I have said this so many times that you must know what is coming. When you take someone out of Garden City, his or her hearts are still here. One former resident who retired to the northern part of the state keeps in touch and her latest information should be of interest to those who have complained that we have had such a bad winter. The average snowfall in her area is 55 inches and they have had 87 inches so far. Syracuse beat them out for first place but as Number Two even Buffalo is just behind them. You know what they say about Buffalo, don't you? The Fourth of July is the only summer they get and that is from a relative who knows. Hang in there.

The Garden City Casino held its February Ladies/Lunch Bridge this past week and although there was no Grand Slam made, the surprise of the day was that there was no Small Slam made. Horrors - now you know something is wrong. In spite of it all and enjoying the afternoon were: Agnes LaCorte, Trudy Anderson, Sue Hall, Judy Radocy, Dee DeVries, Jane Cox, Norma Takach, and Michele Weisberg.

Helga Otte would like to remind you that the Children's Medical Fund of N.Y. G.C. Chapter will be holding its Spring Card Party and Boutique on Monday, March 30th at the G.C. Casino. The boutique starts at 11:30 and lunch at noon with sandwiches, dessert, coffee and tea. Bridge follows lunch. Patrice Giordano is taking reservations in the amount of $18 per person at 312 Cambridge Avenue, Garden City, N.Y. 11530. Checks should be made payable to the Children's Medical Fund. If you can't make it, a donation would be appreciated. It's a good cause and a fun-filled day.

Congratulations to Marie Ramos, who is the new president of Clark Gardens and to Dian Kendrick, who will be her very able 1 st vice president. Clark Gardens is famous for its wonderful gardens and for its interesting and informative "Fireside Chats." The one on "Container Gardening" by Maura McGoldrick-Brush should be of interest to every home gardener or apartment gardener. This will take place on Sunday, March 8 th at 1 p.m. in the lovely house at Clark Gardens. The fee is $8 for members and $10 for Non-Members and refreshments will be served following the talk. Their delightful Gift Shop will also be open. Try it and I'm sure you might even become a member - they offer so much.

The Reader's Circle at the G.C. Community Church will be held on Tuesday, March 10 th and hosted by Carol Halvorsen and Martha Pearson . The book that will be discussed will be: The Kabul Beauty School - an American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez . This will give you many insights of life in that area.

Happy birthday wishes go to Dorothy Tattersall who celebrates her special day on the 1 st of March as well as to Douglas Dieterich who will do the same for his birthday on the same day. Gus Swainson will do likewise on March 5 th and Mary Gagliardo will blow out the candles on her cake on March 2 nd. Many happy returns of the day to all the celebrants and may they have a great day and year in health and happiness with many more years to come.

Now don't forget that St. Patricks Day is coming and that should mean that the parade in our area should be coming by just about now. You can always check the date with Kathleen Mullooly . St. Pat's Day is her favorite holiday and she is usually in the parade or watching it.

Jean Schmutz and Mary Carolyn Bishop are very pleased with the success of their "One Woman At a Time" project for the G.C. Branch of AAUW. They raised over $400 for their new "family" and delivered it in the form of gift cards from Stop and Shop, Visa, and Toys Are Us, all of which allowed the family to purchase food and gifts of their choice. They also added a blanket wrap for each family member, along with small toy animals and snow men to fill out the gift bag. Good work, ladies. I know you will keep up the good work. It does make a difference.

Talk about a long winter - during the last Glacial Maximum, about 20,000 years ago, the future Long Island was completely covered by an ice sheet between 4,900 and 9,900 feet thick - so don't complain. See you next week.