Sugar was an interior painter by trade. Landlords all over New Haven would call him to paint their apartments before new tenants moved in. He was elderly man, always dressed in painter’s overalls and he had black shoe polish for eyebrows. And who could forget the two big baskets on his bike?
On Monday mornings, Sugar would ride his bike to the 3 local bakeries and collect day old donuts and pastries that the bakers would leave in 50 lb flour bags in the alley. Then he would head off to the apartments to paint, knocking off early to deliver his bounty to the neighborhood children before dark. I can still remember the joy of dumping those flour bags on the kitchen table to glory in the treats before us. Hey, for poor city kids, a slightly squashed donut or eclair was like frosted gold. He never stayed longer than a few minutes and then it was off to the next apartment. He didn’t even know our names but I remember his face lighting up when he saw our reactions to the goodies.
