Socially Speaking

With Athena

Garden City is a beautiful place with its trees and flowers as well as its many original homes gracing our streets. It also has the Cathedral of The Incarnation (as good as anything we go to see in Europe) and it has St. Paul's School - a tribute to the founder of Garden City. Without all of these, we would be just another suburban town with no striking identity to claim as our own. I have been a resident for 57 years and have always loved beautiful old things and when there was a plea in the December 22nd issue of this paper to help the congregation of the Cathedral in their efforts to restore that beautiful landmark - I sent in my donation promptly as I also did to help preserve our other treasure - St. Paul's. David McCullough, a National Trust Trustee, said it best - 'Landmark buildings are part of our life; they are not just buildings. They are aids to navigation through our daily life. They are who we are in time." A donation does not have to be a lot, every drop counts.

Our own D.A.R. Unit hosted a meeting at the Garden City Library and invited our American Legion Post to attend recently and they got a wonderful turn out. Enjoying both the lunch and the talk were Past Legion Commander Bob Ruckin, Hal Hecken, Peg Mosil, Janet and Bruce Littlejohn, Joan and Frank Nedelka (Legion Past Commander) and Charles Palagonia, among many others.

While we have been having very cold weather, thank heavens we are not getting the snow (by the ton) much of the rest of our country is buried under. Even Florida is not what it used to be. Julie Pehler just came back from a couple of weeks of R & R and reports that it was damp, cloudy and not as warm as it usually is at this time of the year. We are getting similar reports from others who fled New York for warmer climes but did not find them. Michele and Jerry Weisberg also did not find the warmth they had hoped for on their recent trip South.

At the Garden City Community Church one evening last week all was warm and friendly as the Auxiliary of the church installed its new Executive Board, served cookies and coffee or tea, and had a silent Auction - the proceeds of which were donated to the INN. Enjoying the evening were: Barbara Helmus, Barbara Seale, Charlot Mitchem, Sue Hall, and Edith Miller-Gerber among many others. The ladies are doing a great job and many new plans to look forward to.

Mid-February seems to have been a very popular time for a wedding and we have a number of happy couples celebrating their Wedding Anniversaries just about now. They are Maggie and Lou Battista, Monica and Bob Schoelle, Lesley and Pat Merola, and Rosalie and Walter Miceli, who passed the big 50 a couple of years ago. May all of the happy couples have a wonderful day and a wonderful year filled with health and happiness with many more years of wedded bliss to come.

If you are looking for something new and interesting to do Clark Gardens has just the thing. They will hold their first Fireside Chat of 2007 on March 4th at 1 p.m. with Donna Gerbosi-DiFulvio telling you all wanted to know about growing, using, and landscaping with herbs. Refreshments will be served and you can register with Maria Morgan at 516-484-8603. The fee is $10 for members and $12 for non-members. You will probably meet a friend or neighbor there as so many folks in Garden City belong.

A number of Garden City ladies had a lovely Valentine's Day flower arrangement to take home just in time for the festivities. They took the class sponsored by the Garden Department of the Community Club of Garden City and they were all very happy. Among those enjoying the afternoon were: Margaret Arcese, Karen Reiter, Margaret Webster, Eileen Bishop, Alice Dillon, Norma Gregson, and Ruth LaBosco. What a nice thing to be doing - arranging flowers on a cold day.

New Orleans is preparing for Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday is due on the 21st and we get to celebrate Washington's Birthday on the 22nd. Much more will be coming up so stay warm, stay busy and be happy. See you next week.