The one where Mama takes the girls to Coney Island.
Listen to the episode
Join hosts Merav and Batya as they delve into all things All-of-a-Kind Family. Today we talk about Coney Island, the connection between hirsutism and Judaism, the origins of carnival rides, the evolution of the side show, Henny’s chutzpah, the reality of growing up without air conditioning, where upstate New York begins, our fascination with twinkling lights, and so much more!
Our chapter in summary
When the summer heat is relentless, Mama promises the girls a visit to the beach. The girls help Mama prepare, packing lunches and carrying bundles on the over-crowded streetcar, arriving early enough to swim in the ocean before eating lunch. They play in the sand, and beg to be allowed to visit the midway. Mama relents, but then disaster strikes when Henny gets lost. Mama and Ella fruitlessly search the crowds, until the carnival workers suggest they try the police station. Henny turns up safe and sound, and the family comes back to meet Papa in the sweltering city, almost too tired to tell him of their adventures.
No time to listen?
We understand that podcasts aren’t always going to be a good fit for your schedule, but you don’t have to miss out.
Catch up on all the latest episodes from the All-of-a-Kind Podcast starting with this full transcript of the episode one.
Check out the index page for season one to get all of your favorite episodes and transcript in one place.
Show Notes:
The journey to Coney Island from the Lower East Side
The family departs from the Second Avenue trolley terminal, which has lain fallow since 1948. Some people dream of reinventing it as an underground park, but the Parks Department would need to make the MTA a great offer to make it happen. The family almost certainly disembarks at the Culver Depot near Coney Island.
The history of Coney Island
Coney Island, named for the over-preponderance of rabbits that used to live there, has been host to a huge number of amusement parks. Mama and the girls visit just after Dreamland burned down. They may have visited Steeplechase Park or Luna Park, both of which remained open through the 1940s.
Was there a boardwalk?
Mama and the girls are depicted strolling easily around Coney Island, but the famous boardwalk was not yet in place. There would have been some early friction-based roller coasters, and they might have seen a precursor to the Wonder Wheel which will go up in 1920. Possibly a knock-off of the original Ferris Wheel from the 1904 World’s Fair. A Trip to the Moon from 1901.
The sideshow
Sideshow performers were minor celebrities at Coney Island, and many people came to seek them out as part of the day’s fun. They would have included Wild Men of Borneo, and certainly a bearded lady.
The beachside feast
Bread and butter sandwiches with both sour rye and pumpernickel bread, hardboiled eggs, whole tomatoes with salt, and limburger sandwiches for Mama. And two kinds of little iced cakes, chocolate and vanilla. Even at the beach, Mama stays on top of making sure the girls get their nutrients.
Iconic Coney Island
The Coney Island the girls visit in 1912 is almost certainly the side show that was quickly put up in the wake of the Dreamland Fire. Many of the things that we associate with Coney Island today, like the Wonder Wheel (1920), the Cyclone (1927), the now-repurposed parachute jump (1939-1965), the carousel (various, from 1875), the friction roller coaster (circa 1903), the boardwalk (1923) and more weren’t around until much later.
Other references in this episode:
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein, the city of Brighton, bedclothes, flannel nightgowns, A Visit From St. Nicholas (1823), elaborate sand castles, the movie Meet Me In St. Louis (1944), reader’s disease, New York City blocks, the fight over where upstate New York begins, the movie Freaks (1932), the K’tonton books by Sadie Rose Weilerstein, the Lilith Magazine issue about Jewish hair, the film Fur (2006), photographer Diane Arbus biographies, the original Ferris wheel was recreated for the television show Loki (2021-2023), geophysical surveys in archeology, Alice Hoffman’s novel The Museum of Extraordinary Things (2014), P.T. Barnum’s bad luck with museums, the wonderful web series Defunctland, the Disneyland Electric Light Parade, famous sets of conjoined twins, like Daisy and Violet Hilton (1908-1969) or Chang and Eng Bunker(1811-1874)