The Elements of Story ~ Then & Now

Here are two pictures of the same corner of 84th Street & York Avenue looking east towards East End Avenue and the river. The top picture is from 1942, the lady in the picture is my grandmother, Anne Pryor. Across the street is Gene's Tavern. Gene's had a two lane bowling alley in the basement and in 1942 my Uncle Tom was the Pin Boy. That year, he turned the job over to his 13 year old brother, my father. Gene's later became Melnicoff's Clothing store where Mom bought white shirts about this time of year for Rory and me for the coming school year at St. Stephen's. The only time I liked going into Melnicoff's was when Mom decided it was time for a new pair of sneakers, which as far as I was concerned didn't happen often enough. Dad made her take it out of the house money, Mom wasn't tight, she was broke.

Hanging over the 84th Street streetbed is the Service Flag that was hung there to support the troops in August 1942 after a parade around Yorkville by hundreds of neighbors up and down the streets and the avenues.

I took the second picture last week. Still a bit strange it's a 7-Eleven.


I want to thank Frank Flaherty, my guest this past Tuesday night on the Yorkville radio show on Centanni Broadcasting. Frank, a Deputy Editor at The New York Times, and author of the splendid writing reference book "The Elements of Story," shared stories on how careful and thoughtful editing and deeper exploration into your subject can take storytelling to a richer level and improve all your writing. The Harper Collins soft cover version of the book comes out in two weeks and we'll be widely available in bookstores and online.

Next Tuesday my radio show guest is Alison Pryor.

Here are the Frank Flaherty show and Centanni links:

Yorkville: Stoops to Nuts 8/24/2010 with host Tommy Pryor & guest: Frank Flaherty

http://www.centannibroadcasting.com/

Yorkville Crossroads 1943 & 1966

Men & boys love taking photographs in front of taverns. The top one is me, Dad, our baseball gloves and a friend named Red in front of Loftus Tavern at the s/w corner of York Avenue & 85th Street in 1966.

Loftus was our favorite catch location.

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The second photo is Dad and his crew in 1943 a block away on the n/e corner of York & 84th Street in front of Gene's Tavern.

The next four photos are the some of the same guys in front and on the side of Gene's.

All these pictures are courtesy of Walter Trusits, Dad's best friend. Walt dropped over this afternoon to do some scanning.

Gene's Tavern ~ York Ave ~1945

Quick note on today's nyg cardiac arrest victory. After traveling the world for nearly two years after his victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game, Uncle Mommy's Teddy bear knocked on my door right before the Falcon game. "You're gonna need me today."
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He was right.
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Blowing a 14 point lead forced the Giants into overtime. Luckily, we got the ball back on the coin flip. Eli moved it, and Teddy offered me his noggin for a headlock right before Tynes knocked it through the uprights for the win. 34-31.

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Found terrific photos taken in April 1945 of Gene's Tavern on the n/e corner of 84th Street & York Avenue. Checking on names with my Dad's friend, Walt, but the crew includes: Whitey Sherman, Allie Cobert, Richie Curley, Pete Salerno, Bob Pryor, Tommy O"Rourke, Pat Straw. On the 84th Street wall, right above the lady with white hair crossing the street, is a service memorial with the names of the Yorkville men and women who gave their lives in World War II. In April 1945 the list was not complete. Look at the stores on both sides of the avenue, the barber pole and the young guys on the bike and sitting on the bumper of the car on York. And the graffiti on the wall and in my Dad's sketch that reads, "Cameron."

Gene's Tavern had a two lane bowling alley in the cellar. My father's brother, Tom was the weekend pin boy for the place. Good tips. When Tom got too old for the job he passed it onto his younger brother, Bob, my Dad. There was a controversy over the changing of the guard on this pin boy position in 1940. They were 15 and 11 at the time, their father was in a TB hospital upstate, their mom worked two jobs, six days a week. Tom & Bob liked to settle things quickly. I'm saving that one for a longer story. It's a doozy.