Note: Some of the page numbers and publication titles were not listed on the archived materials. In addition to the following resources, my recreation of events in this book was culled from my own interviews with people, including Lew Wechsler, Bea Wechsler, Katy Wechsler, Nick Wechsler, Daisy Myers, William Myers III, Simone Levitt, William Levitt Jr., James Levitt, Jon Levitt, Gaby Altman, Nicole Bernstein, David Virgil Randall, Governor George Leader, Dave Matza, Samuel Snipes, Charles Biederman, Harriet and Paul Pushinsky, Roy Sheldon, Howard Kasman, Hal Lefcourt, Ralph Della Ratta, Ed Cortese, Diane Walker, and Bud Rubin.
Prologue
xii “Our property seems”: Kenneth Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Subur-banization of the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), p. 12.
Chapter One
2 “The way to be happy”: “Abraham Levitt Is Dead at 82; Developer of Three Levittowns; Lawyer Founded Firm That Built 60,000 Homes in East—Active in Philanthropies,” New York Times, August 21, 1962, p. 33.
2 washing dishes at restaurants and selling newspapers: Ibid.
2 He started with magazines: Ibid.
3 As a sophomore: Ibid; and author interview, Jon Levitt.
3 As his family would later joke: Author interview, William Levitt Jr.
4 “Self-confidence waxed”: Current Biography Yearbook 1956 (New York: HW Wilson, 1956), p. 373.
4 Alfred, introspective: “Up from the Potato Fields,” Time, July 3, 1950, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812779,00.html.
4 They dueled: Author interview, Jon Levitt.
4 At PS 44: “Dream Builder,” Newsday, September 18, 1997, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-levittown-hslevpro,0,721552.story.
4 In one photo: Author interview, William Levitt Jr.
4 “Alfred is a genius”: “Dream Builder.”
5 “Where’s your brother”: Ibid.
5 At sixteen: Ibid.
5 “I got itchy”: “Up from the Potato Fields.”
5 Around that time: “William J. Levitt: Master Builder,” Horizons 18 (1976).
5 The housing market: Nathaniel Schneider Keith, Politics and the Housing Crisis Since 1930 (New York: Universe Books, 1973), p. 17, as cited in Rosalyn Baxandall and Elizabeth Ewen, Picture Windows (New York: Basic Books, 2000), p. 32.
5 With many losing money: Tom Bernard, “New Homes for $60 a Month,” American Magazine, April 1948, p. 104.
5 “Bill wouldn’t be a success”: “Dream Builder.”
6 Thomas Jefferson said: Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, p. 68.
6 Llewellyn Park, New Jersey: Ibid., p. 78.
6 Brooklyn bard: Ibid., p. 50.
6 Frederick Law Olmstead: Ibid., p. 79.
6 One scribe: Ted Steinberg, American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006), p. 12.
7 And so that homeowners: Ibid.
7 “The city is doomed”: Kenneth Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburban-ization of the United States (New York: Oxford University Press), p. 175.
7 883,000 homes: Ibid.
7 As the end of the decade: Baxandall and Ewen, Picture Windows, p. 30.
7 New housing: Ibid., p. 32.
8 As the head of: “William J. Levitt: Master Builder.”
8 “Better come in”: Ibid.
8 While the Depression loomed: “New Homes for $60 a Month,” p. 104.
8 By 1934: Baxandall and Ewen, Picture Windows, p. 74.
8 He would bring: Ibid., p. 75.
8 Bill secured land: “Developers Defy Depression Years; Long Island Company Has Constructed and Sold 250 Dwellings Since 1929. New Group Under Way; Levitt & Sons Plan the Eventual Erection of 200 More Residences at Manhasset,” New York Times, October 28, 1934, p. RE1.
8 “Alfred loves to draw”: Eugene Rachlis and John E. Marqusee, The Land Lords (New York: Random House, 1963), p. 232.
8 He was the first: Author interview, William Levitt Jr.
8 The idea for Manhasset: Baxandall and Ewen, Picture Windows, p. 75.
9 No home would go: Ibid.
9 The homes were built: Barbara M. Kelly, Expanding the American Dream: Building and Rebuilding Levittown (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), p. 37.
9 It included a: “Manhasset Homes Have Novel Notes,” Washington Post, April 8, 1934, p. R3.
9 Alfred said: “Levitt’s Progress,” Fortune, October 1952, p. 164.
9 They called it: “New Features Seen in Manhasset Home,” New York Times, April 25, 1937, p. 190.
9 They converted a: “Club to Be Part of the Home Colony,” New York Times, March 5, 1939, p RE1.
10 Even doghouses: Baxandall and Ewen, Picture Windows, p. 76.
11 The New York Times: “Developers Defy Depression Years,” p. RE1.
11 Abe Levitt and his kids: Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, p. 234.
11 Word spread: “Dream Builder.”
11 “in the seventeenth century”: “The House That Levitt Built,” Esquire, December 1983, p. 5.
Chapter Two
16 While the U.S. Supreme Court: Rosalyn Baxandall and Elizabeth Ewen, Picture Windows (New York: Basic Books, 2000), p. 31.
16 Banks refused: Becky M. Nicolaides and Andrew Wiese, The Suburb Reader (New York: Routledge, 2006), p. 225.
16 Believing that blacks: Baxandall and Ewen, Picture Windows, p. 26.
17 One Long Island march: Ibid., p. 30.
17 The HOLC pumped: Kenneth Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburban-ization of the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985). pp. 196–97.
17 A community in St. Louis: Ibid., 200.
17 Scholars and real-estate-textbook: Ibid., 198.
17 “Inharmonious groups of people”: Nicolaides and Wiese, Suburb Reader, p. 237.
18 Bankers and Realtors: Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, p. 203.
18 With the Federal Housing Administration’s creation: James W. Loewen, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism (New York: The New Press, 2005), p. 129.
18 “If a neighborhood is”: Federal Housing Administration, Underwriting Manual: Underwriting and Valuation Procedure Under Title II of the National Housing Act with Revisions to April 1, 1936 (Washington, D.C.), pt. 2, sec. 2, “Rating of Location.”
18 “Natural or artificially”: Ibid.
18 The next provision: Federal Housing Administration, Underwriting Manual: Underwriting and Valuation Procedure Under Title II of the National Housing Act with Revisions to February, 1938 (Washington, D.C.), pt. 2, sec. 9, “Rating of Location.”
18 While the HOLC insured: Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, 207.
18 “For perhaps the first”: Ibid., 213.
18 “The national government”: Ibid., 217.
21 She said it felt as if: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 13.
21 “If integration works here”: Ibid., p. 12.
Chapter Three
24 “Because, honey”: Interview, Bea and Lew Wechsler.
25 Formed in 1931: Robert Cohen, “Student Activism in the 1930s,” http:// newdeal.feri.org/students/move.htm.
25 One letter writer: “Our Red Menace,” New York Times, April 11, 1932, p. 14.
26 “The creation of the deeply”: “Nation’s Students Strike for Peace; Disorders Are Few,” New York Times, April 13, 1935, p. 1.
26 few high school students: Ibid.
27 “It condemns the ‘southern system’ ”: “Students in a Union,” New York Times, January 5, 1936, p. X9.
29 “Ownership of homes”: Barbara M. Kelly, Expanding the American Dream: Building and Rebuilding Levittown (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), p. 48.
29 “A nation of homeowners”: Ibid., 49.
29 At the New York World’s Fair: Kenneth Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), p. 187.
29 Pop songs such as: Rosalyn Baxandall and Elizabeth Ewen, Picture Windows (New York: Basic Books, 2000), p. 22.
29 Magazines such as: Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, p. 232.
29 “All the fighting power”: Baxandall and Ewen, Picture Windows, p. 83.
30 Nineteen forty-five would be: Dolores Hayden, Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth, 1820–2000 (New York: Vintage Books, 2004), p. 131.
30 Six million moved in: Ibid.
30 “Most veterans said: “Homes in Barracks Attract Veterans; Applying for Homes in Former Military Installations,” New York Times, December 4, 1945, p. 21.
30 A half million: Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, p. 232.
30 One senator: Lomas Financial Corporation, p. 3, Levittown History Collection, Levittown Library, NY.
30 But their so-called: Hayden, Building Suburbia, p. 130.
30 It was “a deliberately created slum”: Baxandall and Ewen, Picture Windows, p. 91.
31 “There are those who maintain”: Ibid., p. 93.
31 Planes dropped flyers: Ibid., p. 94.
31 Painters and bricklayers: Ibid., p. 98.
Chapter Four
35 “a big car”. “Up from the Potato Fields,” Time, July 3, 1950, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812779,00.html.
35 And for the young, self-taught builders: “Revolutionizing an Industry: William J. Levitt,” Lessons of Leadership: 21 Leaders Speak Out on Creating, Developing, and Managing Success (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1968), p. 56.
36 “It is part”: “They’ll Build Neighborhoods, Not Houses,” Saturday Evening Post, October 28, 1946, pp. 11, 43–46.
36 Some in the company: “Up from the Potato Fields.”
36 “That little branch”: Eugene Rachlis and John E. Marqusee The Land Lords (New York: Random House, 1963), p. 233.
36 As the press later recounted: Current Biography Yearbook 1956 (New York: HW Wilson, 1956), p. 374.
36 Levitt made sure: “Dream Builder,” Newsday, September 18, 1987, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-levittown-hslevpro,0,721552.story.
37 the demand, sixteen million: “The Six Thousand Houses That Levitt Built,” Harper’s, September 1948, p. 82.
37 While sitting with companions: Lomas Financial Corporation, “The First 10 Years,” undated, p. 4, Levittown Public Library.
37 As Alfred put it: “A Community Builder Looks at Community Planning,” Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Spring 1951, p. 88.
37 They would, he said: Ibid., p. 80.
38 “Access to a swimming pool”: Rosalyn Baxandall and Elizabeth Ewen, Picture Windows (New York: Basic Books, 2000), p. 131.
38 “There will be no need”: “They’ll Build Neighborhoods,” pp. 11, 43–46.
38 “Mrs. Kilroy Gets”: “Mrs. Kilroy Gets the Best,” New York Times, September 14, 1947, p. SM29.
39 “Alfred [draws] on”: “The House That Levitt Built,” Newsday, August 15, 1997, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-levittown-hslevhou,0,7148676.story?coll=ny-lihistory-navigation.
39 “Teams of two or three”: “New Homes for $60 a Month,” American Magazine, April 1948, pp. 46–47, 104–7.
40 “A small builder”: “Suburban Pioneers,” Newsday, September 28, 1997, p. H23.
40 A photo spread: Newsday, May 28, 1947, p. 17.
41 “I wanted the new name”: “Levitt Licks the Housing Shortage,” Coronet, September 1948, p. 112–16.
41 “Milk wagons raced”: “1st Vets Move in at Island Trees,” Newsday, October 2, 1947, p. 2.
42 “An Accomplishment”: “Six Thousand Houses That Levitt Built,” p. 79.
42 Newsday, declared it: “Pride and Prejudice,” Newsday, no date/page, Levittown History Collection, Levittown Library, NY.
42 “Cultivation, cultivation, cultivation!”: “Chats on Gardening,” Levittown Tribune, May 22, 1952, p. 6.
43 “They ride roughshod”: “Chats on Gardening,” Levittown Tribune, June 12, 1952, p. 8.
43 “The policy that has prevailed”: “Rental Policy to Remain Unchanged at Levittown,” Newsday, June 1, 1949.
44 “It’s not me”: Llewellyn M. Smith, “The House We Live In,” Race: The Power of an Illusion (San Francisco: California Newsreel, 2004), http://www.newsreel.org/transcripts/race3.htm.
44 As she was led outside: “Say Negroes Got Levitt ‘No,’ ” Newsday, June 7, 1949.
44 “Give me a chance”: “An Interview with Levitt,” Building the American Dream, documentary, 1993, transcript excerpt, http://www.uvm.edu/~jloewen/sundowntownsshow.php?id=272.
44 “We can solve”: Kenneth Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), p. 241.
44 “Despite the skeptics”: “Suburban Pioneers,” Newsday, September 28, 1997, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny_levittown_hslevone,0,7345274.story?coll=ny-lihistory-navigation.
44 Despite Levitt’s claims: To Stand and Fight: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Postwar New York City, new ed. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), pp. 230–31.
44 “Organizations which appear”: Newsday, editorial, March 12, 1949.
45 One morning: John Thomas Liell, “Levittown: A Study in Community Planning and Development” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1952), p. 259.
46 “We’ve waited”: “Home-Rush Mobs Levitt,” Newsday, May 12, 1949, p. 5.
46 “In a scene”: Ibid.
46 By November 1951: “Veteran Takes Title to Last L’town House,” Levittown Tribune, November 22, 1951.
46 “I’m not going out on a limb”: “Growing Pains,” Newsday, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-levittown-hslevtwo,0,2163353.story, accessed July 14, 2008.
46 “Only in America”: “1951 Construction Last for This Area, Says Levitt Official,” Levittown Eagle, May 31, 1951, no page number, Levittown History Collection.
47 “The success of a parent”: “All Levittown Honors Abraham Levitt,” Levittown Eagle, November 1, 1951, no page number, Levittown History Collection.
47 “Nation’s Biggest Housebuilder”: “Nation’s Biggest Housebuilder,” Life, August 23, 1948, p. 75.
Chapter Five
49 “You shouldn’t feel bad”: Author interview, Daisy Myers.
50 “Who are my neighbors?”: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 17
51 With every trip: Ibid., p. 18.
52 “There are many”: Ibid.
52 Despite eventually winning: James W. Loewen, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism (New York: The New Press, 2005), pp. 10–11.
52 There, Oliver Brown: Juan Williams, Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954–1965 (New York: Penguin Books, 1988), p. 21.
52 At the same time: Ibid.
54 “The word spread”: Ibid., p. 45
55 “Mrs. Myers”: Myers, Sticks ’n Stones, p. 18.
56 He supplemented his income: “Embattled Home Owner,” New York Times, August 22, 1957, p. 16.
Chapter Six
60 “We bought five thousand acres”: “Levittown, PA: Building the Suburban Dream,” State Museum of Pennsylvania, 2003, http://server1.fandm.edu/ levittown/one/c.html.
60 “Every store, filling station”: Kenneth Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), p. 237.
60 The second-largest steel mill: “Is All Fair at Fairless?; Will Negroes Live, Work in U.S. Steel’s New Half Billion $$$ Industrial Town?” Chicago Defender (national edition), January 23, 1954, p. 7.
60 Each neighborhood would: “Levittown, PA: Building the Suburban Dream,” http://server1.fandm.edu/levittown/one/c.html.
60 Schools would be: Ibid.
60 In total: Ibid.
61 “It is hoped”: “Dream Town—Large Economy Size,” New York Times, December 14, 1952, p. 40.
61 More than sixteen hundred homes: “Levittown, PA: Building the Suburban Dream,” http://server1.fandm.edu/levittown/one/f.html.
61 The New York Times called: As quoted in “Developer Levitt Dies,” Bucks County Courier, January 30, 1994, p. 11A.
61 “There is no social strata”: Linda Abby Fein, “Levittown, Pennsylvania: A Community Survey,” January 6, 1965.
64 After a family there: Martha Biondi, To Stand and Fight: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Postwar New York City (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006), pp. 230–31.
65 Cotter concluded: William Cotter, letter, Committee to End Discrimination in Levittown, 1951, Levittown History Collection, Levittown Library, NY.
66 “If we don’t like”: “Levittown Meet Marks Brotherhood Week,” Newsday, February 20, 1952, no page number, Levittown History Collection.
66 When it opened: “Ronek Park, Equal Opportunity Suburb,” Newsday, September 28, 1997, p. H19.
66 Not far from Levittown: Chad Kimmel, “Levittown, Pennsylvania: A Sociological History” (diss., University of Western Michigan, 2004), p. 179.
67 “A large majority of people moved”: Ibid., p. 177.
67 As Blanshard promised: Ibid., p. 186.
67 As Blanshard put it: Friends Service Association semiannual meeting notes, October 29, 1955.
67 They called for meetings: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 15.
67 When Bill stood firm: Kimmel, “Levittown, Pennsylvania,” p. 186.
68 The lawsuit came to pass: Wechsler, First Stone, p. 15.
68 In a statement: “Human Relations Group Supports NAACP Suit,” Levittown Times, January 1955.
68 Representing the veterans: Ibid.
70 The song was never banned: “The Lonesome Train in Levittown,” in Joseph F. Maloney, State and Local Government: A Case Book (University of Alabama Press, 1963), p. 47.
70 “When I walked through”: “Levittown, PA: Negroes Not Wanted,” Buck’s Traveler, 5th year, no. 10 (June 1954): p. 12.
70 “Any evidence of”: Ibid.
71 As one member of the group: Stockholders and Friends of Suburban Housing, Inc., newsletter, February 4, 1957.
Chapter Seven
73 Capps then either: “Ex-GI Confesses He Murdered Levittown Teenager,” Bristol Daily Courier, January 26, 1954, p. 1.
73 When he was through: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. George Capps, May 23, 1955.
73 Betty Peart, stunned: Chad Kimmel, “Levittown, Pennsylvania: A Sociological History” (diss., University of Western Michigan, 2004), pp. 170–75.
74 Marta’s grief-stricken: “Ex-GI Confesses,” p. 2.
74 One time when Bradbury: Neal Gabler, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006), p. 608.
75 “It is a one-class”: “Levittown, PA: Building the Suburban Dream.” State Museum of Pennsylvania, 2003, http://server1.fandm.edu/levittown/one/b.html.
75 Levitt, he argued: “Suburban Pioneers,” Newsday, September 28, 1997, p. h25.
75 With his huge: Ibid.
75 “The plain fact”: “Levittown, PA: Negroes Not Wanted,” Buck’s Traveler, 5th Year, no. 10 (June 1954): p. 29
76 “Strangely enough”: “Up from the Potato Fields,” Time, July 3, 1950, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,812779,00.html.
76 While Bill cruised: Author interview, Jon Levitt.
76 Alfred “didn’t give”: Kimmel, “Levittown, Pennsylvania,” p. 55.
77 The 675-acre: Herbert Gans, The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), p. 4.
77 In 1953, he left: Author interview, Jon Levitt; and “Dream Builder,” News-day, September 18, 1997, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-levittown-hslevpro,0,721552.story.
Chapter Eight
79 When he told Daisy: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 23.
82 And at $12,150: Sam Snipes, “Racial Crisis in Levittown,” The Writs 17, no.(June 2006): p. 6.
82 “Would we be able”: Myers, Sticks ’n Stones, p. 26.
83 “What can happen?”: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 48.
84 “I can lend you”: Ibid., p. 19.
84 “There is no depreciation”: “Fair Housing in Bucks County,” report, Lower Bucks County Council of Churches, July 9, 1957.
Chapter Nine
86 Rain had not fallen: “$5,000,000 Loss Seen in Drought,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 15, 1957, pp. 1–2.
86 On the advice: Sam Snipes, “Racial Crisis in Levittown,” The Writs 17, no. 2 (June 2006): p. 6.
86 “I will appreciate”: Letter archives, Sam Snipes.
88 Though they wanted: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 5.
88 FIRST NEGRO FAMILY: “First Negro Family Moves into Levittown,” Levittown Times, August 13, 1957, p. 2.
89 Just fifteen minutes after: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Eldred Williams, James E. Newell, Howard H. Bentcliffe, Mrs. Agnes Bentcliffe, John R. Bentley, David L. Heller, John Thomas Piechowski, Mrs. John Brabazon, September term, 1957, p. 11.
89 The traffic built: Ibid.
90 “I only wanted”: “Stones Break Windows in Home of First Negro Family in Levittown,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 14, 1957, p. G3.
92 “It’s up to the local” Myers, Sticks ’n Stones, p. 7.
92 The police made no move: Snipes, “Racial Crisis in Levittown,” p. 6.
92 He was James E. Newell: “Bias Mob Stones Cop in Levittown, PA,” News-day, August 21, 1957, p. 4.
93 One of the people: Commonwealth v. Williams et al., p. 245.
93 “Thirty pieces of silver!”: Snipes, “Racial Crisis in Levittown,” p. 6.
94 It was the first time in: “Five Arrested in Levittown Disorder,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 14, 1957, p. 1.
94 As the police were: Ibid., p. 3.
Chapter Ten
95 The Levitt & Sons representative: “Five Arrested in Levittown Disorder,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 14, 1957, p. 3.
95 The Levitt exhibit center was packed: “Legal Means Sought to Force Negroes to Leave Levittown,” Bristol Daily Courier, Levittown edition, August 16, 1957, p. 2.
95 Representatives from the mob: Ibid., p. 2.
95 “The right to live”: “Group Blasts Mob Violence,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 15, 1957, p. 1.
96 A Concord Park spokesperson: “Legal Means Sought,” p. 2.
96 The plan: to construct: “Fantastic Triangle Poses Big Problem,” Washington Post and Times-Herald, October 5, 1957, p. D1.
97 He bragged: Current Biography Yearbook 1956 (New York: HW Wilson, 1956), p. 375.
97 He would be the first: Author interview, Roy Sheldon.
97 With eighty dollars from his friends: “Dream Builder,” Newsday, September 18, 1997, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-levittown-hslevpro,0,721552.story.
97 On the right rose: “For Sale: Special Levitt Home,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Levittown Public Library, Levittown, PA.
98 “What toll would:” Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 8.
99 Why had this: Ibid., p. 30.
99 The Myerses even: Ibid.
100 “As soon as”: “Protest over Negro Family Ends Meeting,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 15, 1957, p. 1.
100 “They have a right”: “Police Guard Site of Race Violence,” New York Times, August 15, 1957, p. 14.
101 To their astonishment: Ibid.
102 “Do something!”: “Protest over Negro Family Ends Meeting,” p. 1.
102 “Disturbing the peace”: “Negro Family Insist They’ll Move into Levittown Home Despite Crowds,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 15, 1957, p. 5.
102 “You tell that black”: Author interview, Hal Lefcourt.
103 Because this was August: “Legal Means Sought,” p. 2.
103 “We regret the violence”: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania. (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 26.
104 “I am ashamed”: “Levittown Group Seeks to Oust Negro Home Buyer,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 16, 1957, p. 2.
105 As the former commander: “Anti-Negro Group Seeks Legal Bolster,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 16, 1957, p. 1.
105 One man in the mob: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Eldred Williams, James E. Newell, Howard H. Bentcliffe, Mrs. Agnes Bentcliffe, John R. Bentley, David L. Heller, John Thomas Piechowski, Mrs. John Brabazon, September term, 1957, p. 150.
105 Volunteers were picked: “Legal Means Sought,” p. 2.
105 It belonged to: Commonwealth v. Williams et al., p. 328.
106 Anyone who wanted: Ibid., p. 325.
106 “But if it doesn’t”: Ibid., p. 211.
106 “Burn them out!”: “Anti-Negro Group Seeks Legal Bolster,” p. 1.
107 Drawing from union techniques: “Negro Home Gets Expanded Guard,” New York Times, August 17, 1957, p. 7.
107 And it was burning: “Anti-Negro Group Seeks Legal Bolster,” p. 1
Chapter Eleven
109 What had happened: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 33.
109 “Nothing whatever will”: “Levittown Group Signs Petition on New Owner,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 17, 1957.
109 News spread: San Snipes, “Racial Crisis in Levittown,” The Writs 17, no. 2 (June 2006): p. 7.
110 “Our committee works”: “Levittown a Disgrace to America,” Philadelphia Tribune, August 17, 1957, p. 2.
111 “If you come in peace”: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Eldred Williams, James E. Newell, Howard H. Bentcliffe, Mrs. Agnes Bentcliffe, John R. Bentley, David L. Heller, John Thomas Piechowski, Mrs. John Brabazon, September term, 1957, p. 204.
112 Nearby, a disheveled: “Battle of Levittown,” New Jersey Afro American, August 24, 1957, p. 1.
114 Newell stared down: Ibid., p. 2.
114 “As long as”: “Both Factions Seek Peaceful Solution,” Levittown Times, August 17, 1957, p. 3.
114 “Well, what’s”: Commonwealth v. Williams et al., p. 294.
115 That night, the ice cream: Ibid.
116 There was no need: Ibid., p. 127.
116 Sam Snipes: Sam Snipes, author interview.
117 “As a sailor can”: “The Pastor Speaks,” Bristol Courier Levittown Times, August 17, 1957, p. 8.
117 The first thing he did: Commonwealth v. Williams et al., p. 146.
117 When a local reporter: “Negro Couple Back at Home in Levittown,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 19, 1957.
117 “This is no longer”: “More Meetings Planned on Levittown Issue,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 19, 1957, p. 3.
117 The Lower Bucks County Council of Churches: “Statement Concerning Fair Housing Practices,” Lower Bucks County Council of Churches, August 16, 1957.
118 “We regret the violence”: “Declaration of Conscience,” August 18, 1957.
119 “Do you think”: Myers, Sticks ’n Stones, p. 39.
Chapter Twelve
121 Levittown, New York, was: Barbara M. Kelly, Expanding the American Dream: Building and Rebuilding Levittown (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), p. 100.
121 “All is all right”: Author interview, Jon Levitt.
123 “Levittown is a new”: “Levittown’s Shame,” Trenton Evening Times, August 16, 1957, p. 4.
123 Lew’s United Steelworkers: “Steelworkers Union Urges Halt of Levittown Bigotry,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 20, 1957.
124 The president of the group: “The Shame of Levittown,” Union Reporter, September 1957.
124 “You look toward”: “Street Scene in Levittown,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 20, 1957.
125 It was, she resolved: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 43.
126 As one housewife: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Eldred Williams, James E. Newell, Howard H. Bentcliffe, Mrs. Agnes Bentcliffe, John R. Bentley, David L. Heller, John Thomas Piechowski, Mrs. John Brabazon, September term, 1957, p. 462.
127 Advisers from: Ibid., p. 45.
128 “I knew all the reaction”: “Negro Family Takes Over House in White Section,” Associated Press, August 19, 1957.
128 And he added: “State Police Swings Clubs in Levittown,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 20, 1957.
128 Bill looked the reporter: Ibid.
128 “I realize you have”: “Troopers Repel Unruly Crowd at Levittown Home,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 20, 1957.
128 “You have to take”: “State Police Swings Clubs in Levittown.”
129 “I give you ten minutes”: “Troopers Break Up Crowd; Man Arrested,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 20, 1957, p. 1.
129 They pulled him: “State Police Swings Clubs in Levittown.”
129 “America!” they sang: “Troopers Break Up Crowd,” p. 1.
130 “You don’t have”: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 43.
130 “Mr. Lewis (I love)”: Ibid., p. 60.
132 And any further statements: “State Troopers Ban Crowd; Township Officer Felled,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 21, 1957, p. 2.
132 He had battled: “Out of Control,” Bucks County Courier Times, August 14, 1997, p. 15a.
133 One young boy: “Rock Injures Policeman in Levittown Row,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 21, 1957.
Chapter Thirteen
134 “In addition to”: “Levittown to Mark Ten Years on L.I.,” New York Times, September 19, 1957, p. 24.
135 As one writer: Barbara M. Kelly, Expanding the American Dream: Building and Rebuilding Levittown (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), p. 101.
136 As for the three-story: “Levitt Enters Highest Bid on Maryland Farm,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 28, 1957, p. 1.
136 And it would: “Levitt Firm ‘On the Move’ in Jersey,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 22, 1957, p. 1.
136 But they wanted: “Bucks’ Attorney Offered to Buy Negro’s Home,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, August 23, 1957.
137 Sorry, Bill said: “Crowds Stay Away from Dogwood,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 22, 1957, p. 1.
137 A meeting would: Ibid.
137 The wooden cross: Ibid.
138 “I’ve been contacted”: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Eldred Williams, James E. Newell, Howard H. Bentcliffe, Mrs. Agnes Bentcliffe, John R. Bentley, David L. Heller, John Thomas Piechowski, Mrs. John Brabazon, September term, 1957, p. 385.
139 “It will be”: “Betterment Meeting Set,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 30, 1957, p. 2.
140 One day, Harwick: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 64.
141 “I knew Negroes”: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown. (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 55.
141 Daisy, who on the advice: Ibid.
142 Joseph Segal: “Crowds Stay Away from Dogwood,” p. 3.
142 “I don’t like”: Ibid.
142 “Go home to”: Wechsler, First Stone, p. 155.
143 It pained him: Ibid., p. 24.
143 The owner of the house: Commonwealth v. Williams, et al., p. 403.
Chapter Fourteen
145 “Now’s the time”: “Back to School,” Bristol Daily Courier, August 26, 1957, p. 1.
145 A small item: “Negro Is Teacher in Levittown, PA,” New York Times, September 17, 1957, p. 21.
147 “They burned a cross”: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 61.
148 A broken jar: “Cross Burned in Levittown,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, September 6, 1957.
148 Such intimations: Wechsler, First Stone, pp. 61–63.
148 A story in: “Two Lonely Little Boys in Levittown,” New York Post, September 3, 1957
149 As Lew later noted: Wechsler, First Stone, p. 67.
150 “I expected some”: “Levittown Deals with Integration: A Study in Contrasts,” New York Post, September 17, 1957.
151 Bea and Lew agreed and left: Wechsler, First Stone, p. 82.
152 “Here, Nigger”: Ibid., p. 65.
Chapter Fifteen
153 “No single feature”: Ted Steinberg, American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006), p. 19.
153 Or, as he: Ibid., p. 17.
154 One local borough: “Operation Weed Removal Almost Done,” Bristol Daily Courier, September 9, 1957.
154 Then she put back on: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Eldred Williams, James E. Newell, Howard H. Bentcliffe, Mrs. Agnes Bentcliffe, John R. Bentley, David L. Heller, John Thomas Piechowski, Mrs. John Brabazon, September term, 1957, p. 88–89.
154 Outraged and fearful: “Myers Neighbor’s Home Is Crayoned,” Levittown Times, September 26, 1957.
156 Colgan told them what: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 84.
157 What retribution, she feared: Commonwealth v. Williams et al., p. 32.
157 Daisy Myers later appealed: “Night and Day Watch Kept by State Police in Levittown Disorder,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 25, 1957.
158 They knew what they had: “Levittown Man Held in Bail on Malicious Mischief Charges,” Bristol Daily Courier, October 18, 1957, p. 2.
158 He ordered the 101st: “Levittown Owner Told to End Noise at Negro’s Home,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 26, 1957, p. H27.
159 A similar note: Wechsler, First Stone, p. 90.
160 “We just can’t take it”: “Levittown, PA, Revisited,” New York Post, September 30, 1957, p. 3.
161 “This is it”: Commonwealth v. Williams et al., p. 25.
Chapter Sixteen
162 As Senate majority leader: “Ike’s Wise Restrained Response to Sputnik,” History News Network, http://hnn.us/articles/43173.html.
163 They were, as the activist: “An Evening with Levittown’s Freedom Fighters,” Militant, October 14, 1957, p. 1.
163 “There they sat”: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 97.
165 The New York Times praised: “Apartments with Levitt Touch Rise on Waterfront in Queens,” New York Times, February 24, 1957, p. 292.
165 “Known for his low”: Herbert Gans, The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), p. 6.
166 “I’ve got them in”: “Levitt’s Belair Homes Will Be Ready in ’60,” Washington Post and Times-Herald, December 18, 1957, p. D1.
166 The move to colonials: “Home-Building Firm Shifts to Traditional Styling in Third Huge Project,” Christian Science Monitor, August 15, 1958, p. 12.
166 As one of his: Ibid., p. 9.
167 Police Chief Stewart denied: “Police Sergeant Raps Levittown Orders, Rejects Citation,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 9, 1957, p. H29.
167 The following week: “Demote Sergeant in Police Row on Levittown Duty,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 1957, p. H49.
168 “I’ll seek an”: Sam Snipes “Racial Crisis in Levittown,” The Writs 17, no. 2 (June 2006): p. 7.
168 “This is nothing”: “House Party Protest Halted at Levittown,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 27, 1957.
168 “The wishes of”: “Gatherings Halted in House Next to Negro’s in Levittown,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, September 27, 1957.
168 Despite the mob’s claims: “Large Crowd Hears Talk in Myers’ Case,” Levittown Times, October 7, 1957, p. 2.
168 On Thursday, October 17: “Bucks Man Seized in KKK Painting,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 18, 1957.
Chapter Seventeen
171 “For Katy!”: Lewis Wechsler, The First Stone: A Memoir of the Racial Integration of Levittown, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Grounds for Growth Press, 2004), p. 114.
172 They were quite the opposite: Daisy D. Myers, Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown. (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), p. 83.
172 “If I were”: Ibid., p. 84.
172 “Mrs. Myers, McBride said”: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Eldred Williams, James E. Newell, Howard H. Bentcliffe, Mrs. Agnes Bentcliffe, John R. Bentley, David L. Heller, John Thomas Piechowski, Mrs. John Brabazon, September term, 1957, p. 7.
174 “Now, Mr. Bentcliff”: Ibid., p. 49.
175 The state’s first: Ibid., p. 59.
175 “We were quite”: Ibid., p. 443.
175 “Afterwards”: Ibid., p. 462.
176 “Yes, sir,” Corporal Dane: Ibid., p. 195.
176 “Yes, it is”: Ibid., p. 173.
177 “Reverend Harwick,” McBride: Ibid., pp. 164–65.
178 “I do think”: Ibid., p. 166.
178 “I felt this way”: Ibid., p. 357.
179 “Yes, sir”: Ibid., p. 346.
179 “No, sir”: Ibid., p. 352.
179 “This pious pretense”: Ibid., p. 317.
181 And, it concluded: Ibid., p. 86.
181 Those in court: “Defendant Collapses in Myers Case,” Bucks Daily Courier, February 1, 1958.
182 “I’m giving you”: “Bentcliff Is Fined, Put on Probation,” Bristol Daily Courier, February 27, 1958, p. 2.
Chapter Eighteen
183 “The new postwar”: “What! Live in a Levittown?” Good Housekeeping, July 1958, p. 47.
184 As sociologist Herbert: Herbert Gans, The Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community (New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), p. 373.
184 a private battle was being waged: Author interview, William Levitt Jr.
186 Levitt’s Barnumesque: “New Levittown with 15,000 Homes to Open in New Jersey,” Wall Street Journal, June 6, 1958, p. 8.
186 “Our policy on that”: “Third Levittown Gets Underway,” New York Times, June 6, 1958, p. 28.
187 Levitt, who had long been: “Levittown Builder Hit on Racial Policy,” New York Times, June 7, 1958, p. 10.
187 A prominent reverend: “Catholic Editor Sees Peril in Segregation at Third Levittown,” New York Times, June 13, 1958, p. 24.
187 The American Civil Liberties: “Joins Levitt Protest: Civil Liberties Union Asks Jersey to Disavow Charters,” New York Times, July 3, 1958, p. 26.
187 And the state Assembly: “Bias Charge Threatens U.S. Aid to Levittown Housing in Jersey,” New York Times, June 20, 1958, p. 21.
188 “There is no question”: “Racial Strife Can Be Resolved,” Daily Defender, July 9, 1958, p. 35.
188 After Levitt’s announcement: “V.A. to Help Jersey Fight Housing Bias by Curbing Loans,” New York Times, July 9, 1958, p. 29.
188 Now when Bill Levitt: Gans, Levittowners, p. 372.
188 This “gives a go-ahead”: “Fight Proposed All-White Levittown for New Jersey,” Chicago Defender, July 12, 1958, p. 9.
189 “Bitter racial prejudice”: “Warning to Lawbreakers,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 18, 1958.
189 “The complainants argue”: “Jersey Levittown to Sell to Negroes if Law Is Upheld,” New York Times, November 11, 1959, p. 31.
189 “Had the housing measure”: “Levittown Negro Woman Testifies for Fair Housing,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 21, 1958.
189 State law barred discrimination: “New Jersey Upholds the Law,” Chicago Defender, July 27, 1959, p. 11.
190 In 1945, there had been: “Suburbanization, Post World-War II,” Encyclopedia of American History: Postwar United States, 1946–1968, vol. 9, Facts on File Database Center, www.fofweb.com/.
190 Soon after, on: “Integration Near in Levittown, New Jersey: Builder Cites Losing Fight—Asks Council for Negroes,” New York Times, March 27, 1960, p. 31.
190 “I plan to buy”: “Order Levittown to Consider 2 Negroes,” Chicago Defender, July 30, 1960, p. 21.
191 “No, it’s so nice”: “We Shall Not Be Judged by What We Might Have Been. What We Have Been,” Bucks County Courier Times, August 15, 1997.
Epilogue
193 The fracas began: “Levitt Excludes Negroes, Testing U.S. Housing Ban,” New York Times, March 27, 1963, p. 1.
193 A government physicist: “Rights Groups to Picket Levitt,” New York Times, November 13, 1963, p. 14.
193 But Levitt had: “Can’t Crack Belair Ban, FHA Says,” Washington Post and Times-Herald, June 16, 1963, p. B10.
194 “Any home builder”: “Levitt’s Defenses of Racist Policies,” “Long Island: Our Story,” Levittown History Collection, p. 413, Levittown Library, NY.
194 “That never stopped”: “Dream Builder,” Newsday, September 18, 1997, http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-levittown-hslevpro,0,721552.story.
194 Six days later: “Levitt & Sons Starts ‘Open Housing’ Policy as King ‘Memorial,’ Wall Street Journal, April 10, 1968, p. 4.
195 At the top: “Levitt Drops Sales Ban to Subdivision Negroes,” Washington Post, April 10, 1968, p. B1.
195 “Levittown is a dirty”: “Another Levittown Studies Possibility of Changing Name,” New York Times, November 23, 1963, p. 16.
196 He lost twenty million: “Too Long at the Party,” Forbes, May 4, 1987, p. 40.
196 “I lived in a Levitt”: “They Banked, and Lost, on Levitt’s Good Name,” Newsday, February 18, 1986, p. 7.
196 Another put it: Ibid., p. 24.
196 After an investigation: “Levitt to Repay Family Charity $11 Million,” Newsday, January 23, 1987, p. 7.
197 “The people of”: Ibid.
197 Unable to pay: “Levittown’s Builder in Straits,” Newsday, October 27, 1990, p. 11.
198 “Levitt bears a lot”: “Shut Out in the Suburbs,” Newsday, May 19, 2003, p. B6.
198 “To paint Levitt”: “At 50, Levittown Contends with Its Legacy of Bias,” New York Times, December 28, 1997, p. 1.23.
198 “Levittown was an”: Ibid.
198 “The National Housing Hall”: “Father of Suburbia William J. Levitt Named to National Housing Hall of Fame,” National Association of Home Builders, June 13, 2007, www.nahb.org/nets.
198 “We are ashamed”: “Levittown Negro Invited to Join Neighborhood Group,” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 14, 1957.
200 “Of course there are some”: “First Negroes in Levittown Are ‘Making Out Fine’ Now,” Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, December 14, 1958.
202 After a 2000 census: “Memories of Segregation in Levittown,” New York Times, May 11, 2003, p. L13.
202 The New York Times wrote: “After Gang Threat, It’s Cap, Gown and Lockdown,” New York Times, June 10, 2006, p. A1.
203 “Tonight we want”: Daisy D. Myers Sticks ’n Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown (York, PA: York County Heritage Trust, 2005), xiii.