John Wayne of the Optical World

At the time of my birth, we lived in a third-floor apartment on the southeast corner of Gates Avenue and Washington Avenue. The apartment must have been a bit tight for a growing family, as shortly after my birth, we moved to a three-story home about half a block north, closer to the East River.

The address was 447A Washington Avenue. We had a side alley that went to a backyard that served three other neighboring homes.

The Neighborhood:

Our next-door neighbor, across the alley, was Dr. Ted Minor, a graduate of Dartmouth College. My grandparents (Lamphear) on my mother’s side, lived two streets down from us at 41 Cambridge Place, which was parallel to where we lived on Washington Avenue.

Adelphi Academy, a small and old neighborhood private school was close by. There’s a lot of family history associated with Adelphi Academy as both my grandmother, Salome Lamphear, and my mother, Dorothy Lamphear May attended the school from kindergarten through High School. My younger brother Donald (two years my junior) and I also attended the school, which was affiliated with Adelphi College.

The school has no resemblance today, to what I remember back then as a child. Yes, institutions and all good things can and do change over time. But my memories of home, neighborhood, school, friends, and family remain strong and fond.

Eventually, Adelphi moved to Queens County, and it’s name and reputation has grown strong over the years.

Photos of my early ears will be added shortly to this site.  I’m sure everyone will enjoy, and get a laugh out of seeing the old time photos of our home, family, pony rides and more from those many years gone-by.

Values