Christmas when we were little (1947)

We never got our Christmas tree until the day before Christmas.  It seems like there were a lot of places on Parade Street that sold them.  Dad had a wooden box about two feet square which was turned upside down and had a hole in it for the tree trunk.  After he put the lights on, Tommy and I would put the other decorations on along with mom's help.

Another decoration we had was our "fireplace".  They sold rolls of paper that had a brick design, and that was taped to our desk, which made it look like a fireplace.  Did we think that Santa came down the chimney through it?  I don't remember, but we did have a place to hang a couple of stockings.

On the night before Christmas I remember being unable to fall asleep for a very long time, and that Tommy didn't have this problem.  It then seemed like I had just fallen asleep, when Tommy was waking me up saying 'Santa Clause came!'.  We would get up and go to the living room to see.  Mom and Dad would hear us and get up, and then we opened our presents.  When all was done, it was time to play.  Mom and Dad would sometimes go back to bed as it was still dark outside.  As I remember it now, it seems like it was a long time before it got light out. 

Richie
         

Another Cousin has Retired....

On July 1, 2012, Mike Crotty officially began his retirement after 27 years as City Manager of Satellite Beach, Florida. In his honor, the city fathers have decided to name a ocean side park in his honor. The park, which is on the Atlantic ocean, will be called Michael P. Crotty Park.

On July 27, the city held a retirement party for Mike. As Mike told me, the dress was ‘Crotty casual’ or ‘Satellite Beach formal’….which interprets to shorts and T shirts! I proudly wore my Erie, Pa. T shirt.(thanks for getting this for me Rich and Barb!) I was able to go to the 2 days of the festivities, as was Patty from Dayton, Ohio and cousin Ann and her partner Claire from Jupiter Florida. Attached are: A copy of the Retirement party sign outside City Hall, a copy of the article that appeared in Florida Today, the picture of the proposed sign for the park, the stunning picture of the beautiful park area, and the picture of the four of us cousins that were there. Truly a mini reunion!

Lastly I include a portion of a letter written by Mike on the occasion of his retirement. His accomplishments are many. Wouldn’t his parents and all the aunts and uncles be proud of him?? I know I am. Enjoy your retirement Mike! Like I told you, as a retiree I don’t know what I accomplish all day but it takes me all day to do it! Enjoy! Thanks so much for letting me be part of this.

Satellite Beach park named for Michael Crotty



FLORIDA TODAY article:

Wednesday night, the Satellite Beach City Council unanimously voted to name a park in honor of retiring City Manager Michael Crotty.

City Hall staffers refer to the undeveloped site as the “Sunrise property.” This oceanfront, city-owned property is located at the end of Sunrise Avenue.

Crotty stepped down during the meeting after serving since 1985. He will take administrative leave until his July 1 retirement date.

A public reception honoring Crotty's retirement takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. July 27 at the Civic Center, 565 Cassia Blvd.

Written by

Rick Neale

FLORIDA TODAY

June 20, 2012




Portion of a letter written by Mike as he retired


A defining moment in my professional life occurred on July 1, 1985 when I interviewed for the Satellite Beach City Manager position. Exactly twenty-seven years later—July 1, 2012, I am retiring as City Manager. What an incredible 27 years it has been!

Satellite Beach has a rich history of collaboration among its citizens and community groups resulting in the city we know today. As manager, I have had the good fortune to play a part in so many of the projects that make our City unique and a desired place to call home. Highlights are many but a few of the memorable ones include:

* Preserving in public ownership 40% of the City’s oceanfront which will be a major part of the City’s legacy for current and future generations;

* Development of the 52 acre Samsons Island nature preserve;

* Elimination of the major drainage problems throughout the City. Long time residents will remember pictures in Florida Today of the long ago practice of canoes traversing many of our streets following even moderate rains;

* Development of the 35 acre Sports and Recreation Park which provided many firsts for Brevard County including a municipal dog park and skate park;

* Development of the 25,000+ sq. ft. David R. Schechter Community Center that serves as the hub for many of the activities that provide unique quality of life for toddlers through seniors; and

* Partnership with Brevard County on numerous projects especially the recent transfers of Pelican Beach Park and Hightower Beach to City ownership. These parks are now entrusted to our citizens to operate, maintain and preserve the fragile eco-system of the beach environment.

Anna's house

Anna's house was almost green!  I had remembered that she had ordered red shingles that summer day in the early 50's when the contractor was putting up green shingles on the front of the house.  I was outside playing when I saw the green, and I knew it was the wrong color.  I ran in and told my mom, and she went into Anna's house to use her telephone to call her at work.  I remember that the siding men weren't too happy about the mistake.

In the spring of 1959 Anna had me install the yellow plastic wall tiles.  If you look closely you can see that the job was less than professional.  On the wall by the telephone is the buzzer button.  If someone called my mom, Anna would buzz twice, and mom would go over to answer the phone (See the brick walk in the first picture).  It looks like there is a church missal, as well as a cigarette lighter and ash tray on the red cart.  Notice the moldy piece of cheese on the table.  The chair on the left at the end of the table was the usual place a visitor would sit and have a beer or two.  It was usually two, as Anna would insist that you can't "stand on one leg".   Anna would sit on the chair not shown in front of the sink and stove.

This room was originally intended as the dining room.  Anna had a kidney shaped desk in one corner, and in the opposite corner was an antique table on which sat a chrome cocktail pitcher and goblets.  The corner of the room pictured was probably used by visiting kids.  Anna liked to do crosswords  She sometimes had me go down to Eddy's on 4th and Parade and pick one out for her.

In the living room Anna had two yellow chairs of which the visitor chair is shown.  The chair she used had a higher back and a foot stool.  Sometime after this picture was taken the table lamp was replaced with a fiber optic lamp, which was the latest thing.  Anna spent many a quiet evening watching TV in her easy chair with her beer and peanuts.  I don't think there were ever any pictures on the walls.



Thanks dad for taking the pictures, and having the foresight to know that one day they would be enjoyed and appreciated.
 

The Ivy League

From the "NEW YORK OBSERVER"

Daniel Cappello’s The Ivy League: The Book Party That Threw Itself

It’s not every book party where you end up in a 5th Avenue estate, listening to a Columbia a capella group sing doo-wop classics.

But such a scene was fitting for Quest Magazine‘s Daniel Cappello, who was signing copies of his beautiful clothbound coffee table book, The Ivy League (Assouline), in the parlor of Candace and Rick Beinecke.

“They are old family friends of Daniel’s,” said Martine Assouline, co-founder of the luxury publishing house. Ms. Assouline was wearing her signature Balenciaga sunglasses indoors, which you are allowed to do apparently, as long as you don’t bump into one of the century-old portraits in the foyer or make the faux-pas of trying to put your drink down on a table without a coaster.

Photographer and recent documentary subject Bill Cunningham mingled among the Upper East Side revelers which included Allison and Jay Aston, Charles Rockefeller, Punch Hutton and Chris Rovzar from Vanity Fair, Anne Vincent from Vogue, Robert Burke, Kelly Rutherford, and The New Yorker‘s Ben McGrath.

The younger men displayed a disproportionate amount of pink and/or ascots, the women wore cocktail dresses. We were sure that what most of the guests shared, besides good genes and old money, was a degree from one of the eight Ivies that Mr. Cappello lushly illustrates in his new book. (Mr. Cappello, a New Yorker alum himself, also graduated from the Ivy’s Ivy: Harvard.)

We overheard Assouline’s Cara Buscaglia and Mimi Crume Sterling proudly telling party-goers how the event basically threw itself.

“We barely had to do anything…Daniel had everything planned out, down to what glee group he wanted.”

And Mr. Cappello did strike us as the type of man who never forgets a detail. When we mentioned that a Cornell alum friend had never heard of Dragon Day–which the book explained as a tradition involving a giant dragon created by architectural students– Mr. Cappello nodded.

“Right, well the dragon is only marched around part of campus as part of Architecture’s traditional rivalry with the School of Engineering.”

“Was your friend a law graduate student?” He asked.

We felt like we were talking to one of those TV psychics. How did he know?

“Law grad students live off-campus and are generally too busy to notice these types of things,” Mr. Cappello smiled. Neat trick!

When we asked Ms. Assouline why she approached Quest‘s fashion director for a book about the top colleges in the country, she admitted that it was partly for personal reasons.

“We were trying to find the best university for our son in the states when we moved here,” The Frenchwoman told us. “But there were so many schools to choose from! We wanted to see something you wouldn’t get from the brochures…something more like stepping on to a campus.”

Ironically Ms. Assouline’s son ended up going up to college in Montreal, since his French was (at the time) better than his English.

Full of history and trivia about each of the top-tier schools, Mr. Cappello does spend extra attention extolling the virtues of his alma mater.

“Well, Harvard is a brand,” Ms. Assouline smiled. “It’s like Chanel.”

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By Drew Grant
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Nancy.....

This past Sunday, March 25, marked my sister Nancy’s 75th birthday. I was fortunate to be able to share part of my time in Ohio these past weeks with her and we celebrated her birthday

Not much can be said, but a lot is said about Nancy….She is gentle, kind, soft spoken, very spiritual and truly loves everyone and has a huge heart.

As we were growing up, I really didn’t feel like I had a sister….she was just an older person who lived with us. During the years, we both married the loves of our lives, I had children and now grand children and a great grand child!

As we lost our parents and I finally grew up (that is still debatable!) we realized that the 9 years difference in our ages was not an issue any more…we were becoming equals….even though she still refers to me as her ‘baby sister’!

The attached picture was taken approximately March 12 of this year with her ‘kids’….Benji and Angel….they both bring her so much joy.

I am so grateful to have you to be my sister….I truly wish I were more like you. I love you more than you will ever know.


Happy 75th birthday to the cousin that Pat Callahan referred to as ‘the boss of the cousins’!!

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Blogged by Dede

My Dad.....

My Dad…..

March 17, 2012 marked the 100th birthday of my father, Michael Patrick Jackson! He was always so proud of the fact that he was born on that day.

Memories of ‘back in the day’ is Dad and Leo Tormey (born on March 16) always celebrated their birthdays together….by usually going to Sullivans, Sophies, and probably the East Erie Turners and other watering holes whose names long ago slipped from my memory. I think John Tormey, Bill Henry, and Harry Callahan tagged along on those ventures too!

I was fortunate this year to get to spend St. Paddy’s day with a bunch of the Tormey cousins….we all met up in Dublin Ohio. And as the Irish are prone to say ‘ a grand time was had by all!! The Tormeys and their kids and grandkids were my only relatives on my Dad’s side of the family in Erie.

This weekend we did them all proud….We had Pat Tormey from New Hampshire, Pete Tormey from California, Margie Wegelin, Amy Cross Lombardo, Judy Cross Murphy and husband Jim, Mary Dale Anthony Rzymek and husband John from Erie. Rick Cross and wife Darcie came from Tennessee. Sherry Wilt Tortora and husband Chuck, and Kelly Wilt Shooltz and husband Duane from Michigan. Roberta Cross Nesbit and husband John from Washington, Pa, and Guy Anthony and wife Jodi from Pleasantville, Pa. Jan Schoen Scopel and husband Drew came from Erie also (Kelly family relatives) and John Rzymek’s brother and his family joined us on Saturday. And of course me from Florida!

The weather was great….we all decided we would go out to lunch to and to an Irish Pub or two on Saturday and do our ‘pubbing’ in the afternoon and then head back to the Marriott. The Marriott had a courtyard that we kind of took over as our meeting and imbibing place. They had an outdoor grill and the guys collected $ and bought and cooked a prime rib on the grill! Outstanding!!

The attached picture shows that table ‘centerpieces’ that we had. We dined al fresco and had a wonderful dinner!

It was a great weekend filled with laughs and lots of toasts!! It always amazes me though that every time the Callahan name is brought up, Pat Tormey is amazed that I am related to the Callahans.

The Crotty connection just keeps going! Happy Birthday Dad!! (we toasted you by the way!!)


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Blogged by Dede

A Good Hair (and Care) Day with Lucille

Beauty is as beauty does. And, yes, we all want a good hair day. Sometimes today it takes the better part of a day at a chic beauty salon or spa. Many women will contend that not only is their visit ‘beautifying’ in the true sense of the word, but also therapeutic and nurturing. If you were lucky growing up, you received it all in our dear Aunt Lucille Barron’s kitchen.

Imagine, living with her husband Tom, her sons Rich, Tommy and Dave and having a quasi beauty parlor right there in her kitchen with all of her guys coming and going all afternoon! Mind you, in the 50’s and 60’s one way to ‘glamour’ was the ‘permanent wave.’ This was no short nor fragrant process. Lucille sectioned your hair with row upon row of pink, blue and purple curlers followed with a solution that rivaled ammonia. Your head was then wrapped in a plastic cap for an hour, and rinsed with a second solution. At the end, the curlers came out to allow the recipient a flock of curls that made you the envy of your friends. You could set your hair in rollers and have waves, or use bobby pins and see tight locks. Yes, for about 6 months you sported your look until 4 or 5 haircuts sent your curls walking. Then, of course, you came back for your next beauty treatment.

Certainly in-style hair was great. However, longer lasting was the therapeutic element of having your hair done at Lucille’s. Throughout the process, you spent the day together. You shared news, exchanged ideas, and discussed fashion with Lucille, the iconic fashion role model. We talked about the state of the state, vented, and chuckled during this bonding process.

I always watched how Lucille did hair. I was fascinated with it all. As the years passed, I stepped in with some of our relatives, including my mother Betty, doing many cuts and perms. I have an especially fond memory of a night I spent with our dear Aunt Virginia Jackson, giving her a cut and curl, following a great dinner she cooked. I’ll never forget how pleased she was when she looked in the mirror and said, “Is that me?” After all these years, I still remember her pleasure.

As I moved on with my life in New Jersey, I continued to give cuts and perms. I bonded with friends and their daughters. To this day, I have great relationships, based upon our quality ‘hair time together.’

I had a great teacher. Thank you, Lucille, for your beauty shop at home, and the inspiration you so generously gave to all of us. Believe me, it lives on. What greater tribute can I give you, beautiful hair designs and forever bonding! Thank you, again, our dear Aunt Lucille.


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Blogged by Lucy