God bless our new Pope Benedict XV1.

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Tom Fitzpatrick was having coffee at the Jericho Diner. Tom is a retired driver for The New York Times. He has lived on McKinley Parkway for 52 years and well remembers the old Dixie Diner and he said he was a customer of Richmond's Hardware and a friend of the manager, Bert Wheeler. Richmond's was located on Main St. some 40 years ago opposite the post office.

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Anthony and Marie DiDomenico celebrated their 50th as they renewed their vows at Corpus Christi Church. Their son, Lou, was the former village clerk and superintendent of public works. Another son, Jimmy, is a deputy chief with the NYC Fire Department and their daughter, Carol, lives with the couple on Sheridan Blvd. The DiDomenicos have been in Mineola for 50 years.

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Corpus Christi pastor, the Rev. James Bowman, will be celebrating his 40th year as a priest this month. He served 17 years as a volunteer fireman and chaplain in the fire department where he was serving. He is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War. Father Bowman was in the army for nine years in

his capacity as chaplain.

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Pete's, at 271 Willis Ave., has been a barbershop for 50 years. The first 25 it was called Patsy's before Pete bought it in 1980.

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Carol Lynch of Horton Highway and Kay Williams of Williston Park enjoyed dinner at Villa Margherita's.

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That sweet young lady who served as a lay reader at Corpus Christi was Rachel Empensando. Her clear diction and confidence were amazing in a 14-year-old girl. Her parents are Resurrection and Percival of Penn. Ave.

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A new office building will be erected at Jericho Tpke. and Mineola Blvd. A welcome addition from the old gas station. It will be opposite the new 7-11.

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A lot of people ask me about Dr. Lyman Fussell, a longtime Mineola physician living on Harrison Ave. We know that he is 102 years old and the last we heard he was still spending his summers on the south shore. Additional attempts to learn more were unsuccessful.

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"The Taste of Mineola" project of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce raised $10,000 for Winthrop Hospital's Pediatric Center. The check will be presented to the hospital at the chamber's June meeting.

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Charlie Sleefe, the director of the Mineola Library, gave a talk at the Chamber of Commerce about the new innovations at the library to assist the business community.

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Pat and Julia McCrave, 56-year residents of the village, spent the winter in Florida. Their daughter and son-in-law, Ellen and Kevin Carrage, recently celebrated their 25th. Kevin is the son of Mike and Ann of Herricks Rd.

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Lucky Gavin Duffy, NYC Police Sergeant, had four front row tickets to a recent Mets-Marlins game. His wife Irene and sons Cody and Tyge were sitting on the first base side with Gavin. My wife is pretty certain she had a quick glimpse of them on TV.

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Michelle Price, that friendly lady at the counter at the library, has a lot of experience. She has been there for four years and prior to that worked a the East Meadow Library.

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Dr. Edward Gottlieb, DDS has a funny sign in his office. It's a picture of the three stooges entitled Yankham, Pullem and Payne, DDS. Curley is holding Larry's head while Moe is yanking on his tooth. The caption reads, "We need more patiences."

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A lot of people we know buy their newspapers at CJ Gifts. I guess they like Maryann Fearon, that lovely lady behind the counter. Among those we meet are Frank Lynch, Dan and Tom Flynn and Father Paul Dolan.

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