When our wedding date was approaching, we needed a place to live. Uncle Tony was working at a 2 family house in Carteret that was being renovated into 2 apartments. We talked to the landlady and convinced her to let us do the finishing touches (like paint) in exchange for a few months rent. The rent was also very cheap ($125/month) which was great since we were still going to college. Thus, the downstairs apartment at 12 Christopher Street became our first home.
It was a small house with a small kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom, plus 2 very tiny rooms, one of which we turned into a walk-in closet, and the other into an office. The front door used an ancient “skeleton” key so we didn’t use that but used the rear entrance. One interesting feature was a “pocket door” between the living room and bedroom. The bedroom actually extended over the porch so it was always cold.
The two apartments were heated by steam furnace. The steam pipes for the upstairs apartment actually were exposed in the corners of some of our rooms. Whenever the heat came on the pipes began to “clang” until they heated up. Having never lived in a house with steam radiators, the noises it created were new to us and sometimes scary. I remember many nights being woken up by Rose because it sounded like someone was walking around the basement. I would have to get up and go downstairs to verify that no one was there. The things you do for love!
We purchased a used electric dryer through the want ads for $25. With a few dollar part it was good as new. Unfortunately, this being an old house, running a 220v wire from the electrical box to the dryer cost us more than $100. Boy, were we surprised!
Our apartment was very near where Aunt Mary worked. It was very common for her to stop by after work unannounced just when we were preparing dinner. As a result we had to stretch our planned supper for another person. We liked that she felt comfortable enough to stop by, but sometimes newly weds like to be alone. This continued for most of the time we lived on Christopher Street but was very rare once we moved to our home on Monroe Avenue.
Since we were the first “cousins” to get married, we decided to celebrate our first New Years Eve with a party. We invited cousins and friends and had a great time. It began to snow, so most people decided to sleep over for the night. There were people sleeping everywhere on the floor and chairs, wherever they could find space. The next morning after everyone left we found a mouse scurring about where the people had just been sleeping. I remember Mike, Rick and myself chasing it with a broom until we captured it and brought it outside. Good thing he wasn’t found when the people were sleeping!
Our apartment was close to the oil refineries that dot the Arthur Kill in Carteret, Linden, and Elizabeth. I remember one night when we heard this loud “blasts” that shook our house. We could see this bright red and yellow light shining in through the shades. When we opened them everything was aglow. A large oil tank had exploded nearby and the windows were vibrating from the burning oil fire. Fortunately, it was under control before long and had no lasting effect on our neighborhood.
