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HI, MY NAME IS SPIKE BARKAN, AND THIS IS PART OF AN ONGOING SERIES SPONSORED BY THE HASTINGS HISTORICAL SOCIETY CALLED CONVERSATIONS ON THE HUDSON.TODAY WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING WITH NANCY BALABAN.
WHEN, WHEN DID YOU MOVE TO HASTINGS? IN 1961.
AND WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO HASTINGS? UM, WE, WE WERE LOOKING FOR A HOUSE, AND THE HOUSE WAS IN HASTINGS, SO THAT'S HOW WE GOT HERE.
AND WHAT, WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT THE TIME? WERE YOU WORKING? OH, OH, YES, YES.
SO WHAT WERE YOU DOING? UM, I, I WAS, I WAS A PRESCHOOL TEACHER OF CHILDREN, THREE AND FOUR YEARS OLD, SO I TAUGHT IN A NURSERY SCHOOL IN MARBLE HILL FOR 10 YEARS.
BUT I TAUGHT PART-TIME, WELL, I HAD MY OWN KIDS.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, UM, I WENT TO BANK STREET COLLEGE AND I TAUGHT, UH, COURSES FOR, UH, TEACHERS.
AND WHAT DID YOUR HUSBAND DO? UM, UM, HE WAS, UH, HE, HE WAS A PSYCHOTHERAPIST.
I AND HOW MANY KIDS DID YOU HAVE ALTOGETHER? YOU MEAN? OH, I, I HAVE THREE.
AND DID THEY GO TO THE HASTINGS SCHOOL? THEY ALL WENT TO HASTINGS SCHOOL, YES.
SO WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? IT WAS A REALLY GOOD EDUCATION FOR THEM, AND THEY MADE A LOT OF FRIENDS AND I, I THINK THEY REALLY ENJOYED IT.
AND, UM, TWO OF THEM WENT OFF TO COLLEGE AND ONE STARTED IN COLLEGE.
BUT SHE IS A FREE SPIRIT AND AN ARTIST, SO SHE'S FOLLOWED A DIFFERENT PATH.
AND WHEN, WHEN THEY WERE GOING TO SCHOOL, UH, WERE THEY ACTIVE IN DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES LIKE SPORTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? I GUESS WHAT HITS ME THAT MY SON WAS, UH, BIG IN SPORTS AND VERY ACCOMPLISHED, AND HE WAS A GREAT RUNNER.
UM, UH, I, I DON'T THINK EITHER OF THE OTHERS DID ANYTHING LIKE WHAT HE DID WITH, WITH SPORTS.
SO WHAT WAS HASTINGS LIKE? AND YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT 64 YEARS AGO, RIGHT? I GUESS
WHAT, WHAT WAS HASTINGS LIKE THEN? I, I, I'M LAUGHING BECAUSE IT HAD 16 BARS, AND I REMEMBER THINKING THAT'S A LOT OF BARS FOR A LITTLE PLATE.
I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT STUCK IN MY HEAD, BUT IT DID.
UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S CHANGED ALL THAT MUCH.
IT, IT'S BECOME A LITTLE FANCIER THAN IT WAS THEN.
UM, WAR BURTON AVENUE IS A LITTLE MORE UPSCALE THAN THEN.
THERE WAS A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD, THE CENTER RESTAURANT WAS THERE, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER PLACE WHERE YOU COULD HAVE BREAKFAST.
I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS CALLED.
UM, SO THERE WERE LESS, IT'S BECOME MORE UPSCALE, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE WEREN'T THOSE KINDS OF FANCY SHOPS.
IT WAS A SORT OF LOW KEY PLACE.
AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE POLITICALLY? WELL, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN REALLY ANSWER THAT.
I THINK IT WAS MORE REPUBLICAN THAN IT IS NOW.
IF I'M, BECAUSE WE WERE DEMOCRATS, I THINK.
AND DID YOU, THERE WAS A MOVIE THEATER IN HASTINGS.
DID YOU GO TO THE MOVIES? OH, YES.
AND I HAVE A KIND OF FUNNY STORY.
CAN I TELL YOU ABOUT THE MOVIES? OF COURSE.
SHE WAS SEVEN, AND IT WAS A WOODY ALLEN MOVIE.
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INAPPROPRIATE FOR A 7-YEAR-OLD.AND YOU'LL, I'M GONNA TELL YOU THE STORY BECAUSE WOODY ALLEN COMES ON THE SCREEN WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND, AND, AND JOAN SAYS TO ME, WHAT'S HE DOING? AND I SAY, JUST TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, NANCY, HE'S UNBUTTONING HER BLOUSE.
AND JOAN SAYS, DOESN'T SHE MIND? AND I SAY, NO.
THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS ANSWER YOUR CHILDREN'S QUESTION,
AND THAT, THAT WAS THAT THE LADY IN FRONT OF ME WAS APPALLED SO MUCH FOR THE HASTINGS MOVIES.
SO DID WHAT, WHICH STORES DID YOU FREQUENT WHEN YOU WERE LIVING IN HASTINGS? WHAT, WHICH STORES DID YOU FREQUENT STORES? WHICH SHOPS? UM, THE A AND PI, I PROBABLY DIDN'T DO, UM, MUCH SHOPPING BECAUSE I WAS WORKING AT BANK STREET IN THE CITY AT A HUNDRED AND 12TH STREET.
SO I PROBABLY DID SOME OF MY SHOPPING OR WHATEVER I NEEDED IN THAT AREA.
AND DID YOU, DID YOU U DID YOU GO TO PRIME MEATS WHEN IT WAS TWO DIFFERENT SHOPS? I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WAS A VEGETABLE SECTION, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE, AND THEN THERE WAS THE MEAT SECTION.
BUT BEFORE THAT, UM, WHATEVER HIS NAME IS, CAME AROUND IN A TRUCK, THEY, THEY BROUGHT THE VEGETABLES.
UH, I REMEMBER THE TRUCK COMING UP MY STREET, AND I WOULD GO OUT TO THE TRUCK AND BUY VEGETABLES.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS BETWEEN WHEN THE STORE OPENED AND WHEN HE GAVE UP THE TRUCK.
DID YOU, DID YOU CALL AND ORDER FOR VEGETABLES OR DID HE JUST MAKE THE ROUTE? NO, I REMEMBER GOING OUT TO THE TRUCK AND BUYING WHAT I NEEDED.
UM, IT'S A VERY DI IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO,
AND DID YOU GET YOUR MILK DELIVERED ALSO, OR NOT? YES.
AND I HAD A BIG BOX FOR THE, FOR THE DRIVER TO PUT THE, AS A MATTER OF FACT, OH NO, I WAS GONNA SAY IT USED TO COME WITH A HORSE, BUT THAT'S WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL AND I LIVED IN PHAM AND HE DID COME WITH A HORSE.
HE DID NOT COME WITH A HORSE TO HASTINGS.
SO DID, YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WERE 16 BARS WHEN YOU FIRST MOVED TO HASTINGS.
SO DID YOU GET BECOME ACTIVE IN DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS IN HASTINGS? NOT, NOT IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE I HAD THREE LITTLE KIDS AND I WENT TO WORK.
UM, I WENT TO WORK, SO I, I WENT TO WORK IN THE BEGINNING TWICE A WEEK.
SO AFTER THEY WENT THROUGH SCHOOL, DID YOU THEN GET INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT THINGS IN HASTINGS? I REMEMBER BEING INVOLVED IN THE PTAI, I DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT I DID.
I HAVE A FEELING THAT I WAS A VICE PRESIDENT OR SOMETHING, BUT I, I DON'T REMEMBER.
AND IT COULD, I DON'T REMEMBER HOW LONG IT LASTED BECAUSE I STILL HAD A PART-TIME JOB AND I HAD THREE KIDS, AND YOU CAN DO JUST SO MUCH WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND.
SO DID YOU USE THE LIBRARY? I ALWAYS USE THE LIBRARY, AND I ALWAYS TOOK MY KIDS TO THE LIBRARY.
IN FACT, MY DAUGHTER JOAN HAD A BOOK CALLED THE BLUEBERRY PIE ELF.
WHY DO I REMEMBER THAT? BECAUSE I READ IT ABOUT 20 TIMES A DAY.
AND, UM, I PURPOSELY DIDN'T BUY IT
SO WE MADE A LOT OF TRIPS TO THE LIBRARY TO GET THE BLUEBERRY, PA HEALTH.
SOMETIMES OTHER LITTLE GIRLS HAD THAT BOOK, AND IT WAS NOT ON THE SHELF
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UM, THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THAT BOOK IS JUST ABOUT A YEAR OR TWO AGO, SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE FINALLY BOUGHT IT.SHE'S 61 YEARS OLD, AND SHE DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO BUY THE BOOK.
SO NOW SHE CAN RENT IT HERSELF,
AND DID YOU GO TO ANY RESTAURANTS IN HASTINGS WHEN YOU WERE HERE? YES.
THERE USED TO BE A CHINESE RESTAURANT ON MAIN STREET, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT CAME TO ME AND WE WOULD GO, WE WENT THERE NOW AND THEN TO GO OUT FOR DINNER.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS CALLED? I HAVEN'T AN NO.
AND WERE THERE ANY OTHER RESTAURANTS THAT YOU WOULD GO TO, UH, WHEN THE KIDS WERE LITTLE? NO.
I MEAN, WE WENT, I JUST REMEMBER GOING TO THAT CHINESE RESTAURANT.
AND SO AFTER WHEN YOUR KIDS GOT OLDER, DID YOU, DID YOU THEN GO TO DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS OR, OR NOT IN HASTINGS? WE MUST HAVE, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER REALLY.
WE MUST HAVE, MAYBE WE WENT TO THE CENTER 'CAUSE IT'S BEEN THERE 50 YEARS, SO WE PROBABLY WENT THERE, BUT I DON'T.
AND DID, DID YOUR KIDS GO TO LARRY'S PIZZA PLACE? KING PIZZA? OH YEAH.
I, THEIR, THEIR FATHER TOOK THEM THERE.
SO HAVE, WHAT KIND OF CHANGES IN THE POPULATION HAVE YOU NOTICED IN THE 60 YEARS THAT YOU'VE BEEN IN HASTINGS? UM, WELL I THINK IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S A, A LARGER MIDDLE CLASS THAN THERE WAS BEFORE.
THERE'S A LARGER GROUP OF WOMEN WHO ARE WORKING.
I, I HAD ONE FRIEND, UH, WHO WAS WORKING, SHE DIDN'T LIVE IN HASTINGS.
SHE WAS A SOCIAL WORKER, AND SHE WENT TO WORK PART-TIME.
AND I WAS A TEACHER AND I WENT PART-TIME.
AND WE USED TO CALL EACH OTHER BECAUSE THERE WEREN'T A LOT OF WOMEN WHO WERE WORKING.
UM, SO I THINK NOW, I, I IMAGINE ALL WOMEN, ALL THE WOMEN ARE WORKING.
I DON'T THINK THERE ARE SUCH THINGS AS STAY AT HOME MOTHERS, BUT I, THEY'RE PRO, I DON'T KNOW.
SO DID YOU EVER HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM? HUH? THE THING THAT COMES TO MY MIND WHEN YOU ASK ME THAT IS WHEN MY SON WAS IN SIX OR SEVEN, HE AND A FRIEND WERE THROWING STONES AT, AT THE SCHOOL, BUS TIRES IN THE PLAYGROUND.
AL'S OFFICE FOR THAT NAUGHTY, TERRIBLE THING THAT HE DID.
AND HIS FRIEND, I, I FOUND OUT ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WHEN HE CAME HOME FROM SCHOOL THAT DAY, HE MARCHED IN THE HOUSE AND SLAMMED THE DOOR AND SAID SOMETHING ABOUT DR.
AND I WENT UP TO FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS, AND THAT'S WHAT HE WAS DOING, THROWING STONES AT THE TIRES.
SO I REMEMBER CALLING, OH, DR.
ALQUIST THREATENED TO PADDLE HIM.
ALQUIST AND I SAID, YOU CAN'T PADDLE MY CHILD.
AND HE SAID,
AND I SAID, YOU'RE NOT GONNA PADDLE MY CHILD,
IT WAS A VERY UNPLEASANT THING.
SO ARE THERE OTHER MEMORIES WITH DIFFERENT TEACHERS?
AND THEY, THEY WERE VERY ATTENTIVE.
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MARSH PLANT WAS A SPECIAL TEACHER IN THIRD GRADE THAT A LOT OF FAMILIES WERE VERY FOND OF.AND WHAT, WHAT DID SHE TEACH? SHE, I THINK SHE TAUGHT THIRD GRADE, BUT SHE WAS VERY, SHE, SHE TAUGHT IN, VERY MUCH IN THE TRADITION OF BANK STREET THAT I, I WAS ATTACHED TO.
AND SHE TOOK THE CHILDREN OUTSIDE AND THEY HAD FIELD TRIPS AND UH, SHE WAS VERY MUCH GROUNDED IN THE WORLD AND BROUGHT HER TEACHING THAT WAY.
WERE THERE ANY TEACHERS THAT YOU DIDN'T PARTICULARLY THINK WERE VERY GOOD? UM, NO.
I, I FELT THEY GOT A WONDERFUL EDUCATION HERE AND THEY WERE WELL PREPARED FOR THE TWO WHO WENT TO COLLEGE, WERE WELL PREPARED.
AND MY DAUGHTER, WHO FOLLOWS, HAS A DIFFERENT
UM, SHE STARTED OUT IN AN ART COLLEGE, BUT IT WAS TOO TRADITIONAL FOR THE WAY SHE THOUGHT.
SO I, I KNOW THAT YOU HAD AN AMAZING ANNUAL PARTY, A DESSERT PARTY.
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT WAS AND HOW IT GOT STARTED? THE NEW YEAR'S DAY PARTY?
I DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S, I, I WAS, UM, A GREAT BAKER.
MY MOTHER WAS A GREAT BAKER AND MY AUNT, SO I GREW UP IN A TRADITION OF BAKING VERY WELL.
AND I THINK I STARTED HAVING A NEW YEAR.
I WOULD BAKE 12 CAKES OR, AND OR PIES AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT, AND I THOUGHT I'LL HAVE A NEW YEAR'S DAY PARTY AND THEN I'LL BAKE EVERYTHING I KNOW AND INVITE EVERYBODY.
AND WHO, WHO WAS INVITED TO THAT PARTY? EVERYBODY I KNEW
SO I, I REMEMBER IT AS BEING A VERY, UH, INTERESTING SOCIAL EVENT WHERE WE, WE MET A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND BECAME FRIENDS WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE, UH, ALL BECAUSE OF GOING TO YOUR PARTY.
OH, WELL, ISN'T THAT NICE? I, I WAS THE CENTER OF A SOCIAL CONNECTION.
SO DID YOU EVER GO TO THE, UH, LOCAL SYNAGOGUE? UM, WE NEVER DID.
UM, WE JUST DIDN'T, IT WASN'T A, IT, IT WASN'T A DECISION.
AND WHAT, WHAT OTHER FEELINGS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT HASTINGS, ABOUT THE POLICE, ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT? WHAT, WHAT OTHER THINGS DO YOU HAVE ABOUT HASTINGS? UM, I, I HAVE VERY STRONG AFFECTIONATE FEELINGS FOR HASTINGS.
I, I THINK THE SIZE OF IT IS JUST RIGHT.
SO I WAS ABLE TO MAKE A LOT OF FRIENDS AND I FELT VERY GOOD ABOUT THAT.
AND MY KIDS WERE ABLE TO MAKE A LOT OF FRIENDS.
SO IN GENERAL, THERE WERE UPS AND DOWNS AS THERE ARE IN ALL FAMILIES, BUT BASICALLY, UM, IT WAS A FRIENDLY PLACE.
UM, AND MY KIDS STILL HAVE FRIENDS HERE, SO IT'S, UM, IT JUST FEELS GOOD.
SO HOW, HOW DID YOU MAKE FRIENDS? I MEAN, HOW, HOW DID YOU MEET PEOPLE, UH, ONCE YOU MOVED TO HASTINGS? WELL, THE, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
I MEAN, I MADE FRIENDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, LIKE IF PEOPLE LIVED ACROSS THE STREET OR NEXT DOOR.
UM, UH, BUT I PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, I DID GO TO WORK EVERY DAY,
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ALMOST EVERY DAY.SO I WASN'T IN THE COMMUNITY THAT MUCH BECAUSE I WORKED ON 120 FIFTH STREET.
UM, SO I, I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS I MET PEOPLE WHO LIVED NEAR ME.
UM, I, I DON'T, I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER.
DID YOU MEET OTHER PARENTS THROUGH THE SCHOOL? YES.
I MUST HAVE MET PARENTS OF THE FRIENDS OF MY KIDS SOMETIMES, BUT I, I GUESS I WAS AWFULLY BUSY WHEN YOU HAVE THREE CHILDREN AND YOU WORK, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT, I DON'T SPEND THAT MUCH TIME WITH FRIENDS.
AND SO DO YOU USE THE, UH, TOWN POOL AS WELL? DURING THE SUMMER, I ALWAYS USED THE POOL, BUT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, I, I, I STOPPED WANTING TO GO SWIMMING, WHICH IS ODD BECAUSE I WAS A BIG SWIMMER AND I LOVED THE POOL, SO, AND I SWAM LAPS.
SO YOU, YOU LIVED IN DOBBS FERRY BEFORE YOU MOVED TO HASTINGS? WE HAD AN, WHEN WE WERE FIRST MARRIED, WE LIVED IN RIVERDALE.
WE LIVED IN THE SECOND FLOOR OF A PRIVATE HOUSE, AND IT HAD ONE BEDROOM.
AND WHEN WE HAD A BABY, WE WOULD LIFT THE CRIB UP AND TAKE HIM OUT INTO THE LIVING ROOM AT NIGHT.
BUT THEN HE GOT TOO BIG FOR THAT.
SO WHEN HE WAS TWO, WE GOT AN APARTMENT IN DOBBS FERRY.
I FORGOT WHAT YOU, THE TOP OF BEACON HILL.
UH, AND WE MADE SOME FRIENDS THERE, AND THOSE FRIENDS MOVED TO HASTINGS ALSO.
SO THAT WAS, YEAH, SO, AND I GUESS WE MOVED TO HASTINGS BECAUSE WE DECIDED TO GET A HOUSE, AND THAT'S WHERE WE FOUND A HOUSE.
IT WASN'T THAT WE PICKED HASTINGS, BUT I'M HAPPY WE DID
DID YOU FIND ANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HASTINGS AND DOBBS FERRY? UM, I, I, WHEN WE, WE WEREN'T THAT LONG, LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW, BECAUSE WE MOVED WHEN MY, WHEN RICHIE WAS TWO, UM, THE ONLY MEMORY I HAVE IS ONE DAY THE SCHOOL BUS CAME, AND RICHIE WHO WAS FIVE, WAS IN KINDERGARTEN, WASN'T ON IT.
UH, WHEN YOU'RE EXPECTING YOUR CHILD ON THE SCHOOL BUS AND HE'S NOT ON IT, IT'S A LITTLE SCARY.
AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHO I CALLED, BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER PUT HIM IN THE CLOSET.
AND WHEN THE SCHOOL BUS CAME, SHE FORGOT ABOUT HIM,
AND SO WHEN I WENT TO THE BUS, HE WASN'T ON IT.
SO I DON'T REMEMBER WHO I CALLED, BUT I PUT, I TOOK THE BABY, PUT HER IN THE CAR, WENT DOWN TO THE SCHOOL, GOT MY CHILD WHO HAD BEEN PUT IN THE CLOSET AND CAME HOME.
DID I CALL, I GUESS I WAS SO RELIEVED TO GET HIM.
I DON'T, I DON'T THINK, I DON'T REMEMBER WHETHER I CALLED THE PRINCIPAL OR ANYTHING, BUT IT'S A SEARING MEMORY.
WHO WAS THE TEACHER? THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER IN DOBBS FERRY.
WHAT WAS HER, OH, WAS THIS IN DOBBS FERRY OR IN HASTY? YES.
IT, HE WAS IN KINDERGARTEN IN DOBBS FERRY, BECAUSE WE STILL LIVED IN THE APARTMENTS.
AND WE MOVED WHEN HE WAS SIX AND HE WAS IN FIRST GRADE IN HASTINGS.
AND SHE, WELL, SHE HAD A CHILD IN SCHOOL TOO.
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WAS PROBABLY A GOOD REASON TO MOVE FROM DOBBS TO HASTINGSAND, UH, UH, THANKS FOR TALKING ABOUT YOUR LIFE IN HASTINGS.
THANKS FOR WATCHING, AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.