A LETTER FROM THE GATEWAY TO THE HUDSON

HIGHLANDS, FEBRUARY?MARCH, 2009

As I write this, many of our flock of Peekskill Snowbirds are whooping it up at the annual East Coast Peekskill Day at Carlin?Park in Jupiter, Florida. A Cold Front has just whipped through the Lower Hudson Valley and there are bits of light snow falling through the gathering darkness, and the breeze is brisk.

It has been about a year since I’ve sat down to compose one of these missives; just about a year ago Janet Weaver wrote to tell me that her husband, Doug, my PHS classmate, had died after a bout with Alzheimer’s Disease; shortly thereafter my cousin, Lucille Carey Eible, another classmate, died; then my Cousin?in-­law, Ralph Othus ( he married my cousin, Dorothy Gogarty), died, and then her brother, George Gogarty, died shortly thereafter. The litany continues with Bob Collier, John Isabella, Stuart Weinger; my grandson’s other grandfather, Stew Carlin. Sam D’Onofrio’s children, Michael and Laura, honored me by asking me to do the eulogy at his funeral. Then Len Carrington, another classmate who left school early to join the Navy in WW 2. Don Levor, one of Highland Park’s early residents died on Christmas Eve. Last year Dolores Baisley was a lively figure at the West Coast Peekskill Day. She left us a few weeks ago. (just in the last week or so we have lost John Leslie and Jerry Hersh. I haven’t really been too enthusiastic writing about all of those deaths as they happened. This last was added just before I sent this in the mail.

To change the pace a little: getting back to Carlin Park, my brother, Eddie, has a condo overlooking the Park and he called me yesterday to tell me that he was looking forward to today’s Big Bash. Last year he was feeling rotten and couldn’t go to the party. This year he is recovering nicely from knee?surgery and will start working on his golf swing any time now. Charlie, his wife, has had both knees replaced and her recovery is proceeding on schedule.

Eddie will report to me tomorrow and I shall probably have a few remarks. (I shall pause right here; I have to go to pick up my sister, Katie, who bowls each Thursday with her friends at the Keon Center and at Norwest.).

It is the following Monday: Katie bowled a 79 and a 96 with a couple of strikes in the second game; Eddie called and told me that on Friday he played his first round of golf since the knee surgery and he shot a lousy 42 on the back nine (he didn’t really discuss the first nine.)

Eddie also tells me that there was a fine turnout for the Florida East Coast Peekskill Day in Jupiter, probably nearly 300 and that everyone seemed to have a dandy time.

Among the high spots in the past year was when the Bertoline Family brought the Budweiser team of Clydesdale horses here last summer to honor the 75th anniversary of the D. Bertoline & Sons, corporation. Marie and I sat at a table in front of Ruben’s Restaurant on North Division Street, about where the Colonial Restaurant used to be. The team of massive horses stopped in front of us while Dominick delivered cases of beer to the nearby restaurants. There are two events which seem to jam downtown Peekskill with people, the first being the annual Saint Patrick’s Day procession and the other whenever the Budweiser Team shows up. (The food at Ruben’s was pretty good as well.)

Another high spot was the annual Holiday Concert which Mary Mancini and her husband, Mario Tacca, performed just before Christmas at the Church of the Assumption. Mary’s soprano voice was never richer and Mario is the master of the accordion. The widely varied program included some Usual Carols but also selections by the talented Victor Lionti String Quartette. The percussionist for the evening was Randy Smith, whose dad, Harold Smith, was the percussionist for my generation., along with Eddie McGinnis.

The program included pieces by Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, some traditional carols and holiday music, some of which is included on a lovely CD which was available after the concert but I wasn’t able to get to the Recreation Hall downstairs (the legs no longer are spry enough to tackle those stairs which were a breeze in my kindergarten days.) When I wanted to get copies of the disc Mario and Mary were extremely kind enough to interrupt their kitchen preparations for their family Christmas on Christmas morning while I went to their home to get a half?dozen copies of the disc for my family. (The music on the disc is gorgeous.) Later:

I am now composing these deathless words on the Tuesday after the Peekskill Saint Patrick’s Day Parade which was once again a marked success. Piper Joe Brady and a color guard from the Fighting Sixty?Ninth Regiment New York National Guard led off the procession, which is not really a parade, and moves at a stately pace through down?town Peekskill. Joselle Cunane, who for many years was one of the organizers of the event, was a very popular Grand Marshall and assumed the top hat of the office with aplomb. The weather was fine, the little children were fun, the seemingly hundreds of emergency vehicles from all points of the compass were in their usual full?throated disposition, blasting their homs and sirens with abandon. It was, after all, the first opportunity to stretch after a very confining winter.

It is, today, Saint Patrick’s Day, and I am wearing my bow­tie with the shamrocks printed thereon and my green sleeveless sweater. I watched the start of the New York City parade this morning and there was Joe Brady out front, once again piping his way up Fifth Avenue with a large contingent of the Fighting Sixty ­Ninth marching behind him.

It used to be that on Saint Patrick’s Day we would go to the Sorrento where Uncle Frannie Scaramellino made as good Corned Beef and cabbage as could be found. In the absence of both the Sorrento and Uncle Frannie, in recent years the Little Sorrento would oblige. Sadly, on this Saint Patrick’s Day, only their usual delicious Italian Menu was offered.

Madeline suggested that we call Cole’s Market and sure enough, they were making the traditional feast. It was delicious. As good as Uncle Frannie’s. There was also enough left over for seconds a day later.

Corned beef and cabbage seems to be a uniquely Irish­ American dish and I’m told, not heard of in the Old Country at the Saint’s Feast Day, (which marks the anniversary of the day he died, not when he was born.) One suspects that it was a traditional Irish America dish because it was cheap and healthful with the boiled vegetables, and all. One also suspects that it was borrowed from our Eastern European neighbors on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Mom and Pop kosher deli’s in New York City were renowned for the dish. There will be no extra charge for this information.

Another bit of news which may have escaped your notice: Bill Geis has sold his various automobile sales agencies to Curry Motors. It seems strange to no longer see his signs on East Main Street. When I talked with him about it he said, “It was time”. It doesn’t mean however, that he plans to sit around and count his feet. He enjoys being active.

One of the highlights of each long Winter season is the annual granting of the Chester A. Smith Award by the Board of Trustees of the Peekskill Library, given to someone who has been thought to be a person who has added significantly to Peekskill over a period of time. This year’s honoree was the Peekskill High School Basketball coach, Lou Panzanarro, Junior, who has guided decades of young men from the High School to national prominence on the basketball court and to successful lives off the court.

As I wrap up this letter, Lou has once again guided his team to the New York State Finals in Glens Falls and they made it all the way to the championship game which they lost in overtime by two points, The youngsters were, of course, devastated by the loss but we all must be impressed by their remarkable record. Those of us with long memories will recall Lou’s dad who was a member of the Armory Big Five just prior to World War 2and how proud we all were of their exploits, playing all of the major traveling teams of the day, including the Original Boston Celtics and the Harlem Globe Trotters – and holding their own most of the time.

To keep you up to date: Katie’s scores last Thursday were 108 and 106 with four spares in one game and two spares in the other. Katie isn’t good enough for the Special Olympics, but she is about ready to take on President Obama any time he gets to Jefferson Valley.

Until we meet again, BE VERY GOOD TO EACH OTHER, remember that, as the song says: ” The days grow short when you reach December.”

P.S. I just came from Jerry Hersh’s Memorial Service at Ned Curry’s. It was class, just the way he intended it to be. Joanne’s brother, Jim Pines, made it from Maryland and her sister, Doris, all the way from Houston.