Leaving Nyack

For years no one even knew how to pronounce the name Barone. They’d say, Baron…Bar One…Baroneeeeee…even Barne. But in recent years, since a particularly popular TV show came about, they have NO problem saying the name but always start to ask….”you mean like... ?”, and I stop them short of saying what I KNOW they’re going to say, and tell them, “yes, Like Ray Barone”.then I give the obligatory rolling of the eyes.

For the record, I am a Barone who lives in Arizona. We live in Dewey Arizona. Sounds countrified don’t it? Well, down the street is Youngs’s Farm and a bar called Lef-T’s that all the locals hang out at, half of whom are named Rusty and own a horse as well as a Harley. But enough about that.

I am very much a Barone as well as a Pugliese in my mind. My father is Charles (aka Concetto, aka Sonny, aka Charlie) Barone who is the son of Bruno & Jennie Barone. For the first 8 years of my life I lived in South Nyack, NY. 11 Maple St was the place I remember most and enjoyed being completely surrounded by family. Down the street on Elysian Ave was Nona Rosa Pugliese who lived across the street from her daughter and my Grandmother Jennie Barone. Around the block, on Cedar Hill Ave, lived my Aunt Rose Rowell, who was one of my fathers’ younger sisters. Not far from us also lived Uncle Charlie Pugliese and my Aunt Rose (Boccino) on Piermont Ave. They have since died and I know the family and I miss him as well as his brother Tally and his wife Aunt Sally. Further up the road on Midland Ave lived my Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Frank Barone who was my fathers’ older brother. Just a bit further up Midland lived my Aunt Angie and my Uncle Jack. Aunt Angie was another younger sister of my fathers too

Whew! So, that’s a lot of family and along with my local friends Kenny Grey, Louie Scarangella, and others, I enjoyed life there. We’d play stick ball in the streets and at a young age were still allowed to walk to St Ann’s School by ourselves without worry of something bad happening along the way. All of the holidays were spent with relatives and everyone seemed to wear dress clothes more often than they do now. The whole atmosphere was “cool”. The cars were cool, the clothes including the PF Flyer sneakers were way cool,(which they always called “tennis shoes” in Arizona?????) The Beatles were just being discovered and Mickey Mantle was still THE man. Now THAT was cool.

Leaving Nyack came as a disappointment to me and also to the rest of my brothers and sister I believe. Arizona was not like the show “Rawhide” led us to think. Although it was loaded with tumbleweeds and cactus and scorpions and tarantellas and gila monsters (rarely seen), it was heat like the oven you bake in. But, there was no choosing where we were going as kids; we just went. It was culture shock that took years to overcome. Nyack was always on my mind and always intended on coming back to Nyack someday. I made one attempt after high school and it was a great experience for me. I’ll always remember the first day I came to Nyack then. I took a bus from Chandler, AZ and through the Port Authority NY and a bus from there to Nyack I found my way on foot to 48 Elysian Ave where my Grandfather lived. He was surprised I found it and maybe he was thinking how similar it was to his arriving in Rockland Lake around 50yrs earlier. But, he recognized me after many years had past, and we had a good talk. He gave me a sweater vest of his; something he was always known for wearing. Grandma said he had many of these in the dresser as they were one of his favorite things to wear; that and his short brim fedora type hats. We do have a picture of him wearing a cowboy hat while finishing a concrete walkway in a visit to AZ in the 60’s. True!



I bought a car while living in Nyack with the help of Grandpa Bruno and Grandma Jennie co-signing on a loan. It was a 1971 Chevelle and Grandpa Bruno was pretty proud that I asked him to do this which showed the character of the man he was. I didn’t let him down and paid the car off in 8 months. I remember Uncle Tally and Aunt Sally being very nice to me and Uncle Charlie and Aunt Rose being very good to me also during my time in Nyack. My cousin Steve Barone worked on my car when in need. He worked at a local gas station and garage, and Uncle Jack and Aunt Angie were always there for me. Uncle Jack actually gave me my first car when I first arrived in Nyack, a 1966 Chev Malibu station wagon with a engine that was shot which meant the time was going to be short for this car. 2 months later it gave up; hence the ’71 Chevelle and Grandpa’s help.

Within 14 months of coming to Nyack and living in the basement of Aunt Roses’ house, I left to go back to Arizona. I resigned myself to a future there. The time in Nyack made me very close to the Rowells and I appreciate it more than I can tell them. It was the single most important year in my life except with the meeting of my wife and the birth of our son years later.

I met my wife, Clara DiDonato, 100% Italian, from Massachusetts, 23 yrs ago in Tempe Az. We had a son, now 19yrs old, Nicholas Bruno Barone and I’m sure we’ll come back more often than we have in the past. And for the record, my son actually swears he’ll move to NYC before all is said and done. So beware Nyack, another Barone may be coming back to town!

Ken Barone