When I was a Yorkville kid, the water in front of the Castle was called Catfish Lake. Reason was, it had many catfish in it. They'd gather in the water on the east side of the lake by the rocks just waiting for us. We brought over a loaf of Wonder Bread to split and put a little ball of it on each hook as bait attached to a stretch of fishing line or string. The hook was sometimes a safety pin. One guy was clever when he had no rod and used a long branch.
Since it was Charlie's first Central Park visit, it was important to tell her the story at the spot where it happened over fifty years ago. Charlie listened and when I was done talking she took her first sip of water from the lake. There will be hundreds more.
More photos of Charlie & Central Park
The NYPL The New York Public Library Upper East Side locations ordered copies of my 1960s memoir, "I Hate the Dallas Cowboys ~ tales of a scrappy New York boyhood."
Go to the NYPL website, and you can put a hold on the book at the following six branches: Mid-Manhattan, Yorkville, Webster, 67th Street, Bloomingdale & 96th Street.
Thank you, 67th Street Branch Library (NYPL) , KICK-OFF EVENT! Upper East Side Story: Our Neighborhood Oral History Project, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts and Ryans Daughter for your warm support.
Our next "Stoops to Nuts" storytelling / songsmith show at Ryans Daughter will be in June, event date to follow shortly.
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