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.
Good to hear from Kathy and Ron Woyciechowski. Formerly of Beebe Road, they now live in North Carolina.
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At The Bristal, we were entertained by a wonderful Christmas choral group who sang well-known songs from “Silent Night” to “Jingle Bells.” About 150 people were in on the fun.
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Bobby Palmeri has worked in Eleanor Rigby’s for three years, usually as a bartender.
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On Nov. 21, Scott and Linda Fairgrieve welcomed their first grandchild. His name is Harrison Khai Fairgrieve. The Fairgrieves also have a new dog, a King Charles spaniel.
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Got a Christmas card from John and Eleanor Colbert of Emory Road. John was a very influential mayor of the Village of Mineola.
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Also received a card from Grace Weismantel who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her husband, Walter, owned a bakery by the same name on Jericho Turnpike for many years.
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We heard from Ruth and Bill Stewart who live in Stony Brook. Ruth and Bill used to own a temporary employment business and Ruth was a member of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
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Fran Dempsey, as well as Joy and Marty Wyler were also in touch for Christmas. The Dempsey family, including the late Judge William Dempsey, are 50-year residents of the village, living first on Fleet Place and then later on Latham Road.
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For 30 years Jim Agnew has been an usher at Corpus Christi Church. He has two daughters, Angela and Deidre. Angela lives on Latham Road and Deidre also lives in Mineola.
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There was a big family reunion of the Burke family including Sean and Donna who live on Beebe Road. Altogether there were 31 members of the family present for the reunion which was held at Lake George. Sean and Donna’s son, Ryan, is now a student at Bishop Kellenberg in Uniondale and plays basketball with the CYO.
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Recently, our daughter, Sister Annmarie, was in touch with New York Times columnist Gail Collins. Annmarie told her that I am a life-long reader of the Times and a fan of her column. Ms. Collins emailed a message back sending her regards and thanks to me.
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An interesting bit of history is that for 800 years Muslims ruled Spain and granted complete religious tolerance to the Christians, Jews and Muslims there. It was only after the Christians took control of Spain in 1492 that they expelled all Jews and Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula. Hard to believe, but true.
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The practice of taking a coffee break started in Arabia where coffee was first discovered and then went to Turkey and eventually became part of the European tradition. A coffee break is still considered a time-out for workers in the United States.
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The expression “stuffed shirt” was taken from the early store windows in the 1900s when men and women’s mannequins were stuffed with paper underneath the shirts they displayed. Of course, behind the paper there was nothing, thus the expression began to be used to refer to braggarts.
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Lou Columbo owns Galway Motors on Windsor Avenue. Lou has added the car damage repair to his automotive repair business. Lou was born and raised and went to school in Mineola, and is a former president of the Italian-American Civic Association. He specializes in the restoration of BMWs, Mercedes, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, and other quality cars.
