Ticker, I remember the Flatow Brothers fruit store! They always had some kind of straw/hay strewn about the tile floor. One of the brothers, I remember, was named Murray. They were nice guys. Most of all, I remember the smell of fresh produce there…it’s right in the forefront of my sense memory. Everything was so fresh and ripe. If I close my eyes, I can bring the place right back.
By the way, my folks still live in the town, and I go back to Carlo’s Pizza most every time I visit. It’s still the best slice of pizza in the world to me—and yes, Carlos' sons always remember me too. They’re the kind of guys that make a neighborhood great.
Of course, I remember Scheinfeld’s! We shopped at the Men & Boy’s store next door to Kopp’s Bakery, across the street from the women’s store. I was friends with the Scheinfeld boys, actually. We worked at the same summer camp up in the Catskills. Besides being a terrific store, they were the finest, nicest family one could ever hope to meet. Thanks for sharing the memories! T.C., N.Y.
Decembra—That was Midville Radio & TV where you used to buy your 45’s. I bought mine there too! They used to keep the 45’s in a spinner rack with the titles and artists hand-printed in black magic marker below each of the slots. I hate to sound like an old man, which I’m not, but those were truly great times to be a kid! TC
Of course I remember Willie’s! Best damn hot dogs and knishes on earth. While we’re at it, anybody remember Zweibel’s (sort of a 5 & 10 store) a little further down Metro on the same side of the street?
GarrettH—You’re not going to believe this, but I WAS AT THE VERY SAME SHOWING OF THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE at the Arion where they had the reels out of order. I remember everyone making fun of the fact that the Shelley Winters character was dead, and then we saw her swimming around ten minutes later!
I too grew up in Middle Village (in the 60’s and 70’s), and spent many a happy hour at the Arion. Of my many memories, my favorite is the week (usually once a year, in the summer) when the Arion would “Go Ape”—that is, they aired all 5 of the “Planet of the Apes” movies back to back over the course of a single week.
I loved the double features, and discovered some of my favorite movies quite accidentally because of them. I remember going to see a version of “The Three Musketeers,” (starring Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, etc.) and having to first sit through the B-feature, a film starring Jon Voight entitled, “Conrack.” Well, this many years later, I can’t remember a single thing about that version of “Musketeers,” but “Conrack' remains a film that changed my life forever.
Something else I remember about the Arion… in those days, most of us in Middle Village DIDN’T have air conditioning in our homes. Come summer each year, the Arion would hang out a banner with a picture of a penguin sitting on an ice block, and the advertisement to come see a movie in “air conditioned comfort.”
I remember the matrons shining the flashlight at us as kids, and telling us to be quiet. Whatever happened to matrons in movie theaters??
And I remember, as a teenager, smoking cigarettes—legally!—in the last ten rows of the Arion.
It’s funny the impact such things as a small neighborhood movie house can have on us, especially while we’re young. To this day, every time that I dream I’m in a movie theater (a frequent scenario for me), no matter where I’m “supposed to be” in that particular dream, I realize—it’s always the Arion. If I live to be a hundred, I will never forget the place.
Ticker, I remember the Flatow Brothers fruit store! They always had some kind of straw/hay strewn about the tile floor. One of the brothers, I remember, was named Murray. They were nice guys. Most of all, I remember the smell of fresh produce there…it’s right in the forefront of my sense memory. Everything was so fresh and ripe. If I close my eyes, I can bring the place right back.
By the way, my folks still live in the town, and I go back to Carlo’s Pizza most every time I visit. It’s still the best slice of pizza in the world to me—and yes, Carlos' sons always remember me too. They’re the kind of guys that make a neighborhood great.
Of course, I remember Scheinfeld’s! We shopped at the Men & Boy’s store next door to Kopp’s Bakery, across the street from the women’s store. I was friends with the Scheinfeld boys, actually. We worked at the same summer camp up in the Catskills. Besides being a terrific store, they were the finest, nicest family one could ever hope to meet. Thanks for sharing the memories! T.C., N.Y.
Decembra—That was Midville Radio & TV where you used to buy your 45’s. I bought mine there too! They used to keep the 45’s in a spinner rack with the titles and artists hand-printed in black magic marker below each of the slots. I hate to sound like an old man, which I’m not, but those were truly great times to be a kid! TC
Of course I remember Willie’s! Best damn hot dogs and knishes on earth. While we’re at it, anybody remember Zweibel’s (sort of a 5 & 10 store) a little further down Metro on the same side of the street?
THANK YOU, Warren, for sharing these photos. I felt like I was right back there again…
GarrettH—You’re not going to believe this, but I WAS AT THE VERY SAME SHOWING OF THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE at the Arion where they had the reels out of order. I remember everyone making fun of the fact that the Shelley Winters character was dead, and then we saw her swimming around ten minutes later!
I too grew up in Middle Village (in the 60’s and 70’s), and spent many a happy hour at the Arion. Of my many memories, my favorite is the week (usually once a year, in the summer) when the Arion would “Go Ape”—that is, they aired all 5 of the “Planet of the Apes” movies back to back over the course of a single week.
I loved the double features, and discovered some of my favorite movies quite accidentally because of them. I remember going to see a version of “The Three Musketeers,” (starring Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, etc.) and having to first sit through the B-feature, a film starring Jon Voight entitled, “Conrack.” Well, this many years later, I can’t remember a single thing about that version of “Musketeers,” but “Conrack' remains a film that changed my life forever.
Something else I remember about the Arion… in those days, most of us in Middle Village DIDN’T have air conditioning in our homes. Come summer each year, the Arion would hang out a banner with a picture of a penguin sitting on an ice block, and the advertisement to come see a movie in “air conditioned comfort.”
I remember the matrons shining the flashlight at us as kids, and telling us to be quiet. Whatever happened to matrons in movie theaters??
And I remember, as a teenager, smoking cigarettes—legally!—in the last ten rows of the Arion.
It’s funny the impact such things as a small neighborhood movie house can have on us, especially while we’re young. To this day, every time that I dream I’m in a movie theater (a frequent scenario for me), no matter where I’m “supposed to be” in that particular dream, I realize—it’s always the Arion. If I live to be a hundred, I will never forget the place.
Tom C.