The Mineola Chamber of Commerce has been very successful under the leadership of Bill Greene with more than 200 members. I recall the early days when if we had 10 members, we were happy. We met in many different places in the old days before coming to Piccolo Bussola, including Sans Susan, Howard Johnson’s, Italian Gardens, The Caucus, The Executive, La Cisterna. When I was president we had Rep. Lester Wolff as a speaker and 40 people came. We considered it the greatest meeting we ever had. Other recent successes for the Chamber were the meeting when Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, then Nassau County’s district attorney, spoke to 80 people and last year’s Christmas party that had a crowd of 100.
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Cassidy’s Funeral Home is surely one of the busiest places in Mineola. I remember years ago it was called Newman’s. Jim Newman was the caricature of an undertaker—tall, thin and dour. He was, however, personally a very nice man. When the funeral parlor was sold to Bill Cassidy, the name changed to Newman-Cassidy’s, and later just Cassidy’s.
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Jennifer Elongh attends Mammoth University, majoring in graphic arts.
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Marge Hoggarty spent Easter at Jonathan’s Restaurant.
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Speaking of Easter, Davenport Press served 637 dinners, making it the best day they ever had.
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Cheryl Witsell works at The Bristal in Westbury. She and her husband, Merrick, have a daughter, Natasia, who is a graduate of CW Post College with a degree in psychology. Her other daughter, Rayven, just graduated from high school and their 17-year-old son, Shantell, is still in high school.
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“I would love to be back on the job,” said retired New York City detective Richard Kocinda. He and his wife, Mary Ellen, live on Wilson Boulevard. Mary Ellen works in collections for a Long Island firm.
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Jamie Castro of Congress Avenue lunched at the Williston Town House. He is a retired printer.
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I thank Ray Haller for his recent visit to Grace and me at The Bristal.
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At the Town House recently were Darlene Englis and her son, Zachary. He attends Hofstra University. Darlene’s husband, Ted, is the accountant for the Cherry Valley Club.
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Patricia Leah also dined recently at the Town House. She is an office manager.
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You know the old expression a “skeleton in the closet”? In the old days, it was against the law to work on human bodies, so med students on occasion, would dig up a body from a cemetery and strip it down to a skeleton. They would then hide the skeleton in the closet so as not to get caught breaking the law.
Editor’s Note: Lou Sanders, who has his journalism degree from NYU, and his wife, Grace, a graduate of Adelphi, founded the Mineola American in 1952, giving the village its first successful newspaper. Lou and Grace have lived in Mineola for 60 years, and his popular column is a signature feature of this paper.
