Category Archives: Chapbooks
Paul Samperi – A Nice Tavern
Paul Samperi describes his father’s ownership of the Union Club and the Continental Hotel during Prohibition and beyond.
Evelyn Smith – Always Helping People
Evelyn Smith recalls the contributions of her parents, Leo and Sarah Smith, to the Civil Rights Movement and trade unionism.
L. Raines & C. Ruchhovansky – We Did Have Wonderful Times
Hoboken Girl Scouts and the Little House on Garden Street
Two former Girl Scouts and Scout Leaders Lee Raines (1924- 2006) and Catherine Ruchhovansky remember the fun they had, and discuss the changing role of women, opportunities Scouting afforded poor and working class girls, and the demand for parking in Hoboken which brought about the sale of the Girl Scout House for a robotic parking garage.
Amada Ortega – Hoboken Was Just Like Heaven for Us
Hoboken educator Amada Ortega remembers how she and her husband Manuel were welcomed by their neighbors when they arrived from Cuba in 1948, and recalls her years teaching at the Industrial School and in the Hoboken Public Schools.
Paula Millenthal Cantor – The Minute I Walked into the Place…
Paula Millenthal Cantor is the great-granddaughter of one of the founders of Congregation Adas Emuno and an alumna of Stevens Hoboken Academy.
Giorgio Castiello – It Takes Fifty Years to be a Chef
Owner of Giorgio’s Bakery, Giorgio Castiello, and one of his daughters, Mary Grace, discuss Mr. Castiello’s introduction of traditional Italian pastries to Hoboken residents.
Carol Wilson – Soup Spy, Tea Acolyte
Carol Ann Wilson discusses the after-school jobs she held at the Maxwell House Coffee and Lipton Tea factories in Hoboken.
Louis LaRusso – The Simple Dialogue of My People
Louis LaRusso II (1936-2003) was a Hoboken-born playwright who featured the working class people of his beloved city in over half of the 70 plays he authored.
Jack Quinby – Boats, Ships & Everything
Jack Quinby (1930-1995) was a marine engineer at Hoboken’s Lackawanna Railroad Terminal and worked as a fireman on coal-burning tugs and ferryboats.
Charles Kosbab – Sweet Cigar Charlie, Rigger Specialist
Charles Kosbab (1915-2001) was a rigger at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Hoboken (and its predecessors, W. & A. Fletcher Co. & United Dry Docks) for 53 years.