Lunch box wax in ft myers8/27/2023 ![]() ![]() And supported the Fire department and police department through out his life. He started a college scholarship fund at Berner High School. He helped with making Marjorie Post Park a possibility. He was very involved with the community and loved Massapequa dearly. He was also involved if not owned the USO building and Bingo hall across from the train station. He also owned Olsen's Inn in Massapequa Park / Amityville across from the Zoo. Ford cars raffled off the first Ford Thunderbird on his lot, and at Christmas - a raffle for children were given free Howdy Doody dolls. Prior to then his building was the first to have an escalator on the east coast and was known as the largest grocery store, 50,000 sq ft. My understanding is, he leased his store across from the train station to Bohacks later in his life. Gene (Eugene) Clegg built, owned and operated Massapequa Markets. I am still not sure how I found my house but I did. One of the best parts of the job was that they servered wine in carafes and when a carafe came in that still had some wine in it we would dump it into a bucket hidden below the counter and then take turns chugging from it as the night came to a close, often at one in the morning, after which I rode my bike back home. I am not sure that my fingers have ever fully recovered. There was a massive assembly line dishwasher and it still took four guys, working their asses off, to load all those dishes and glasses and then retrieve them and put them away while they were still blisteringly hot. ![]() I seem to recall that it was typical for the two restaurants to serve more than one thousand dinners on a Saturday night. The food was prepared out on the floor and all the busy work like washing the dishes took place in a kitchen that sat between the two restaurants. I worked as a dishwasher at Coco's/ The Plankhouse in the early 70's for about $2 per hour. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks so the idea of belonging to a beach club was about as foreign as belonging to a cricket club. So if anyone is from class of 1975 and you are still living either on your old street or still in Massapequa some where.Good for you. I would of never guess that 20 years or so I was gonna leave, but I have made a new home. So that is something to talk about around the water cooler here where I live. Even Massapequa has a lot of famous men and women, like Steve Guttenberg and Jerry Seinfeld. And I am proud of it because where I live now, everyone knows I am from up north. ![]() I catch up with old friends and family, and one thing is for sure: my Long Island accent will always stay with me. I miss the food, All American hamburgers, the local pizza and Chinese restaurants, the ice cream shop on Broadway near the train tracks. I will always be proud of Massapequa and miss it very much (but don't miss the snow). I try to visit when I can and catch up with some old friends and family. It's been over 20 years or so, but I will never forget Massapequa. Berner in Massapequa in 1975!!! Moved away from Long Island to another state and married. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |