It’s Father’s Day and I’m trying to
figure out why we get more nostalgic as time goes by. Is it simply a consequence of chronology – we’re
spending more and more time here so we leave more and more footprints? Yet surely the majority of people think about
nothing but the moment.
I raise my glass to my Facebook
friends who lean toward the nostalgic, with special thanks to Mr. Hamden
Plains, Ralph Santoro. Ralph is one of
those guys who I didn’t spend enough time with – he was chillin’ on Church
Street while my boys and I were bombin’ around on Belden Road.
Ralphie was astute enough to get
interested in photography and almost always had a camera slung over his
shoulder when I’d run into him at those great places we went back in the
1970s. Consequently, he snapped a few of
me during a time when I wasn’t doing a heck of a lot of posing. Photos of me in my 20s are pretty darned
rare.
Through the miracle of Facebook,
scanners and Ralph’s diligence, I was flipping through his collection of Hamden
nostalgia and readily recognized so many of my old friends. Most of them I haven’t seen in 20 to 30 years
like that wild bunch of Spring Glen guys – the Lee brothers, the Boyle
brothers. Some of them I see from time
to time, like Brooksvale Park caretaker and good buddy Vin Lavorgna and Billy
Mezzano.
A few of the guys pictured are
sadly gone at much too young an age.
Gary Conte, half-brother of one of my best friends Andy Vas, perished in
a Long Island Sound boat mishap along with Paul Mangan, Billy Ford and Billy
Collake on Memorial Day 1975. That’s
nearly 40 years ago, and their faces are etched in my mind.
Another wonderful guy – Joe Gambardella,
brother of Andy and Leo – passed away within the year. I spent many happy hours with the
Gambardellas at their house that was demolished so Dunkin’ Donuts would have
more parking spaces. Ralph remembers. So does my dear friend Sharon Davis, who
married Andy G. It pains me that I haven’t
heard from Sharon in about 40 years, but shift happens.
Next Saturday (June 22), Hamden
will be the scene of two nostalgic shindigs.
A group of guys led by Belden Road’s own Pete Sportino founded The
Mighty Metropolis group of Facebook, which is now more than 1,700 members
strong. We had a get-together at
Glenwood (best hot dogs on Planet Earth; where Hamdenites will always find an
old friend) and now we’re re-convening at Brooksvale Park (10:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.) where Ranger Vinny certainly will be a gracious host.
The Hamden Plains Park Reunion is
scheduled to take place at Outer Space, 295 Treadwell Street, Hamden from 4 to
7 p.m. Live music will be provided by
The Slides (original rock) and Broadway Hearts (piano-based rock). I’d like to hit both but sometimes life
intervenes.
Back to Ralphie’s photos … . The old block on Dixwell Avenue where the
Strand Theater once stood tugged at the heart strings. I remember when sister Marji used to work
there and we’d take in all the hits of the day – “Deliverance” and “The Poseidon
Adventure” come to mind. I can still
smell that delectable combination of mildew blended with stale popcorn bathed
in that exquisite drawn butter. If
Yankee Candle Company had that scent, I’d have to get a few.
He’s got photos of his mother Myra
and the dance studio she ran on Church Street, including the newspaper clipping
about Little Ralphie making his stage debut at Oakdale when he was 5. That’s where he gets that dynamic stage
presence he exhibits during his musical gigs.
The photos from the Blizzard of ’78
were classic. That’s when my Datsun got
buried under a snow bank and I went without a vehicle for quite a spell.
My old buddy Vinny “Bear” Pantera made
sure I got to work at the Hamden Public Works Department every day. Geez, I hope I thanked him enough. Thought I saw Vinny one day a few years back when
I was covering Rock Cats baseball, but it was his twin brother Mike. That’s a mistake anybody can make.
Vinny played hockey for Hamden High
during the years before Fairfield Prep made recruiting a priority. I remember the twin rinks on Sherman Avenue hosting
a team from Sweden and the place being packed.
Ah, the days when high school sports drew a crowd! Vinny was a burly defensemen who patrolled a
section of the ice where no West Haven forward would care to tread.
I can’t continue without paying
homage to the Shultz clan. Big Kirk and
Little Richie, are the twins that look nothing alike. Younger brother Scott yearned for the city
life. Youngest brother Bruce lives on a
ranch in Montana.
Middle brother Craig settled down
in Hometown on followed in father Dutch’s footprints by pouring out his heart
to youth sports, primarily girls basketball.
I remember when Craig took up lacrosse.
I wondered what the heck he would do that for. Now, all these years later, I’ve covered my
share of lacrosse and fully comprehend how he got attached to the sport.
Hey, I know I’ve missed a lot of
good times and great people, particularly the great days when The Family – Ron Sambrook,
Andy Vas, Johnny Coassin and Ray DeAngelis and I – were wandering Grateful Dead
Heads. The Great Bus Ride to see Jerry
Garcia at Waterbury’s Palace Theater, courtesy of Ken Dubin, was a
classic. A longer one all the way to
Norfolk, Va., courtesy of Lenny Young, was even crazier since it was something
like 20 hours round trip.
Thanks for letting me spout. On this Father’s Day, I urge you to remember
your families, remember your friends, remember those who have passed before us
and do something nostalgic.
