A recent article by Richard Phelps about memories of Maybrook has caused me to reflect about my own such memories. Like others, I was born in Maybrook, not in a hospital.

Maybrook was a railroad town. It had excellent water and sewers probably because of the railroad. The sewers, were there long before other towns had them, dug mostly by Italians using picks and shovels. Most people who worked in Maybrook worked on the railroad, on nearby farms or at the coat factory named Brookmay Manufacturing Company. My father was a barber known for miles around as Phil the Barber. There was another barber named Mr. Nolan on Tower Avenue and also the Cariffe brothers who had a shop near the tunnel. The tunnel was at the end of Main Street. It went under all the tracks to what was almost another village. Later there was a barber named Tony. When Mr. Nolan died, his location was turned into Panaros grocery store. Other grocery stores on Tower Avenue were Saracino’s and Desantis. There was Greenings on Main street. On this same street was the unforgettable, to myself and others, Watts Drug Store. I spent a lot of time there and probably became a better reader because of browsing through comic books. Next to Watts Drug Store was Carroll’s clothing store on one side and Guideo’s Shoe Repair on the other. There was another shoe repair store run by Joe Capone on Tower Avenue. Not far from Guideo’s was a bar and restaurant named the Blue Mirror. Other bars were Fratto’s, White’s Tavern, Lola’s and others. There was Sweeney’s on Tower Avenue. Next to Sweeney’s was a large building called Sweeneys Hall. It was used for social functions, especially wedding receptions. I remember some movies being shown there but not like the ones we would see in Goshen, Walden and Newburgh. One time, school was held at Sweeney’s Hall because the school building on Broadway had a problem with coal gas.

There was one policeman in Maybrook. He was known by all as Cop Decker. There was very little crime at that time. The bank and post office were on Main Street. Around 1950, some would-be bank robbers thought it would be easy to rob the bank in a little hick town like Maybrook. They did not know that Mr. Crist, the banker had gas jets installed. When they said “stick em up,” Mr. Crist stepped on a button and these guys were choking and running to try to escape from the bank. They were caught later.

Freight was handled at a place referred to as the platform. There were docks where freight was transferred from one car to another. Freight could be anything, candy, motorcycles, whatever. As a teenager I was able to work there on occasion. I also worked part time at the ice house. The ice house was located in back of where the Maybrook Diner is. Ice was manufactured, chopped up and poured through chutes into refrigerator cars.

On the bottom of Spring Street near the tracks was a couple fenced-in areas referred to as the cow pen. Cows, pigs, sheep and sometimes horses were let out of the train into these pens to get food and water. They were led back on the trains later on. For those of us growing up around there, it was our own private zoo.

Each year, the Barnum and Bailey Circus stopped in Maybrook on the way to New York City. School was let out on that day. Elephants were let off for food and water. Sometimes you could see other animals. Also you could talk to some of the circus performers. It was a real treat.

Every August, Maybrook had a celebration called Feast of the Assumption but referred to mostly as the Italian Feast, There were parades, food, games and fireworks. A really nice time.

Maybrook was an extremely important place during Word War 2. I remember seeing trains go by with artillery weapons, tanks and other items. Some of it was to be shipped to Russia. Some people said they may use it against us one day. Other times, troop trains stopped in Maybrook and the streets were filled with American soldiers for a while. One time a local young lady gave me fifty cents to bring a note to one of the soldiers. I think a few weddings took place from encounters like that. Later on trains went through with German prisoners on board guarded by American soldiers. One day some of us kids looking down at such a train gave them a salute that we had seen in movies and news reels. The railroad cops told us to not do that. My Catholic church and the Baptist and Methodist churches were full in those days. We prayed that the war would end and that “our boys” would come safely home.

Maybrook had lots of people in the military, genuine heroes, one of whom was Freddy Myers who was said to be the first American soldier to land on Japanese soil.

Maybrook had so many things to be proud of. For years no one could picture it without the railroad. It went from railroads to a trucking center and now maybe something else. God only knows what the next chapter will bring.