“Hitching the Ogden Avenue Bus” sounds like a daredevil documentary. This is not a movie title. This is a slice of life on Ogden Avenue in the Bronx back in the late 1940s and early 50s. Imagine kids, seven and up, with free reign of the streets. They faced little fear except for the occasional dogs and automobiles.
The Number 37 Ogden Avenue bus route started at 161st Street and River Avenue. It went west to the foot of 161st Street and Ogden Avenue. Then it turned up a steep hill. The route continued north, through Highbridge. Its final stop was at the Northeast corner of 181st Street and Broadway in Washington Heights.
Kids would hitch rides on the back of the bus. They stood on their toes on the rear fenders. They held onto the metal molding of the rear windows. All this while inhaling black clouds of diesel exhaust. The bus traveled slowly. It sped up over the Washington Bridge.
These kids couldn’t afford bikes. They had steel roller skates. When the skates broke, they made scooters. They used old wooden crates from supermarkets. These scooters weren’t built for speed or distance.
One rainy day, two friends, Danny and the narrator, hitched a ride on the 37 bus. Danny started telling jokes. The narrator laughed so much he lost his grip. He tumbled off the back of the bus. Luckily, traffic wasn’t heavy. He walked back to Ogden Avenue to await his return ride.
Later, the narrator was balancing on the rear bumper. A woman screamed. She shoved her umbrella into his rear. Danny laughed uncontrollably. The narrator decided to walk home. He retired from riding on the back of busses.
The next day, the school principal confronted him. The principal had seen him on the bus the day before. He made the narrator promise never to do it again.
Ogden Avenue also housed apartment buildings. 901 Ogden Avenue was home to some. 918 Ogden Avenue Apartments offered low-income housing. The LIHTC program supported these rentals. This program gave incentives to provide affordable housing.
Growing up on Ogden Avenue was a unique experience. It was a time of freedom. It was a time of adventure. It was a time of learning life lessons. It was a time of community. From hitching rides on buses to building scooters, Ogden Avenue kids made the most of their surroundings.