Have you ever wondered about that beautiful house on Shelter Rock Road called Our Lady of Grace? It originally belonged to Cornelius Kelly, an attorney who made his fortune with the Anaconda Copper Company. When his house was sold, a neighbor J Peter Grace, president and CEO of W. R. Grace & Company, bought the house and sold it to the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for $1. The home sits on eight acres of beautiful land which also holds a built-in swimming pool. The property is used as a retreat center for the sisters and for the public. The connecting Montessori School provides an exceptional educational experience for students between the ages of 3 and 9. One of the four IHM sisters who reside at Our Lady of Grace is Sister Beth McEneaney. She gave me a cook’s tour of the whole facility. Sister Beth grew up in New Hyde Park and was a parishioner at Notre Dame Church.
Bob Seawald opened Robert’s on Jericho Turnpike 60 years ago. When I first met Bob, he was a clerk at Foresto’s Men’s Shop on Willis Avenue. He told me then that one day he would own his own store. I thought at the time that it was just “big talk.” Bob originally planned to run the store with his wife Kathleen and their daughters Kathy and LuAnn, but it turned out that it is mostly Kathy who runs the shop with occasional help from Eric Gregorius who lives on Maple Place. Eric has been associated with Robert’s for the last 15 years.
Jim and Young Unchog are a hard-working couple from Korea. Thirteen years ago they purchased Werner’s Delicatessen and have run it successfully ever since. They used to be open seven days a week, but decided after 10 years to give themselves a little break and close on Sundays. Two times a week Werner Garland and his wife Rita come in to help.
Munder’s Hardware Store is no more. Charlie Munder opened the place in 1948 and made it a big success by being a TrueValue Hardware store. Customers who came in always got great advice, especially from Charlie’s son, Bill, and grandson, Craig. Bill and his wife, Lorraine, live in New Hyde Park. When the store closed after all these years, it left Mineola and Williston Park without its own hardware store. Charlie recently died at the age of 88, and Bill is now looking for another job.
Cherri Christiansen is a nurse connected with The Bristal Assisted Living Facility in Westbury. She and her husband Frank lived for nine years on Richlee Court.
Carol Wain from Primrose Street and her husband Paul have been living in Mineola for 30 years. Paul owns a business.
Bill Greene, president of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce, tells me that they have a tremendous amount of work to do for the Taste & Style in Mineola event coming up on Nov. 12. Prior to that is the movie that the Chamber of Commerce sponsors in Williston Park on July 31, and then the annual street fair on September 10. Bill, who owns Tsontos Furs, is just back from Hong Kong. He was sent for a weeklong business trip to catch up on the latest styles. For the first time ever, we have someone in the wings of the Chamber to replace Bill when he leaves his post in June as the Chamber president and that is Tony Lumbrano, owner of Piccola Bussola on Jericho Turnpike.
The Mineola Library was closed briefly for renovations. The officers, however, were always able to be reached during that time, in case of emergency.
Pat Tobin celebrated his birthday on February 8. Pat has been singing in church choirs for 20 years – either at St. Adian’s or Corpus Christi Catholic Churches.
Bob Rosenthal, a retired district court judge, also celebrated his birthday on February 8. Bob was born in Nassau Hospital, otherwise known today as Winthrop University Hospital. His dad, Jack, owned a big shop in Mineola called Jack’s Hardware. Mineola and Williston Park once had 14 hardware stores. Today, the only one left in the area is Albertson Hardware and Paint on Willis Avenue.
-Lou Sanders, who has his journalism degree from NYU, and his wife, Grace, a graduate of Adelphi University, founded the Mineola American in 1952, giving the village its first successful newspaper. Lou and Grace have lived in Mineola for 59 years and his popular column is a signature feature of this paper.
