Frank Santos and Elizabeth Gaffney

Interview Description

Oral History Interview with Frank Santos, with Elizabeth Gaffney

One of six children, Frank Santos was born in 1927 and raised on Hicks Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. His parents had emigrated from the Canary Islands in the early 1920s. He and several siblings followed their father into the woodworking trades. As a child, Santos attended the parochial Assumption School in the Heights. A father and grandfather, he was also a Florida resident as of 2017. As stated on her website, Elizabeth Gaffney is also "a native Brooklynite. She graduated with honors from Vassar College and holds a master's degree in fiction from Brooklyn College; she also studied philosophy and German at Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, the neurologist Alex Boro, and their daughters. Her second novel, 'When the World Was Young,' was published by Random House in 2014." The story is set in Brooklyn Heights in the period of the Second World War.*

*Source: http://www.elizabethgaffney.net/author.html

In the interview, Frank Santos begins with some of his family's biographical details, then describes local doctors in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of his youth. He recalls many elements of his childhood throughout the interview; such as building wagons and scooters to race with friends, the neighborhood before the disruption of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, and personal hygiene in a cold water flat. Santos vividly recalls amenities and features of the 1930s and 1940s Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights neighborhoods. He speaks of his respect for Jewish neighbors and their philanthropy. Aspects of life during World War II like working on oil barges for the Army, rationing, blackouts, air raid warnings, and soldiers on duty in Cadman Plaza. Elizabeth Gaffney shares a few details about her history with the Heights and she and Santos make comparisons about real estate and investment in the area. Prior to this oral history, Santos was interviewed weeks earlier, and that interview is also within this series. Interview conducted by Sady Sullivan, with Elizabeth Gaffney contributing interview questions as part of her writing preparation.

The Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors series features a broad range of narrators. Most are not well-known public figures but are well-known to their neighbors. This ongoing, extensive series focuses on Brooklyn history and the experiences of these narrators document national and international history as well. The interviews include people from diverse backgrounds making observations or sharing recollections about the growth and condition of several neighborhoods within Brooklyn. Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, and Fort Greene were heavily represented as of 2017. The oldest narrator in this collection was born in 1927.

Citation

Santos, Frank and Gaffney, Elizabeth, Oral history interview conducted by Sady Sullivan, October 27, 2008, Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors, 2008.031.5.020; Brooklyn Historical Society.