Emery, Anna Lee (Tallman)

In reading about Audrey Benkert Tallman and growing up in Bethpage started me with thoughts and memories of the great town I grew up in also. Audrey mentioned about her dad owning the gas station on Baldwin Place. I walked past that station at least twice a day. I always stopped by the station to say "hi" to Mr. Benkert. One day in 1956, he gave me a gold pin that said "IKE'56" on it. I still have that pin! I don't know who ran with Eisenhower or against him, I only knew that Mr. Benkert said he was a good man and that was good enough for me.

It wasn't to long ago that I went to a CPHS meeting held in the library. I saw Mrs. Ethel Surprise there and she was my girl scout leader so long ago. After girl scouts, I joined the Civil Defense and her husband Tex was our leader for that group. After all, my two older brothers were in the Navy and I had to do my part too. That was during the Korean War. I believe I was in the 8th grade when Charlie and Bob came down to school in uniform. What a thrill that was for me. I was a part of the first graduating class of Bethpage High School. That was in 1956. In the year book there was a section that was titled "Can you imagine?' After my name was, "can you imagine Anna Lee not talking about her brothers?" As you see I still do! My younger brother, Jack and I were always walking to the village. Our mother was always needing something from the store. Mrs. Gefken had a deli and she would have certain days she would cook her roast beef. When she did that, she made the best gravy and my mother always knew when to send us down to buy some. She had the penny cookies there also and we always had one of those treats. Chocolate covered graham crackers were my favorites.

When I was 14, I worked at the Sweet Shoppe on the corner of Baldwin Place and Broadway. Sundays, I got there at 5 A. M. to get the Sunday papers ready for the customers after mass and services. Thats where I learned to make egg creams. The whole village was on the south side of the railroad tracks. Then the A & P was built on the north side and also W & L. The only one I remember from W & L was Pop Wilkens. They made cheeseburgers on grilled bread and that item was very popular. Charlie, the cop, walked that beat and he stopped me a couple of times. I used to love going thru town in second gear just so the mufflers would rap. I didn't want Charlie mad at me so I didn't do the second gear bit anymore.

Living on Pershing Avenue was close to many interesting things. The Beau Sejour was across the street. They had cows and horses. I got to feed them once in a while from a glass soda bottle with a nipple on it. Oma invited me into the kitchen sometimes and I would have milk fresh from the cow. I like it better from the refrigerator! Sometimes she would be making ice cream and I would have a taste of that. Good Stuff!! Down on Central Avenue was Patsy Gianocco's chicken farm. When mom was going to make her famous southern fried chicken, that was where she would send me for the freshest of chickens. Patsy had me wait while she killed, dipped and stripped the chicken. I didn't watch the killing part. After the chicken farm the Gianocco family opened the fish store across from Gefkens. I don't remember if the Post Office was before or after the fish store.

At Thanksgiving time, back then, (chuckle here) we used to go begging. Most of the time we were given apples or pennies. Mom made apple pies from the begging loot. On Halloween we tried to scare people and it was all in fun.

We were just two streets over from Grumman. The planes would go right over the house next door and I could watch from the kitchen window. What a wonderful sight! We were so used to the noise of the planes we didn't hear them anymore. My uncle came from Ohio and tried to take a nap. One of the jets came in for a landing and scared the dickens out of poor Uncle Charlie. He didn't know what was happening.

I believe it was around 1948 when the swing and see saw that my dad built across the street was taken down. New houses were being built there and, of course, we got new neighbors. Many nice people! The one family I remember the best was Al and Edith Kaufman. They had two small boys. Al got polio in 1949 and was given 6 hours to live. My dad was the one who took Al to the hospital. Al was in the iron lung and then graduated to the chest respirator, he came home and then just needed the rocking bed. He lived for 20 years in that rocking bed. He was still paralyzed on the right side, so he learned to write with his left hand. He had this metal hand attached to a string and he would pull the string to wave to everyone that beeped as they passed his window. When Grumman let out, there was a lot of beeping and waving. The Bethpage Fire Department was always there in a flash if the electric went out. Without electric, Al's bed wouldn't rock and then he couldn't breathe. My mom collected from neighbors and store keepers to buy Al an A/C, another time, a short wave radio, and yet another time, a color TV. He was a special person.

My mother Pierrina Manghi Tallman was born in Plainview in 1908. Her father died in 1916. My grandmother could only speak Italian and so she, my mother and aunt moved to Brooklyn. My parents met, dad was stationed in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and they married in 1928 and moved to Bethpage (Central Park). That was the beginning of the Tallman family in Bethpage.

Nick Gagliardo introduced me to my husbnd, Chet Emery, and we are now retired and living in Melborne, FL.