At the end of next year's centennial celebration we will bury a time capsule. We did that in 1981 at the conclusion of our 75th year. We did a good job of it since nobody including me remembers where we buried it. Actually John DaVanzo and myself are the only two actively involved in both events, but many other members of the diamond jubilee are still around including Lou Buttacoli, Janet Wohlars, Paul Cusato, Tony Bellissimo, Dan Carolin and Ed Smith. Others involved were the late Ed Zobrist, John Drennan, John Krause and John Fenter. Mayor Martins tells us that we are hot on the trail of the 75th year capsule and will eventually find it.

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When Corpus Christi pastor Rev. James Bowman celebrated his 40th year as a priest, some 80 relatives and friends attended the Mass, some coming from as far away as Texas, Florida and New Hampshire, including a chum from grammar school days. Father Bowman has seen service in Iraq and Germany and has been chaplain to several fire departments. He has served as a priest at Our Lady of Victory, St. James, the Cure of Ars and St. Dominick's. The Mass was concelebrated with seven priests and three deacons. Among the celebrants were Msgr. Eugene Murphy marking his 50th year and Rev. Thomas Murphy who will soon be celebrating his 35th year. Unfortunately, due to poor health, Father Bowman's 91-year-old mother was unable to attend.

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Many friends are attending the fund-raising breakfast for Judge Scott Fairgieve, a candidate for the state supreme court, including Mike Pfeiffer, Steve Ford, Many DeFreitas and Jack Simon.

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All the new residents of Beebe Road have become subscribers to the Mineola American including Sean and Donna Burke, Tim and Victoria Denzler, John and Donna Fucci and Trish Keats.

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That attractive young lady helping our Maryann Fearon at CJ Gifts is Liz Welt of Mineola. Liz has lived in a number of places including Nevada, Arizona and California.

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Bruce Burns and his wife Maryann are big hockey fans. When someone swiped the hockey puck I used at the Mineola Fair as a paper weight, Bruce replaced it by giving me three handsome pucks - one is green, one white and one red with the Islander's logo imprinted on them.

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Good to see some past Grand Knights up and around again including Terry Connor, Marcel Chaillol and Ed Panzella.

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The online newspaper Slate has a lot of unusual things in it; for example, an in-depth study of some classic paintings like American Gothic, The Scream and Mona Lisa.

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Jack Whelan of Wardwell Road was the grand marshal of the 2004 St. Patrick's Day parade and he tells me that he arrived in the United States from County Clare, Ireland 50 years ago on June 18. He and his wife Mae will soon be celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary and are planning a trip to Ireland. Jack and Mae have four children and five grandchildren.

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Kelly McPartland and Gary Woods of Fermanagh, Ireland were wed at St. Aidan's in June.

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Kelly and her dad Noel own that excellent Irish restaurant, the Recovery Room. When there it's good to know in Gaelic that Mna means "ladies" and the Fir means "men's" if you want to use the restrooms.

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City cop Tom Rudolph and his mom and dad had breakfast at the Jericho Diner. Good to see his mom up and around again.

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Lou Panacciulli tells us that there will be concerts by the Nassau Pops in the park July 8, 9 and 29.

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Keith Raad, son of Donald and Patti and grandson of Rich and Charlotte of Mineola, has been accepted into the People to People World Leadership Forum. Raad will join a select group of students in Washington, DC Sept. 19 to 25 to earn high school credit while studying leadership and exploring some of the United States' most prominent monuments and institutions, from Capitol Hill to the Smithsonian Institute and from Colonial Williamsburg to the National Museum of American History. Raad will examine the characteristics of American leadership during times of national challenge and prosperity. Forum delegates will also participate in small group discussions and exercises to experience first-hand how successful leaders develop strategies, make decisions, build consensus and foster change.