Growing up you could say I lived on the wrong side of the tracks. Well,that's if you lived on the other side of the tracks. We referred to it as, " b'low the bridge." Driving down Main street heading east one would pass under a railroad bridge. That was the bridge being referred to. Actually there are two bridges in fairly close proximity and you could pass under either of them.
Just a tiny bit west of these bridges stands " Hook Mill ." Hook mill is an actual windmill. Just one of several in town. They are all preserved now and stand as testimony to the old days. When building a windmill it is preferable to build it on high high ground. The reason for this is the obvious one, to take full advantage of the wind. Hook mill stands atop a knoll. Back in the days of horse and wagon one would bring their product to be ground to the mill. You just drove that team of horses to one side of the mill where it was unloaded and then you " hooked " around the mill and headed back home. The majority of the people lived above this knoll to the west (uptown). You wouldn't drive a horse drawn wagon up or down a hill unless you had no choice. Especially a fully loaded wagon. They didn't have anti lock disc brakes you know !
The area of town b'low the bridge came to be called " The Hook." If you say you are going to the hook everyone would know exactly where you intended to go.Also being behind the windmill and somewhat out of sight, things may be purchased here in a discreet fashion. Things you may or may not want others to know about. Down Hook as it is called. As in,where are you going ? Down Hook. There was a certain implication in that statement. Things "down hook " are rough and ready !
Back in the early days all the more prosperous folks lived uptown. They were the early settlers and the old families owned the land in the village and a lot of the surrounding area. Only a few lived b'low the bridge. And those that did were fisherman and Indians ! Like everything else, this changed over time but being from b'low the bridge retained that stigma. I grew up b'low the bridge.
I never felt that I was treated any different by anyone. I was aware of the stigma of being from b'low the bridge though. My parents and Grand parents made sure of that. I think they experienced some prejudice during their lifetime. Whether it was real or just perceived doesn't matter. To them it was a reality. I would hear stuff from Mom and Dad like, you got no business hanging around with them uptown kids. Dad also felt politics,at least local politics,was best left to the uptowners. That those who lived uptown had more wealth I never doubted. Had to have money to live in the village ! Everybody knew that. These people were the shop owners. Rich folks. That is what we were told anyway.
Now us folks living b'low the bridge did our shopping down hook. We had our own appliance store,barber shop,two grocery stores, a luncheonette,a clothing store and a liquor store. We did have to go uptown for our other needs but did so out of necessity. Why uptown they charged a fortune ! No sir we tried to stay b'low the bridge as much as possible and complain about those living above it.
I expect it is that way in a lot of towns. We who lived b'low the bridge bore that stigma as a badge of honor. We were convinced that those above the bridge were all snobs and looked down upon us. My generation started the process of debunking that myth. I no longer live there so can not speak to the present situation. I'm thinking it is a lot different now. Whether that is good or bad is a matter of perspective. The town has grown up.
Just a tiny bit west of these bridges stands " Hook Mill ." Hook mill is an actual windmill. Just one of several in town. They are all preserved now and stand as testimony to the old days. When building a windmill it is preferable to build it on high high ground. The reason for this is the obvious one, to take full advantage of the wind. Hook mill stands atop a knoll. Back in the days of horse and wagon one would bring their product to be ground to the mill. You just drove that team of horses to one side of the mill where it was unloaded and then you " hooked " around the mill and headed back home. The majority of the people lived above this knoll to the west (uptown). You wouldn't drive a horse drawn wagon up or down a hill unless you had no choice. Especially a fully loaded wagon. They didn't have anti lock disc brakes you know !
The area of town b'low the bridge came to be called " The Hook." If you say you are going to the hook everyone would know exactly where you intended to go.Also being behind the windmill and somewhat out of sight, things may be purchased here in a discreet fashion. Things you may or may not want others to know about. Down Hook as it is called. As in,where are you going ? Down Hook. There was a certain implication in that statement. Things "down hook " are rough and ready !
Back in the early days all the more prosperous folks lived uptown. They were the early settlers and the old families owned the land in the village and a lot of the surrounding area. Only a few lived b'low the bridge. And those that did were fisherman and Indians ! Like everything else, this changed over time but being from b'low the bridge retained that stigma. I grew up b'low the bridge.
I never felt that I was treated any different by anyone. I was aware of the stigma of being from b'low the bridge though. My parents and Grand parents made sure of that. I think they experienced some prejudice during their lifetime. Whether it was real or just perceived doesn't matter. To them it was a reality. I would hear stuff from Mom and Dad like, you got no business hanging around with them uptown kids. Dad also felt politics,at least local politics,was best left to the uptowners. That those who lived uptown had more wealth I never doubted. Had to have money to live in the village ! Everybody knew that. These people were the shop owners. Rich folks. That is what we were told anyway.
Now us folks living b'low the bridge did our shopping down hook. We had our own appliance store,barber shop,two grocery stores, a luncheonette,a clothing store and a liquor store. We did have to go uptown for our other needs but did so out of necessity. Why uptown they charged a fortune ! No sir we tried to stay b'low the bridge as much as possible and complain about those living above it.
I expect it is that way in a lot of towns. We who lived b'low the bridge bore that stigma as a badge of honor. We were convinced that those above the bridge were all snobs and looked down upon us. My generation started the process of debunking that myth. I no longer live there so can not speak to the present situation. I'm thinking it is a lot different now. Whether that is good or bad is a matter of perspective. The town has grown up.
A child's perspective is always so interesting! I was always in the middle - not an "upstreeter" as my father used to say, but not below the bridge either. My ancestors were blue collar blacksmiths and my father was paying off two mortgages on the old family home my friends thought was huge. Money was tight - he was the first college graduate in the family and managed to do alright, but we were never part of the upstreet crowd.
ReplyDeleteThings have changed but we still laugh about the old designations, as I mentioned on your blog about the Odd Fellows Hall (confusing the two byt assigning this title to that one - sorry!).
Good blog - so many memories!
Was that area of North Main St. called 'Down Hook'...or was that the area where Main St/Montauk Hwy makes the 'hook' toward the east, heading for Amagansett? I always thought that after you passed Hook Mill on Main Street, and headed North, down under the railroad bridge, the IGA/Brill's area was called "b'low the bridge" ...as was anything north of that. Am I wrong?
ReplyDelete