When the small Roman Catholic Church of Corpus Christi opened in 1898, little did people realize that today it would be the home parish of 90 percent of the people of Mineola. Our population of mostly Irish, Italian and Portuguese origin is overwhelmingly Catholic. A second larger church was built in 1909 and the handsome modern church we have today was completed in 1971. I'm sure that no one remembers Father Burke from the early days, but some may recall the parish priests of the late '40s and '50s, Msgr. Edmund Fitzgerald and Fathers Manning and Hagan. In those times, the same priests served their parishes for maybe 20 years. Today, the bishops like to reassign priests every six years or so. An exception would be the Rev. Tomaz Gomide who has been allowed to stay for many years since he chiefly serves the large Portuguese community. Today we also have as pastor Father James Bowman, and Father Paul Dolan and priests in-residence, Msgrs. Eugene Murphy and Edward Tarrant, along with Deacons John Reinhart and Brian Mannix. Some of the clerics we recall are Msgrs. Daly and Costello and the Revs. Winkler, Batule, Gordon, Murphy, Gartner, Mahoney, McCormick, Kane, DucMinh, Staudt, George, Moran and Meade as well as Deacons Richard Richardson, and Sr. Laura Helbig, principal of the school for many years. Some 5,000 families are on the church enrollment list representing about 18,000 people.

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After 68 years, the New Hyde Park Inn is being sold. Owner Karl Rueck told us the Inn was opened by Wille Rueck in 1938. Karl said the restaurant would continue to serve good German food like the roast goose I enjoyed there during the holidays.

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Meter person Florence Peterson recently visited the Hawaiian Islands. After the retirement of Frank Syracuse from the meter team, the village hired Andrew Ruggiero to join Laurie McCarron, Stuart Goldstein and Ron Rental.

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At our favorite diner we spotted Father James Bowman and later Jim and Donna Doran.

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We welcome new residents Gus and Carmel Lodato of Garfield Ave.

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Former District Court Judge Bob Rosenthal of Andrews Rd. is a big Jets fan. Bob goes to every game even going to Buffalo to see a game against the Bills.

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Willie Koula of Albertson likes to have his morning coffee at the Jericho Diner. Willie, a painter, is a longtime friend of the owner Jimmy.

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Most people seem to like the large white boxes that are replacing the parking meters in our parking fields. You punch in your parking space number, then insert quarters (one for a 30-minute period), press the green button and wait for ticket to appear. Place ticket on you dashboard to show you have paid. Actually, you don't have to put the ticket in your vehicle as the meter people know who paid by opening the box and retrieving the printout which shows who paid for which spots. The village, however, says it's wise to use the tickets anyway. Yes, the machine makes change, too. The box is good because it avoids the problem of broken meters.

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Always good to see Michael Vezzi of Clinton Ave. around town with his friend Pat.

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Got a cheery Christmas greeting from Jack and Mary Whelan of Wardwell Rd.

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Frank and Marie Caetano are the proud parents of Marine Donald Caetano who served a year in Iraq. Donald will soon have to go back and we pray that God will keep him safe.

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Alice Grom of Arlington St. will be away from the Jericho Diner for about six weeks while she undergoes a knee replacement. But Alice who is only 83, says she will soon be back waitressing.

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Lou Spera left Mineola seven years ago and now lives in a co-op near Mitchel Field. He and his late wife, Geraldine, lived in the village for 45 years. Lou comes back often as he likes to buy his newspaper at L and J Cards and Gifts (Precious Gifts) from Maryann Fearon.

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