In 1888 John Jahn arrived in New York City on a ship from Europe. He first worked in a bakery for ten dollars a month plus room and board. After working in the bakery for about five years, he decided to take a new job in a small ice cream store in Brooklyn NY. After a few more years, John Jahn had saved enough money to open his own ice cream store at 138th Street in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. By the mid 1950s, Jahns ice cream shoppes had expanded to over 20 locations in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. The 1950s and 1960s were the golden age for ice cream parlors in America and John Papa Jahn(his employees affectionately called him Papa) was in the middle of it. As word started to spread in Paterson about a new ice cream concoction called the Kitchen Sink, more and more people were making the trek up Route 4 to this new ice cream phenomenon called Jahns in Fair Lawn NJ. It was not surprising that John Papa Jahns ice cream parlors were flourishing as the 50s and 60s were a time of growth and independence in America. There were practically no divorces and few one parent homes during that time period. The GI Bill was in full force and people were buying their own homes. It was a great time to be living in Paterson NJ too. Most people made a decent living in Paterson and no matter rich or poor everyone knew how to have a good time. There was Palisades Amusement Park(the Cyclone Coaster and the Flight to Mars), the Jersey Shore(Bumper Cars, Skeeball, and Cotton Candy), Coney Island(The Steeple Chase, the Loop the Loop, and the Parachute Ride), the Catskills(The Concord Hotel and Grossingers), and local swimming holes like Arcola, Memorial in Fair Lawn, and The Old Mill(Ill race you to the wood raft.) For sporting activities there was the Paterson Armory, Hinchcliff Stadium, Bowling on Route 4 and golf at Hillmans on River Road. There were several movie theaters in Paterson too like the Fabian, the Capital, the Garden, and the Majestic. Neighborhoods all had their own favorite drug stores, candy stores, and delicatessens(you could even buy a sour pickle from a big wooden barrel right in the middle of the deli - for only a nickel - and they were delicious!) Of course there was just about something for everyone shopping in downtown Paterson too. And Jewish family religious life was centered around houses of worship like Temple Emanuel as well as many other smaller neighborhood shuls in Paterson. Paterson seemed very community oriented in the 1950s because everyone watched out for each other. And there was much more respect for teachers, authority, and people in general than in todays world. There was also almost no violence or bullying at all in any of the schools. Teachers really cared about their students learning and being well prepared for future good careers. Even the theme of the music of the era was love and not anger. If two kids had a disagreement, they would simply leave each other alone(and then one would call the other a flat leaver and that would be the end of it.) By the next day, they would be good friends again. Kids would play games all day long like Jump Rope, Hop Scotch, A My Name Is, Dodge Ball, Stick Ball, Punch Ball, Box Ball, and Stoop Ball. Even when it got dark, kids would play in their neighborhoods without their parents being concerned about their safety. And later at night kids would often congregate together under a street lamp and debate for hours about which New York baseball team had the best players. The Yankees fans would say Mickey, Roger, Yogi, Moose, The Scooter, and Whitey The Chairman of the Board Ford - the Dodgers fans would argue for The Duke, the Reading Rifle, Pee Wee, Jackie, Campy, Junior, Clem, Big Don, Gil, and of course the greatest Jewish pitcher of all time Sandy The Left Arm of God Koufax - and the Giants fans had their own favorite players with Willie Say Hey Mays, Stretch McCovey, Orlando The Baby Bull Cepeda, and Juan The Dominican Dandy Marichal. Life just seemed much simpler and safer in the golden era of Paterson. Homes could be left unlocked at night without much worry. Most houses only had one bathroom for the entire family(how did we ever survive?) There was only one telephone in the house and it was usually located in the living room and it had a rotary dial(your telephone number stared with 2 letters and you had to listen before you started to dial because your neighbor could already be on your party line.) People in Paterson took pride in owning a Chevy, a Ford, a Buick, or a Cadillac in those days(and most families only had one car.) Keys left above the visor was done without fear of your car ever being stolen. Milk was delivered in glass bottles right to your door before you even woke up(and you would leave all the empty bottles with a note telling the milkman what you wanted delivered to your door the next time.) Then there was the Dugan truck that delivered bread and other sweet goodies as well as the Charles Chips man who delivered potato chips in those big yellow metal tins. And the beverage guy would deliver Seltzer and Hoffman Black Cherry and Ginger Ale soda in those bulky wood crates. There was a truck selling fruit that came to your street and even a man who stopped to sharpen all the knives in your house. In those days boys wore either PF Flyers, Keds, or Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers(there were no Air Jordans were around back then) so they thought they could run faster and jump higher than anyone else. Kids had to really work for their allowance in those days too by mowing the grass with a push lawnmower, raking leaves(and then burning them - remember that distintive smell of burning leaves in the air?), or drying all the dishes after each meal, and lugging that big heavy garbage pail out to the curb. Then they would spend most of their allowance money when the ice cream truck came by or when the man with the whip ride was in the neighborhood(you would even receive a little prize from him when you finished the ride - sometimes it would be a folding paper fan - or a little balsa wood plane that you put together yourself - or a paper tube where you would insert your two index fingers into each end and then when you tried to pull them out, it tightened even more and your fingers were trapped in that tube.) If you were really lucky, you had a black and white TV in your house(sometimes you would miss the beginning of a show waiting for the TV tubes to warm up.) We often played records in our bedrooms too(and then your mother would always yell at you turn that racquet down or youll go deaf.) And if the record was scratched or the needle was starting to wear out, the record would start to skip or repeat(so you would try to fix it yourself by putting a coin on top of the arm of the record player.) In Paterson the baby boomer generation was all of a sudden starting to come of age and wanting their own independence. Jade East and English Leather were very popular colognes for young men to put on to try and attract young ladies. Boys used Brylcreem(a little dab will do ya) to slick their hair back(or butch wax to spike up their crew cuts.) If girls had a date, they would roll their hair up before going to bed(how did you ever sleep with all those curlers in your hair anyway?) Young guys wore chinos with a little buckle on the back and girls wore long full dresses(remember those gray wool skirts with pink poodles on them - and the poodles even had rhinestone eyes.) Everyone bought their bass weejans, white bucks, and saddle shoes at Miles, National, Adrians, Uncle Sams, Thom McCann or Stenshavers. Boys would be taught how to dance by their mothers by starting with the simple box step(1, 2, 3, and 4 - ok lets start over again.) Girls somehow always seemed to know how to dance without ever needing instruction from anyone. Holding hands in public meant a boy and girl were becoming serious. Wearing each others rings around your necks meant you were exclusive and going steady. Teenagers would hang out by the tennis courts in Eastside Park or meet at the Van Houten Street YMHA. But they also swamped to Jahns Ice Cream Shoppe on Route 4 in Fair Lawn. It became one of the places to be seen in the Paterson area. On the weekends there were long lines to get into Jahns. A favorite date on Saturday night was a movie and sharing an ice cream sundae at Jahns. It wasnt just about the quality of the ice cream either. No instead it was more about the entire fun experience being at Jahns. All the lights in Jahns were colorful stained glass Coca Cola fixtures in a Gay 90s style. There were wood booths and very rich woodwork throughout Jahns. There were marble counters and even a coin operated nickelodeon piano that seemed to magically play all by itself. Teenagers would profess their love for each other by etching their initials somewhere in Jahns woodwork. Most kids also knew that Jahn’s was the place to be on your birthday because you got a free ice cream sundae that day. But in the end it really was all about the ice cream sundaes at Jahns(the menu proudly stated Sundaes, Mondaes, Shmundaes - - Whats the difference try one and see!) There were the Tummy Ticklers sundaes that included the Super Duper For Two, A Shissel, Candy Jones Bombshell, Tall In The Saddle, The Flaming Desire, The Thing, Joe Sent Me, The Boiler Maker, The Noshers Nightmare, What Happened, The Brooklyn Kibbitzer, Screwballs Delight, The Tree, The Rainbow Mountain, The Suicide A La Mode, and The Pink Elephant. But of course the ultimate show stopper was the iconic Jahns Kitchen Sink(just how many people would it take to finish it?) It has been said that there is no other food so closely associated with happiness as ice cream. Remembering Jahns in Fair Lawn is certainly a very sweet way to travel back in time. But in reality Jahns was just a very small part of what made Paterson such a great place to live in the 1950s and 1960s. And although most of us have long since left our wonderful hometown, none of us will ever be accused of being flat leavers because our hearts and minds will always remain firmly planted in Paterson NJ.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 13:48:25 +0000
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