybe one day we'll go back and see the place again......I remember that bakery down the stree from the wagon wheel same side, freshly baked, I see it in thoughts like it was just yesterday i was 8 and going to that bakery, thank you, take care....

Deb, did you know the mcewan, malloy, spadaforo families? The mcewans were my grandparents, and my uncle butchie and tommy went to the wagon wheel and waited for their parents to finish drinking so they could walk them back to where they were staying, I remember the singer at the wagon wheel, great voice, then another scotch family with 2 kids a boy with red hair and a girl, we met up at the pavilion bar, the owner of that one Tom was scotch and had a birthday every summer and brought a band to the bar to play those scotch tunes and happy birthday, me and the boy and girl climbed over down to the beach and ran around there and played, we climbed the fence under the boardwalk and he jumped right onto a rat and yelled, his sister just looked at him as I did also, we had fun, I remember the way the coloreds were coralled in the general store picnic area during their bus trips from newark during the riot summers of '65 and '67, two black guys went to the pavillion and stood in the doorway, I looked to see what would happen, then one of the guys walked up to the bar, the bartender told him he didn't want any trouble to start and if he gave him a beer that the other customers would start trouble, we left, the next day we went back and found out sure enough there was a scuffle but no one was hurt, I was 12 then but I should have said something on the 2 guys behalf such as most of the people at the bar were church goers and supposedly loved the Lord, I now regret not saying something, anyway, I had to laugh later on when I was in the navy and went back to keansburg and wanted to have a beer, I walked into the wagon wheel then went down to another bar near my aunt and uncles house on liberty place, I left and told them bout the beer and bar and asked my uncle if he wanted to go there and have a drink and play pool, my cousin rosie and coleen both laughed, then they told me those bars were gay bars, I didn't know, I would have went to another bar had I know that, we all laughed......I was surprised at the big change there was in keansburg in 1969 when we went back for the day, the stands prizes were mostly mirrors with rock groups on them, I didn't go back there until my uncle bought his place in '75 I should have went back there earlier and enjoyed the fun........