After 14 years spent in the Mitchel Field area, Caboose #50 has been relocated to a new temporary home in Mineola. Friends of Locomotive #35 members Steve Torborg and Roger Hahn rolled the caboose downhill into the middle of Commercial Avenue where it was then loaded onto two flatbed trucks, one for the 29,000 lb. body and one for the two 7,000 lb. trucks. It then traveled with a full police escort from both Garden City and Nassau County to its new home in Mineola Memorial Park.

The loading process was somewhat time-consuming as the employees of Oliviera Contracting, Valente Contracting and Bay Crane worked to ensure the safest methods of lifting, cribbing and securing the body were taken. Meanwhile, Garden City police kept Commercial Avenue closed to ensure the safety of those doing the work. Once loaded, the caboose was quite a sight, traveling along the roadways of the County Seat while no less than six police cars blocked traffic following, opposing and at all side roads. Once at the park, the caboose was quickly offloaded and placed back on its trucks as Friends of Locomotive #35 volunteers, Village of Mineola officials and local residents looked on. In spite of the constant rain, a great job was done by all without incident, injury or damage to the caboose.

The caboose will remain in the village park for about a year. It will be an integral part of the centennial celebration as representation of the Long Island Rail Road's part in the history of the Village of Mineola. Several displays will be placed inside the public viewing including those depicting the history of the car, that of our organization and several photos of the LIRR of yesteryear in Mineola. Caboose #50 will be surrounded by a fence with rails welded beneath it to ensure that it cannot be rolled off the tracks. It will have lighting installed around it as well as electricity run inside for the lights and markers. The first major public event to feature the caboose should be on Saturday, May 20, when the Village Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual fair.

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Ronnie Geoffrion, a resident of Mineola and a former professional fighter better known as "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, was managed by former champion Rocky Marciano. In his boxing years he has fought 33 professional fights, winning 22. Among his opponents were Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, New England heavyweight champ Pete Ricatelli, middleweight champ Larry Carney and middleweight champ Joey Giardello. He also had the pleasure of being a sparring partner for welterweight and middleweight champ Emile Griffith. Other activities he is currently involved in are baseball, ice hockey, boxing and rides motorcross. In his senior years it just shows that Ronnie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion is still going strong and young at heart.

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Speaking of the centennial the committee will shortly be sending everyone in the village the memorial journal which will be 180 pages of text, pictures and ads. The parade and block party, followed by fireworks, is being planned by John DaVanzo. He says there will be 12 antique cars in the parade. The centennial ball will be held at the Jericho Terrace with tickets going at $100 per person. Chairwoman Candie Maia says she has sold 120 already. In July Bob Hinck said that the time capsule from our 75th anniversary will be opened.

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Mary Urbank is that very competent waitress at Eleanor Rigby's. Mary has worked there for 11 years. She and her husband Jack live on Ferncroft Road and have three kids: Paul, John and Cara.

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We were sorry to hear of the death of Pat McCrave. Our condolences to his wife Julia and the rest of the family. Pat and Julia moved to Mineola right after their marriage and lived here 58 years. Pat volunteered for the Marines and was wounded in the Battle of Sappon, receiving the Purple Heart. He was a lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus. Pat was the assistant director of the division of weights and measures for Nassau County.

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John Colbert, the former mayor of Mineola, was having lunch at the Jericho Diner. John was mayor for nine years before losing to Jack Martins. These days he likes to keep out of the limelight and devotes his time to selling real estate for Smith and Salerno.

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My colleague Jack Garland's recent article "Mineola Memories" was a fascinating look at our early railroads and grade crossings. He recalls the gatemen who used to manually lower and raise the barriers when the warning signal was given. They would sit in those little houses all day waiting for the signal. I sent a railroad buff I know a copy of the story. Those old steam locomotives were indeed something to see.

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All the banners advertising the centennial have been erected. Two of those on the bridge were sponsored by the Mineola American.

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Eddie and Maddie Hanlon like Panera's Bread, especially the bakery department.

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Visiting Home Depot is quite an experience with merchandise piled five tiers some 25 feet high. The sales people are friendly and very knowledgeable. The only problem is that you often have to wait for three or four people ahead of you who also have a question.

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You are always hearing about how the Lotto money goes to help pay for education. Actually, only 4 cents in every dollar goes to the school system. The rest goes to the state in one form or another.

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Barry Bonds is about to break Babe Ruth's home run record. To us, however, there will never be a better player than George Herman Ruth. When you realize that the first six years in the majors he was a pitcher for the Red Sox, he didn't become a position player until his trade to the Yankees. He hit most of his homers during those 14 years. Imagine if he had been an everyday player for his entire career how many homers he would have hit, far more than Bonds. I read a book about the Babe and the last line was "There will never be another like him."

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Frank Cadus was 39 years old when he started working at R.J. Newhouse, manufacturers of church vestments. Frank is 80 now and still works there every day. He lives on Wellington Road.

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Alice Grom of Arlington Street is 83 years old but still works on call as a waitress at the Jericho Diner. She often works from midnight to 6 a.m.

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Dennis and Betty O'Sullivan are back from a three-day convention in Chicago. Both are active in the Irish American Society and you may recall that Betty was the Grand Marshal two years ago.

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Linda Guggino has worked at the Mineola Library for more than 25 years. A resident of the village, she is also active in the Mineola Choral Society and is a musician in her own right.