Letters from Our Readers:

A letter to Stevie S. Stevens dated February 27, 2010

Hi,

I was born in 1937 and I lived on Beach 72 street a few houses from the RR. I remember as a very young boy the Construction of the El. I remember a friend who lived upstairs from me getting burned by the 3rd rail while playing on the tracks. I remember talking to the Telephone operator to make a phone call. I think the exchange was Bell Harbor 5.

I moved to Beach 67th street in the early 1940. I remember the troops camped on the beach during the war. Arverne came to life during the summer, in the winter it was a very quiet place. I went to PS 42 on Beach 66 street. I lived in Arverne up until 1966. I have a lot of good memories growing up in Arverne.

Al Simons

Hello Al,

You lived in Arverne during a very exciting time! I consider the period from about 1930 - 1945 to be the "period of true transition" -- the time in which the area saw the great shift from being a vacation resort to becoming primarily all-year-round residential.

Of course you were just a child, having been born in 1937, so you probably didn't realize those major changes in the nature of the population that were taking place during your early youth. By the end of the war -- the time you were eight -- Arverne was no longer a summer resort in any true sense of the meaning. However, the area would continue on renting out summer bungalows and rooms in converted former hotels to service the vacation needs of a handful of transients for almost another two decades.

I can only imagine your delight having viewed the construction of the (then) Long Island Railroad elevated overpass -- and that story of your upstairs neighbor having been hurt by the 3rd rail would mostly likely prove to be an interesting tale, should you ever wish to write about it in depth. As to the quartering of the soldiers on the Rockaway Beach during the war, I had been aware of that but I really have no specifics. I suppose the government stationed staff on the sand as a precaution against the possible landing of enemy troops on Long Island beaches.

Even back in the mid 1950s, the telephone service to residents of many Belle Harbor and Neponsit neighborhoods still depended completely upon operator services. I remember picking up a (new) color rotary-dial telephone in a friend's home one weekday afternoon and hearing the phone operator respond "central -- number please." And I think you are correct about the exchange being "Belle Harbor 5."

The facts you relate about your own childhood are extremely interesting to me. I guarantee you that I appreciate what you have written. At some later point in time, you may wish to gather up a few more memories and then share them with the readers of the website.

Thanks again for taking the time to write to me. I DO hope to hear from you again.

Stevie S. Stevens