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.
We are very disappointed that Rich Forestano is leaving Anton Media Group. He has done such a wonderful job these years as a reporter and an editor. He was fair, honest, and always gave both sides of any much-debated issues in his articles. You could never guess if he was for or against the issue he was writing about. He moves on to Newsday and we wish him great success.• • • •
Mario has been a barber at Studio One in Williston Park for 35 years.
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I was wondering what happened to the World’s Fairs. We had two of them in New York. The fairs started with the 1876 exposition in Philadelphia celebrating the 100th anniversary of the United States. There were great World’s Fairs in Chicago and other large cities. The last one Grace and I personally attended was in Montreal.
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Mary Ann Mutari Primiano is part of the housekeeping staff here at The Bristal in Westbury. Mary Ann is always so pleasant and does such a great job. She has been here for 15 years and knows several people in the Mineola area whom we too know: Gary Nazur, Debbie Causs Johnson, Kim Harmon Creighton and Bonnie Mott Mutari.
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Irene and Gavin Duffy of Beebe Road visited Grace and me here at The Bristal. Gavin and Irene and their sons, Cody and Tigue, were such great neighbors, always willing to do anything to help us.
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Richard Lindman has worked for 21 years at Eleanor Rigby’s. He is a bartender and has worked at the restaurant since it opened.
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Our daughter Sister Annmarie is, as of this writing, in Tucson, directing a retreat for members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
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Dennis Liberatos, owner of The Davenport Restaurant, said that this year, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, was the best since 2008. According to Dennis, no one can really believe that the recession is over and that good times are ahead.
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Fran and Bill Dempsey were such a great part of Mineola. I was talking with Fran recently and she reminded me that she was actually born in Roslyn and went to St. Mary’s Church. Her husband, Bill, was serving in the army and she met him shortly after the end of the war. They married and had two children, Bill and JoAnn. JoAnn was a beautiful young woman who was a professor of ancient literature, specializing in Chaucer and “Beowulf.”
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Bill Dempsey, Jr. was part of the staff of Kathleen Rice when she was the district attorney for Nassau County. Bill now works for the federal government as a lawyer in the Labor Department. He and his wife, Susan, live in Garden City and have one son. Incidentally, Fran was telling me what a great chat she had with Judy DaVanzo, one of the three daughters of the late John DaVanzo.
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Ruth Kazdan is a local representative of Project Independence. Anyone over 60 or their family members or caregivers can call 311 and be connected immediately to a number of departments offering service —even things as simple as changing a ceiling light bulb or changing a smoke detector. If you live in North Hempstead and meet the age requirement, they are ready to help to help you.
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Harriet Heffernan worked for Anton Community Newspapers for 30 years. She now lives in Glen Cove and occasionally gets to see the Mineola American and read this column.
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In older days priests would lay their hands on the heads of the bride and groom and then tie their sleeves together. Hence, the expression “to tie the knot.”
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At Molloy College’s Madison Stage, Mary Ann Guarino got to hear the visiting Westminster Choir. For the last 95 years, this choir has been touring the United States. Accompanying Mary Ann, were Chester and Dottie Easton. Mr. Easton is the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Mineola and, at one time, he and his wife were members of the Westminster Choir. Mary Ann also saw The Nutcracker at the same theatre.
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Watching TV, one can always tell when something is probably a phony tale when it goes like this: “Call now and we will send you a second item at no additional charge. And, by the way, this product is not sold in stores.” To me, this always sounds like a dubious deal.
