Arlene Wright-Correll

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New Years Eve in Brooklyn ©

By Arlene Wright-Correll

When I was a child living in Brooklyn , New York , we lived in the tenements, called “railroad flats” on Kosciusko Street with my grandmother.  They were called “railroad flats” because they were long and narrow with each room walking into the next one like a railroad car.

Our kitchen window had a fire escape and looked out into a small back yard, clothes lines from each window to a tall pole in the yard and across to the kitchen window and fire escape of these 4 story tenements on the block behind us.  Our parlor (they were always called parlors in those days, not living rooms) window looked out onto the street and across to a row of similar tenements.

Christmas would have come and gone and New Year’s Eve was coming up.  Usually all my aunts, uncles and their children (we did not even know the word babysitter) would gather at my grandmothers to welcome in the New Year. 

There was always quart bottles of beer to celebrate, unless someone “rushed the growler” to the local tavern.  Every one stayed up to mid-night and if a kid fell asleep, their parent would gently wake them up just before the countdown.

Windows front and rear of every apartment would open up, regardless of the weather.  We would all be armed with pots and pans, wooden spoons, penny whistles, party favor horns and maybe even those whirling items that made cranking or zipping sounds.

At the stroke of midnight , the whole neighborhood would hang out their windows or go down on their stoops (front steps) and create the most astounding noise by banging on the pots and pans, tooting, whistling in the New Year.  (Between 1941 and 1946, just before opening the windows, we would turn off all the lights so we would not be violating the “black out” law during World War II.)

This cacophony of noise lasted about 2 minutes and then everyone would close their windows, go back inside, give each other hugs and kisses and have a dish of pickled herring with slabs of pumpernickel bread.  Then there would be another beer for the adults and a ginger ale for the kids.  I don’t remember ever seeing anyone drunk during these New Year Eve celebrations.

I also do not remember when these types of celebrations stopped, perhaps when we moved out onto Long Island when I was 12 years old and the family started to become scattered as the aunts and uncles and cousins stayed in Brooklyn .

However, I do remember it was a great thing to child to be allowed to stay up that late or to be awakened in order to be part of this ritual.

Now we have more sophisticated things to occupy us.  Football games, watching the ball come down on TV, or whatever we do to celebrate the entrance of the New Year.  These become our current generation’s “traditions” and perhaps will be written about by someone in the next 50 to 100 years as part of the evolving history of our culture.

In the meantime, in our old age, we pass the entry of 2005 into our life by quietly “clinking” our glass of champagne at 8 p.m. to toast in the New Year and being in bed by 10 p.m. , waking up at 6 a.m. on the 1^st day of 2005 and giving thanks for being alive to greet another day!

“Tread the Earth Lightly” and in the meantime… may your day be filled with….Peace, light and love, 

Arlene Wright-Correll  

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