At a recent meeting of the Mineola Golden Age Club, members had table parties, as well as a creative hat contest. This was somewhat different than the Easter bonnet hat contests of the past. Members were ingenious in creating a most unusual assortment of hats.
Joanne Fitzgerald guessed the exact number of jelly beans in the jar, and was the winner of the jelly bean contest. Her prize was a gift certificate to CVS Pharmacy.
Later in the spring, “The Price is Right” was a big success, offering many prizes and a lot of laughs and fun. Lillian Barnola was the announcer and Mary Duffy served as the dealer.
Models were Marie DeStefano and Jeanie Troisi. Kathy Morello was the emcee for one of the prizes: a car, with a chocolaty center. Pictured at the event was large dealer-issued illustration of a shiny new red car. The actual prize presented to the winner was a small chocolate car.
Big prizes were a spa basket with a gift certificate, and an Italian food basket with imported delicacies, which Barton Lowenthal won. This program enticed members to remain at the meeting until its very end.
In May, the first Mineola Stakes horse racing event took place. The races were as exciting as a trip to Belmont Racetrack to watch American Pharoah cross the finish line to win the triple crown. Ginny Smith had the horses made and did a spectacular job of decorating and painting them.
Towards the end of May, “The Fifties” was the theme of a lively meeting.
Members dug into their wardrobes to find clothes of the era. They danced, moved and sang to the electrifying music of Vic Vincent. “Stand By Me” was a tribute to the late B.B. King, and “Runaround Sue”, “Just a Gigolo”—the old Louis Prima favorite and “That’ll Be the Day”(Buddy Holly) had members on their feet.
The end of the year luncheon was held in June at the Chateau Briand, a favorite venue of the Golden Age Club. Mayor Scott Strauss presided over the installation of officers for 2015-17.
Lillian Barnola continues as president, Mary Duffy as vice president, Bob Geehrer as treasurer, Ginny Leonhard as recording secretary and Mary Peppard as corresponding secretary. Members of the club look forward to another fun-filled and intellectually stimulating year.
