Letters from Our Readers:

In a message dated July 10, 2010, Bud Wertheim writes to Rockaway Memories

The Edgemere stories are wonderful.

I lived in Edgemere for a few years in the late 1930's and early 40's. I remember we were in the first floor apartment of a two storied house and a young boy whose first name was Eugene was a featured singer on the Horn and Hardart 'Children's Hour' radio show. He sang the 'Less Work for Mother' theme song. My memories of listening to him practice are very clear. His mother would never let him play with me. I never knew why.One day at the same house, we found a beautiful Collie laying on the walk near our door. His feet were bleeding badly, apparently he had walked on
broken glass. My father picked him up and took him down to the cellar where we had stored some items. He put an old matress down and the dog lay there allowing him to remove the glass shards and bandage his feet. The collie, who we named 'Beauty', recovered and would walk with my father to the Edgemere train station when my father rode to work and later Beauty would walk to the station in the evening and escort my father home. We never knew where the dog came from, we put an ad in thepaper and several people came trying to get the dog, but Beauty never would leave my father's side or show any recognition to any of them. During the day he would walk with me and play 'fetch' and other games but when evening came he would leave for the train station.

I can never think of Edgemere without remembering those two embedded stories.

Bud Wertheim