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.
When my wife, Grace, and I first came to Mineola there were no apartment buildings here and many people wanted to keep it that way. In 1952, the second mayor of Mineola had a large piece of property on Mineola Boulevard. Upon his retirement, he was very anxious to sell. He got an offer from an apartment builder, but the land was zoned for residential and many people thought it should stay residential. Leaders of this opposition group, Marie Dowling and Tom Lafferty, wanted Mineola to avoid looking like another Queens. The whole village was embattled in this affair. Those who wanted to sell were members of the Citizens Party; those opposing it were the Suburban Party. The Suburban Party said that the only reason permission was given for the sale was because of the mayor’s political connections.
After that, we had many apartments built—Clinton Arms, Lincoln Arms, Mineola Garden Center, Richlee Gardens, among them. On Old Country Road came the Churchill and the Winston. Most people agree today that the apartments have been good for Mineola. These places today are not cheap and the people who can afford them have high-purchasing power, which is good for local businesses. These apartment dwellers also patronize the restaurants, liquor stores and boutiques in the village. The apartments have a lot to offer the consumer. Where else can you come out the front door and be in New York City in 35 minutes? Also our fine school system has helped.
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By the way, the first mayor of Mineola was Bill Asher.
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Bill Greene of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce was very happy about the big response to the summer program’s movie, E.T., at Wilson Park. He was also pleased with the response to the antique car show in downtown Mineola. Bill plans to make that the show a weekly event during the summer season.
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Mary Ann Guarino, formerly of Mineola, is recuperating at home after a recent operation. She was so ill that her family members were called in since death seemed imminent.
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As we approach the coming presidential election, I am surprised by the number of college-age men, of all races, who seem to have a mistrust of Hillary. I guess that is what you get when you have been in the public eye as the First Lady, New York State Senator and Secretary of State.
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Sean Burke, of Beebe Road, and his son Ryan, were here at The Bristal recently visiting Vesti, who is the father of Sean’s wife, Donna. Grace and I were happy to see our former neighbors.
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You know that expression “cold feet?” That came from when a wife heard a noise downstairs at night and tried to send her husband down to investigate. Legend has it that when the man put his feet on the ground he said, “The ground is too cold, I am going to stay in bed. You go look.”
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There was a short-story book called, A Monk Swimming. The author picked up that title from his own misunderstanding as a child of the prayer “The Hail Mary,” particularly the part, “Blessed are thou ‘a monk swimming.’”
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In the presidential campaign of 1832, John Quincy Adams of the National Party was running against Andrew Jackson of the Democratic Party. Townspeople quickly picked up the fact that Jackson’s last name sounded like “jackass.” Famous illustrator Tom Nash picked up on this in his political cartoons and eventually the whole Democratic Party became associated with the donkey. A look at Thomas Nash’s career shows that he was well-known for his violently anti-Catholic and anti-Irish cartoons as well.
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The patriotic song, “My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty,” was being considered for the national anthem until someone noticed that it was the same tune as the British song, “God Save the Queen.” We knew that we surely didn’t want to use that.
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One of the hardest workers here at The Bristal is Lurliend Blar. She was born in Kingston, Jamaica and has worked at The Bristal for six years. This has worked out well for her since she lives nearby in Westbury.
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Bill and Susan Dempsey, both attorneys, take very good care of Bill’s mother, Fran, who had a bad fall and is home now in her house on Latham Road. They have around the clock assistance caring for Fran.
