About 5,000 people visited the recent Mineola Fair. Grace and I handled our table and gave out some 300 sample copies of the newspaper. Among those we had a chance to talk with were: Lois Hanson, Gloria Connolly, Elizabeth Conlon, Ellen Hodgson Petersen, Stella Traks, Diane Haller, Charles Kittel, Mary Feight, Katie, Emma and Mom Senk, Eleanore and Bob O'Sullivan, Kathy Hoey, Rose Cutrone, Lucy Miele, Nick Martone, Ann Pelech, Pam Canell, Bob Fulli, Mary Ellen Mauser and family, Barry Donohue, Vivian and Jerry Manuta, James Kearney, Maria Toscano, Ann and Chris Gannon, Fred and Nicole Scala, Louis Palumbo, Jerry Mehlman, William Howard, Elizabeth McMahon, Richard and Laurie Sanders, Rocco Filazzdia, Carmela Raffetto, Mickey Siegel and wife, Caroline and William Daly, Ruth Brickner, Anthony Rammer, Marcel Chaillol, Joyce Gorycki, Domenick and Cathy Assalone, Rev. Chet Easton, Mark Eliassof, Frank and Joan Rotter, Tony and JoAnn Nocito, Eleanore and Robert Lerch, Dick Morehouse, Neil and Raphaela Piloto, Margaret Fleming, Tony and Debbie Valente, Ursula Bordonaro, Angela Brown, Jim Boroslawski and Faust and MaryAnn Guarino.

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What gives? The village, just a few months ago, installed all new parking meters in the field behind Carlino's Restaurant and already a lot of them are out of order.

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Al Lopez, formerly of Mineola and the owner of the old Jay's Dept. Store, was coming out of a local eatery in Mineola when he ran into Ray Romano, star of the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond.

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Frank Rotter, of Wellington Rd., has been conducting the Friday AM and PM movies at the library for 15 years.

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Al Marino, the retired music teacher, has joined the group of daily "fast walkers." Al lives on First St.

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Jack Phillips was in the office showing me the Silver Star he won in combat. Jack formerly worked for The New York Times and lives on Jackson Ave.

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John and Toni Pavlovich of Dow Ave. are back in town after wintering in Florida.

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Al and Peggy Ford were up from Florida. The couple, along with their sons Steve and Ken, own Willis Hobbies. The Fords used to live in the President Apts. on Mineola Blvd.

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Did you hear about the new personal injury attorneys in town: McCann, Hertz and Howe - Get it?

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On Memorial Day we had breakfast at the Jericho Diner and ran into Sen. Mike Balboni, Donna and Jim Doran and Janet and Manny Losquadro.

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Corpus Christi parishioner Armando de Barros is a partner in Automotive Headquarters on Herricks Road.

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Tiffany Hundley, a customer over at United Shipping in New Hyde Park. Tiffany is the wife of Met catcher Todd Hundley.

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Speaking of baseball , John Valentin of Mineola is the third baseman of the Boston Red Sox. Everybody we run into these days, by the way, is rooting for a Met-Yankee World Series.

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Kieran Dougherty recently became the 11th child of John and Cathy Dougherty of Beebe Road.

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The Chamber of Commerce will hold their final meeting of the season June 16 at La Cisterna at 6:30 p.m.