SUMMER OF SIXTY FOUR
FAMILY COOK OUTS

The summer of 1964 was flush with sounds from your transistor radio. The Beatles were at the top of the charts with “I Want to Hold Your Hand” followed closely by the Animals “House of the Rising Sun”. There was a plethora of good sounds that rocked the summer; Beach Boys “I Get Around”, The Drifters “Under the Boardwalk”, The Kinks, “You Really Got Me”, Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” and the infamous Zombies “She’s Not There”. Summers were always fun at 13 Lois Avenue in East Brunswick. We were one of the first families to have a high fidelity stereo. It was as big as a suitcase and had speakers attached to both ends that could be separated. You could listen to Cousin Brucie on WABC AM Radio or the great late night host of WNEW FM Allison Steele “The Night Bird”. It also came with a turn table for 45 singles or 78 albums. This latest and greatest piece of technology was fired up at 7 AM in the morning and went well into the night. That stereo had a permanent position in the kitchen window speakers facing the back yard!

We had an above ground pool that was set up every summer and over utilized by my four sisters, my brother, me and a myriad of friends. It was nice to be able to cool off on those hot and humid Jersey Days. Most of our relatives lived in Jersey City and many of them would drive to the country (East Brunswick) for the summer weekends. Our house was like party central every weekend. We had 24 cousins on my mother’s side of the family and I swore some weekends they were all there. My dad would always grill hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken on the charcoal Weber Grill. My mom would make a big salad and cook corn on the cob. There was, of course, lottsa cold beer to cool off the adults. There may have been a few stray beers liberated by some of the teenagers. There was always a lot of singing along with the radio or specific albums. My mom loved music, all music. There weren’t many parents back then that appreciated Rock & Roll. My mom loved it. She particularly enjoyed Sam Cooke and she played his music so much that my sisters, brother and I all knew every word to every song he ever recorded. I think half the neighborhood did as well. To this day I remember the words.

Some nights my dad would make a bond fire and throw in a bunch of potatoes wrapped up in aluminum foil. He called them hot taders. He would leave them in the fire for almost an hour and then pull them out and serve with butter, pepper and chives. They were always the best potatoes! I liked eating them outside at the picnic table watching all the fire flies in the woods. It was always so much fun having so many cousins, uncles and aunts over. Many of them would stay over and god knows where we all slept. Three to a bed I think. Life seemed so much simpler back then, I wouldn’t mind going back for a weekend or two!