The old Mineola Civic Association had as its 1965 slate of officers: Phyllis Marazzo, president; Dr. Michael Giuliano, vice-president; Grace Sanders, treasurer; Joan Mosca, corresponding secretary; and Gertrude Hanson, recording secretary. Forty years ago civic associations abounded in Mineola. Most people were new homeowners and banded together so that they could present a common front against builders who were often thought of as the enemy. Later the civic groups found that they could get action by applying to the village board and the old civic associations went out of business.

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Ran across old friend Dave Miller who was actually born in Mineola. Dave lived most of his life on Main St. A few years ago he married Dorothy Whitley and moved to Garden City. The Miller family was long active in Temple Beth Sholom during the time of Rabbi Maurice Speier and later Rabbi Rockoff. Dave's mother Rebecca in particular was a good member of the congregation.

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John Conrad stopped into Shannons in Williston Park for a couple of glasses of ale. John used to be with the water department and for 30 years lived on McClellan Ave. Since his retirement he resides in Williston Park.

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Dave Sullivan of the President Apts. on Mineola Blvd. really misses the old Executive Restaurant. Occasionally he helps out at Al's Auto on Hillside Ave.

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Marie Lombardo of Latham Rd. married Mark Holt of San Diego Dec. 5. Mark is the brother-in-law of Bill Cassidy, owner of Cassidy Funeral Home.

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Frances Finley of Maple Place likes to bank at Fleet. One of her daughters, Mary Ellen, is married to Tony Bellissimo, Jr. Tony, a CPA, is the son of Marian and Tony Bellissimo of Mineola.

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We had a good seat at a recent Islander-Devils hockey game and sat a couple of rows behind former Isles manager Al Arbour. Grace, who is not too crazy about the game to start with, almost got hit in the head by a flying puck. That would have been all she needed.

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Passionist Father Edward Beck conducted a very successful four night mission at Corpus Christi Church.

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Jack Ryan of Roslyn Rd. is a faithful parishioner at Corpus Christi. He has lived in the village for more than 40 years.

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Anyone lose a rather expensive looking ring which was found in the Corpus Christi parking lot and turned in by former Chief of Detectives Ed Curran? It's waiting for its owner at the lost and found.

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Tom Bencivenga of Brown St. has followed in his dad's footsteps. Tom is a foreman at the Mineola Post Office. His proud dad, Anthony, was a mail carrier for many years in the village. Dad lives on McKinley Parkway.

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Dick Nowak of Walter Ave. is the owner of the Baby Outlet on Union St.

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Attorney Pat O'Brien enjoyed lunch at our favorite diner. Pat and his wife Bernadette live in town.

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Columnist Frank Rich has written a book called The Hot Seat about his 13 years as the theater critic for the NY Times. It's a very tough job reviewing plays when you know that what you write can cause the play to be a great success or a dismal failure. His bad reviews forced some plays to close quickly. When you realize that people have millions invested in a production you can see the pressure on the critic. Rich wrote some articles full of praise, sometimes, however, he had to give other plays thumbs down.

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Jeff Rubin of Emory Rd. is the owner of Collectors Firearms on Jericho Tpke. His dad who lived in the same house was the owner of Mineola Paint and Wallpaper located in the same store where Collectors is today.

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Ed Miller of Beebe Rd. enjoyed dining at Cugini's on Jericho Tpke.

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Angelo Marinelli of Garfield Ave. is the newest member of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He owns the classy Mineola restaurant La Cisterna.