THE ROCKAWAY I KNEW
By Matthew Bashie

CHAPTER TWENTY: FOOD, FUN, AND FAR ROCKAWAY

"Gee ma! But I have nothing to do!" Those were the eight words never said if you were child fortunate enough to have been living in the resort seaside town of Far Rockaway back in the summer of 1955. For as children our activities were limited only by the confines of our own imaginations.

I lived in a massive fourteen-building apartment complex known as "Wavecrest Gardens" which happened to be located on Beach 20th Street at the Atlantic oceanfront and the place provided me with a wide concrete ramp connecting to my world of childhood experiences. I am not going to tell you that this ramp led to an unbelievable world of fantasy and ecstasy. What this ramp did lead to was a pretty nifty boardwalk where, walking a few blocks west, my friends and I would encounter the first of several concession stands which would provide hours of entertainment that wonderful summer, and for many summers to follow.

Wooden and stucco buildings had "popped up" during the early part of the 1920s and now after thirty years, many were still in place and operating on the northern side of the lengthy seven-mile boardwalk that lined the southern boarder of the Rockaway peninsula. The most convenient of these "pleasure palaces" were the ones located closest to our homes -starting on Beach 28th Street and running westward towards and including the Beach 35th Street Edgemere area. There were enough activities in these fifteen blocks to amuse eleven-year old boys and although "fun, food, and games" continued throughout most of the length of the wooden walkway, those "close by" usually had the pleasure of our company.

Boardwalk concessions were never competition for major amusement parks such as Rockaway's Playland, the pride of the peninsula which was situated on Beach 98th Street and widely advertised as the play place of the city. However, what small amusements like local concession stands did provide were opportunities for fast and unplanned moments to break the monotony of an idle June morning or a balmy July afternoon, or a sweltering August evening. These places offered a multitude of products and services -events and sustenance of a basic or elementary level not intended to be experienced or enjoyed on a daily basis, but to mark only special occasions -like being alive or to enjoy friends and fine weather.

Looking back some fifty years later, I find myself placing summer concessions into three separate categories: (1) places to buy food or to eat and dine; (2) buildings called "penny arcades" which offered common attractions such as movie theaters or pin ball and other types of vending machines, and (3) structures home to gambling and a variety of other types of games of chance. Back in those days, I was young and I saw things through the eyes of a child. Although I remember so many places and in such vivid detail, it would be virtually impossible to assemble and present a list of everything I saw, everything I remember. So, my having said this please understand why I might leave out something that was so very important to you, something you experienced, or something you enjoyed eating.

I recollect the many places that sold a wide variety of food products. Stores that sold hot dogs and hamburgers, french fries, soda pop both in bottles and in waxed-paper cups. Places that specialized in steaming corn-on-the-cob, ice cream sold in cones, soft custard, potato and cherry-cheese knishes, a selection of Chinese foods, and a fantastic store that manufactured Italian ices by using real honest fruit - all made right in front of you while you watched. Due to the ocean location, several storefronts specializing in seafood delights also prospered.

At the foot of Beach 31st Street, a small "kiddie" amusement park thrived. One of my friends had a younger bother and on many occasions we had the enjoyment of watching him ride on a carousel and in small boats and tiny motor cars. The place also sold cotton candy and at the cost of seven cents per cone, it was money well spent. This particular park was known as "Cinderella Fairy Land" and lasted for almost fifty years - well into the late 1960s.

A seasonal indoor theatre was located on Boardwalk and Beach 33rd Street. I remember seeing the picture "The Great Train Robbery" in this movie house. With its colorful facade and most ornate and inviting woodwork (circa 1920) we paid thirty-five cents to gain admission to the elderly building. Tickets were purchased at a booth located on the north side of the boardwalk and then you were expected to walk down a steep runway to enter the large single-room projection auditorium. The place was constructed to sit directly on beach sand so it was below the level of the boardwalk. A major complaint I had about this shack was that it never got really dark enough inside during the day and looking up at the ceiling, I could see where sunlight was trying to sneak its way inside. Also, the seats were not of typical theater quality but for the most part, were of the straight-back variety; so I considered the place an inexpensive imitation of "the real thing."

A few yards west of the theater found a large eighteen-hole miniature golf course. Although I played there many times, I honestly remember very little about the place. I do know that it was a very popular attraction, that the management gave kids a small cardboard with which to keep score as well as a tiny "eraser-less" pencil, they had an old-fashioned baby blue Pepsi-Cola vending machine which dispensed ice cold eight-ounce bottles of the soft drink at a dime per and there was no deposit for the container. I also remember that they charged fifty-cents per game and I considered that a lot of money. However, depending upon how slowly or quickly you played the game, I suppose you really could get a half-dollar's worth of entertainment that way.

One large emporium housed a myriad of vending machines and theatrical amusements. To describe only a few of those I enjoyed best:

Enclosed in what appeared to be a glass telephone booth, a life-sized dummy sat on a round piano stool. A "female" outfitted in clothing appropriate to the year 1899 - wearing glasses and appearing to be a "fortune teller" - upon the deposit of a nickel she "came to life" and her hands moved about pointing to several tarot cards spread before her on a table. Her head moved backwards and from side to side giving the appearance of being in deep concentration as to what she was doing. This action continued for about fifty seconds, then the mannequin picked up a small cardboard folder and dropped it into a slot delivering it as "a personal prediction."

"The Foot-Ease Machine" looked like the scale you might expect to find in a doctor's office. You would stand on a "springy platform", deposit a nickel into the slot and then the unit vibrated your feet for about two minutes. The idea of this novel invention was to give a rudimentary foot massage - to provide relief for that long boardwalk stroll back home. Simple in thought and design, I have to admit that it was fun to stand on this stupid thing and I still remember the experience some fifty years later.

"Card-Vender Units" were several mechanical devices operated by "coin slides." These machines displayed the photos of many famous actors of the 1930s and 40s and for the price of two cents, you could be the proud owner of a 5x7 black and white semi-glossy picture of your favorite celebrity - actually the machine did the choosing for you - you got whatever it "spit" out. What you had to do was to place two pennies in the appropriate slots in the "coin slide" and then push the slide into the machine and pull it out again. Upon its return, it carried with it one cardboard image - even signed (as part of the picture) by the actor himself. For a few dollars it was possible to make up quite a nice collection of these things and thinking back, I remember them as being really nice!

There were several "Skee-Ball" palaces to be found on the boardwalk back in those early days. For the investment of a dime, nine colored balls rolled out to greet you. These hard balls were about three times the size of a standard baseball and probably weighed a lot more as well. Applying a degree of skill (in my cases, very little skill} you were expected to roll each ball up a raised "court" and as they reached their destination, they would drop into one of many available pockets. Each pocket announced a value in points. The object of the game was to attain as high a score as possible - so you would usually aim for the highest value - fifty points each time you rolled a ball. You could get as low as ten or even lower - no points at all, depending upon where the ball ended up.

Most "Skee-Ball" emporiums awarded tickets or "coupons." The higher your final score at the end of each game, the more tickets or coupons you received. In one part of the store sat a glass counter displaying hundreds of "prizes" - each marked with a point value for each particular item. One season I decided to "save up" for a brown pleather traveling alarm clock which was marked at 500 points. With each point being valued at about a penny, the retail price of the clock was probably around five dollars. It took me all season to amass enough paper to "redeem" that dam cheapo clock. I last saw it among my possessions about ten years ago. I haven't seen it since - it probably has either been given away or misplaced since that time.

There were many other variations on "games of chance" on the Rockaway Boardwalk of 1955. I remember one game where they expected you to toss a ring over the neck of a coke bottle to win a large stuffed animal. The place had wooden cases of empty coke bottles slanted on display and then for a nickel a ring (or six for a quarter) you would stand in front of a counter and throw the rings at the bottles, hoping to get a "ringer" - get one of the brown plastic rings around the neck of a bottle. A dollar could go very quickly at a game like this one!

Other similar amusements included throwing tennis balls at artificial pussy cats which were sitting on shelves. Basically the cats were quite small but large plastic "struts" were embedded at the sides of the cats to make them appear to be larger. If a thrown ball hit the struts, the cat was not affected so it did not fall. If you made a "direct hit" and knocked a cat off the shelf, you were awarded a prize. For awhile, a different place had a seemingly inexhaustible supply of the old 78 rpm records which were stood on their ends, facing the counter and if you threw a baseball and broke a record, that would also classify you as a winner deserving of an award. Yet another place had a series of "Formica" plates on stools - each plate cut in the design of one the United States and participants would throw nickels, dimes, or quarters - trying to get one to land (completely) on the smooth service. If you got a coin to land and to remain on "a state" you were a winner. This list can go on for another month but I think by now, you get the idea.

One of the most popular of the gambling amusements was called "Poker" To play at this involved sitting on a counter stool and facing a narrow playing table - rolling seven black "Spaulding-type" rubber balls down a Formica shaft. At the bottom, as each ball found a hole in which to drop, a light on a backboard would come on to indicate what position you had just achieved. The object of this game was to "rack up" a standard poker hand. At some establishments, there was a variation on this theme and the player had to perform a "tic tac toe" - that is, he was expected to create a straight line—either up and down, side to side, or diagonally.

Over the years, my friends and I would eventually find summer work at one of these many concessions. During the summer after my first year of college, I gained employment at a "Skee-Ball" location and I remember that in order to do that kind of work, being over the age of eighteen was a requirement as well as the seasonal purchase of what was known as a "Common Show Attendant" license for which I had to pay the hefty sum of twenty dollars. My best friend was hired right next door at a food establishment known as "Jerry's Knishes" and during the course of his employment, he gained twenty pounds that summer.

If you wish to contact me at any time, feel free to do so through this web site. matt@rockawaymemories.com

I always love hearing from my fans and friends. M. B.