Large vs. Small Homes

In Runnemede in the 50s there were few truly large homes, and even the large homes were small by today's standards.

I recall when Dr. Palmisano set up his office on 6th Avenue. He and his family were in a small home, and the front room was the office. He wasn't there for many years, but through third grade, Elsalyn, his oldest daughter and I were playmates. During that year and the next the family was building a "large" home on the Pike with his office in a separate, but connected, building behind the main house.

After they moved in, and I was given the grand tour by Elsalyn, I had never seen such a home. It was huge, I thought. It had closets! Closets are those tiny rooms where you store things. Our house had two very, very, very tiny rooms for storing things, but this house had not-so-tiny rooms in every room, including the upstairs hallway (which closest we pretended was an elevator for a few weeks). It was hard for me to believe that people would even NEED so many closets. The dining room had a built-in china cabinet. The kitchen was loaded with cabinets. Yet, it really wasn't that big of a home. Maybe 2,400 square feet max.

Also, included in the "big home" category was Dr. Luisi's home. He also lived on the Pike -- but at the other end of Runnemede (north end). He had a tennis court in his back yard. Of course, it took up the whole yard. But, imagine, having your own tennis court in your own yard. Our "hit the ball against the school wall" tennis court, couldn't compare. Even this house, while large by Runnemede standards wasn't that large either. And part of it, not a separate building, was used for the dentist's office. I was never in that home.

Our small Runnemede homes, however, were sufficient for our needs. I mean, doesn't every six person family live in a two-bedroom home, one bathroom, and an attic?

As I pass those homes on the Pike, now, I think, well, when I was small they were big houses, now they aren't such large homes anymore.