Not too long ago I received a call from Dave Ferro, a native Auburnian, who grew up on the west side of Auburn in the 1950s.

He said that “history came from our grandparents' and parents' time, and we have been collecting papers, photographs and recordings from relatives.”

Dave's first memories were of 34 Barber St. where his family lived in the house of his foster father's brother, Dominick Basile, and his wife, Nancy.

There was no outside entrance to their upstairs living quarters, and the family had to go through Dominick's front door to get to the stairway, which took them to their private part of the house, where they had their own kitchen.

They only came downstairs for special occasions.

The Basiles came from an area of Italy near Bari, and Dave's mother learned many culinary recipes from them that were not common to her homeland in the Appennine Mountains near Campobasso, nor in the province of Abruzzo, where the Ferros came from.

Dave remembers his father giving him wine when he was 7 years old and telling him that it was sweet, like grape juice.

He said of his father's wine, “one sip, and believe me, it was not like grape juice. It was homemade wine from the cellar adjoining the dining room. I didn't touch wine again until I was 20.”

Dave's bedroom was in the front of the house, and it was usually quiet at night, “but one night, someone was actually walking down Barber Street after 10 p.m., and I was worried that the person was coming to our house.”

Since Barber Street is on a hill, Dave had a great view from his room, looking down on West Street and all the way to ALCO on Clark Street.

He remembers hearing his mother singing every day. She even sang “Stormy Weather” when the sun was shining. “Her voice was better than the radio,” Dave said. Doesn't it seem that people sung a lot more in those days?

Sometimes on warm summer nights, the neighborhood fathers would cover the street lights and set up a large bed sheet on someone's front lawn and show movies. “We sat on the sidewalk and road, which was blocked off.”

Dave didn't say if this was official or by mutual understanding. People were much more easy-going then.

Dave can still hear his aunt Nancy's voice from downstairs when the family was watching the “I Love Lucy” show. “I knew it was hilarious from the rate and rise of her laughter. It brought about the purchase of our own television, even though my dad could not really afford to buy one.”

He also remembers, “Going to the Neighborhood House with my cousin Chick Basile, sneakers tied together and hung around our necks. We walked downhill from Barber Street and up Spring Street to get there. We always stopped for a minute at Mary's Grocery Store to look at the candy in the window before we go to our destination. It was fun to play on the basketball courts upstairs. Running around seems to be an important part of childhood.”

Dave Ferro had a great deal to tell me bout his early life in his old neighborhood, and I'm sure you'll be hearing more about it in the near future.

Meanwhile, if you have any stories about my old neighborhood, or yours, please call me at 252-9544, and we'll share some memories.

Tom DeFurio is former town supervisor for Sennett.