Ed Aswad, Longtime Binghamton Photographer

November 10, 2017 By
Visiting Ed and his wife Shelley in North Carolina at their 'Paradise Found!'

Visiting Ed and his wife Shelley in North Carolina at their ‘Paradise Found!’

Ed is a dear friend of mine and the one who linked me eternally to Prospect Mountain and Ely Park Golf Course by selling me the land at 70 Ridge Street where I plan to build a spiritual home, ‘Close to Heaven,’ to enjoy ‘the rest of my life!’

‘Paradise Found’ for my good friend & Binghamton mentor Ed Aswad & his wife Shelly! Always good to visit this inspirational couple on their horse farm outside Pinehurst, NC. Ed was a lifelong photographer in Broome County (Carriage House) & the one who sold me the land at 70 Ridge Street to be known forever as ‘Aswad Point.’ Big-hearted, immense creativity, and full of meaningful & insightful perspectives & comments, most original to this wonderful man! Thanks for the hospitality! See you again soon!   (Facebook Post with 25 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 11-10-17)

Filed Under: WeLoveBingo

Binghamton, New York—My Hometown, A Cut Above by James Pratt

November 2, 2017 By
James Pratt, his article "Binghamton, NY, My Hometown, A Cut Above,' was inspired by his barber!

James Pratt, his article “Binghamton, NY, My Hometown, A Cut Above,’ was inspired by his barber!

By James Pratt

Binghamton, My home town. The other day I was at the Barber and he said that he would move out of the area if he didn’t have a business. He said that there were no jobs in the area. This rubbed me the wrong way and I countered that there are tons of jobs and a rich history of the area. I mentioned Dicks Warehouse advertising for 400 jobs and many in the Hospitals and Colleges.

I would like to list a few positive points for living in the Triple Cities.

While it is true that Binghamton has lost population to half of what it was in the heyday of 1950, the area’s of Vestal, Endwell and Endicott have gained population. The total population of Greater Binghamton and suburbs is 200,600.

This area supports many Sports teams, Choral groups, Our own Opera Company, and Orchestra’s all of which enriches our lives and our community.

We have four Over the Air Television Stations and a World Class Hybrid Fiber/Coax Cable System with high speed internet.

Our Religious Community comprises of many beautiful Churches with Calendar’s full of Suppers and Festivals.

We have Three Colleges, one is a Major University. We have a rich History of Inventor’s such as Edwin Link whose “Link Trainer” was used to train pilots in World War II.

Rod Serling, one of Binghamton's favorite citizens, loved his hometown of Binghamton, NY!

Rod Serling, one of Binghamton’s favorite citizens, loved his hometown of Binghamton, NY!

Writer Rod Serling whose achievements have made our area famous worldwide. Rod said this about his hometown. “Everyone has to have a hometown, Binghamton’s mine. In the strangely brittle, terribly sensitive makeup of a human being, there is a need for a place to hang a hat, or kind of geographical womb to crawl back into, or maybe just a place that’s familiar because that’s where you grew up. When I dig back through my memory cells, I get one particularly distinctive feeling and that’s one of warmth, comfort and well-being. For whatever else I have had, or lost, or will find, I’ve still got a hometown. This, nobody’s gonna take away from me.” – Rod Serling.

I point all of this out to make us think positively about the Triple Cities. Our community is rich on many levels.

We have Three Major Hospitals with many Satellite offices.

Great Restaurants and a diverse population due to immigrants of many nations. Many of these immigrants worked for Endicott Johnson Shoes and supplied the War effort with boots. Endicott Johnson gave our area six Carousels which is more than any other area in the world.

We have the Kopernik Space Education Center, Roberson Museum, Bundy Museum, Phelps Mansion Museum and the Discovery Museum.

Cover Photo for Facebook's 'Historic Binghamton!' Photo Credit: Bob Bullock

Cover Photo for Facebook’s ‘Historic Binghamton!’ Photo Credit: Bob Bullock

Many naysayers usually list the weather or jobs for moving on to other states. We enjoy the four season’s which includes winter. Our area of the country has a moderate temperate climate which is wonderful because we don’t have extreme heat or Cold.

Here is a link to a webpage that I include in the many websites that I maintain www.stny.info. This webpage has many links to local Activities, Schools, Businesses, Churches, Sports, Arts and Theatre.

Links to The Southern Tier of New York & Environs

I would like to hear from other members of the Community to post positive uplifting messages. We have all heard the negatives, I want to hear positives. I will be posting this message on the wall’s of many groups in order to get a wide range of responses.

NOTE:   This article was originally posted by James Pratt on November 2nd, 20170 on Facebook’s ‘Historic Binghamton,’ a public group with nearly 9.500 members. Reposted here with permission of the author.

Filed Under: WeLoveBingo

Ely Celebration No. 4 Honors Rick Mauro, Bob Steiner, Ron Simkulet, & Andy Reistetter Sr.

August 4, 2017 By
Quite a few folks came out to celebrate Ely Park on a beautiful sunny morning!

Quite a few folks came out to celebrate Ely Park on a beautiful sunny morning!

The fourth Ely Park Celebration was held at 10 am on Friday, August 4th up at Ely Park on the practice putting green. Long time Ely Park golf professionals Rick Mauro and Bob Steiner were present and honored for their contributions and legacies that date back to the early 1980s. Rick and Bob, along with previously honored Ernie Smith and Steve Vaskovic Sr., are the only four golf professionals to manage the Ely Park Golf Course since it opened in the Fall of 1933.

Two other amateur golfers—Ronnie Simkulet and Andy Reistetter Sr.—were honored in an interesting, fun, and entertaining informal ceremony on a beautiful morning up at Ely.

Reporter Christy O'Neil from WICZ FOX 40 was on hand to interview Rick and Bob and air a feature on the Ely Celebration on the evening news.

Reporter Christy O’Neil from WICZ FOX 40 was on hand to interview Rick and Bob and air a feature on the Ely Celebration on the evening news.

Simkulet, one of the all-time best Triple Cities amateurs, first came to Ely Park as a ten-year old in 1951. The ‘boy wonder’ won the Ely Park Club Championship five times, including four times in a row from 1957 to 1960 and then again in 1962. A Vietnam Veteran and graduate of SUNY Cortland, he left the area for ten years to be a club pro in Texas where he befriended the legendary golfer Doug Sanders.

Reistetter Sr. was a living fixture up at Ely Park, along with the likes of Bob Kollar and Walt Kozak, until his death in 1993.

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O'Neil interviewing Rick Mauro at the Ely Celebration!

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O’Neil interviewing Rick Mauro at the Ely Celebration!

 

Reistetter Sr. won the Ely Park Club Championship in 1975 with son Andy Jr. on the bag and son Larry, long-time Broome County park designer and golf architect snapping pictures. Andy Sr. came to the game as a young boy caddying at Scranton CC to help the family make ends meet. A WWII veteran, he came to Binghamton after the war and served the community first as a police officer and then as a 25-year veteran of the fire department.

 

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O'Neil interviewing Bob Steiner at the Ely Celebration!

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O’Neil interviewing Bob Steiner at the Ely Celebration!

The twelve Ely Park Honorees to date include Joe Gomulka, John Hammer, Joe Kovarik (a threesome that played Ely Park together for over fifty years), Walt Kozak, Bob ‘Bert’ Kollar, Bob Marachek, Ed Nosewicz (lifetime member of the PGA of America, member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame), Mike Popik (all great amateur golfers), long time professional golfer Al Morley (who played in eight PGA Championships), Al Vaskovic (long-time Assistant Golf Professional to his brother Steve and the competitive golfing face of Ely Park), and previously mentioned golfing professionals Ernie Smith (who designed the golf course with city engineer Edward Prentice) and Steve Vaskovic Sr.

Ronnie Simkulet (left) with Rick Mauro up at Ely Park in May 2008.

Ronnie Simkulet (left) with Rick Mauro up at Ely Park in May 2008.

Beautiful Ely Park Celebration this morning honoring Bob Steiner, Rick Mauro, Ronnie Simkulet, and my father Andy Reistetter Sr. Thank you to everyone who came out to make it so special! Special gratitude to Joan E. Davis, Mark Kachadourian for helping get the word out & FOX 40 reporter Christy O’Neil for her excellent coverage. The spirit of Ely Park, her history, her beauty, & her welcome to all, is alive & well! TROML Baby!   (Facebook Post with 30 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 8-4-17)

Fran Roach: “What a great place and classy golf professionals!!”

Chris Dickerson: “I was unaware this was happening!! Sorry I missed it!!”

Lisa Bennett-Fish: “Thank you Andy for inviting Jordan and I…what a “Splendid Spiritual Event!”

Andy Reistetter Sr. on the par-3 second tee box back in the old days of Ely Park. The cinder parking lot and old clubhouse can be seen in the background on what is now No. 3 fairway. The two greens are today's 6th green and the original practice putting green. (The first hole was a log par 3 from today's No. 3 ladies tee to the 3rd green.

Andy Reistetter Sr. on the par-3 second tee box back in the old days of Ely Park. The cinder parking lot and old clubhouse can be seen in the background on what is now No. 3 fairway. The two greens are today’s 6th green and the original practice putting green. (The first hole was a log par 3 from today’s No. 3 ladies tee to the 3rd green.

Virginia Kronk: “Great to see a special day for a special person – Rick Mauro surely deserved it!

Peggy Wells Mauro: “Great pics!”

Kim Hastert: “That’s awesome! Congrats!”

John Olsa: “Bob was my first instructor as a child, gave me some great teachings, and at 46 years old the handicap is still at 0. Thanks Bob!”

Jim Blodgett: “Congratulations Gents!! Steins looking good as always.”

Nick Brewster:  “Great tribute! Binghamton golf is better because of them.”

Stan & Sue Lisk: “It was a day up on Ely Mountain for (joy)! Glad I made it. Well-deserved awards to my two great friends and Golf Pro’s. You helped many people to enjoy this great game. Thanks again and keep on swinging.”

 

Pictures from the 4th Ely Celebration on Friday, August 4th, 2017:

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Filed Under: Featured People

WICZ FOX 40: 4th ‘Ely Park Celebration’ Honors Stand Out Individuals

August 4, 2017 By

By Christy O’Neil

BINGHAMTON, N.Y.

Reporter Christy O'Neil from WICZ FOX 40 was on hand to interview Rick and Bob and air a feature on the Ely Celebration on the evening news.

Reporter Christy O’Neil from WICZ FOX 40 was on hand to interview Rick and Bob and air a feature on the Ely Celebration on the evening news.

Among three other honorees recognized at the fourth “Ely Park Celebrations”, Ricky Mauro, a man who wore many hats throughout his 37 years of contribution to the golf course.

Bob Steiner, who was also honored for his great contributions to Ely Park Golf said, “Ricky came to work for me the very first year and we spent 13 years together here, then after I left, he inherited the job as the golf professional”.

 

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O'Neil interviewing Rick Mauro at the Ely Celebration!

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O’Neil interviewing Rick Mauro at the Ely Celebration!

Beginning work at 16 years old, Mauro not only learned the ‘ins and outs’ of the golf business’, he reached nearly impossible feats in the sport itself.

“Golf was in my blood, there’s no doubt about it”. “Hey, I golfed from six years old to fifty, how many people can say that?” said Mauro. “I got three consecutive Eagles, now I’ve never heard of that being done and I don’t know if it’s even ever been done…but I did do that and that’s the best achievement I had,” he said.

 

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O'Neil interviewing Bob Steiner at the Ely Celebration!

WICZ FOX 40 Reporter Christy O’Neil interviewing Bob Steiner at the Ely Celebration!

And despite all of his achievements in golf, Mauro says he takes the most pride in his work as a teacher.

“There’s nothing’s better than having a kid come back to you later in life and tell you, you helped them and they thank you for it. That means more to me than any achievements I did… I won my share of tournaments but the kids were the most important thing. I dedicated most of my career to teaching.”

After a cancer diagnosis that led to the loss of a limb in 2011, Mauro hopes now to recover and come back to golf once again.

Quite a few folks came out to celebrate Ely Park on a beautiful sunny morning!

Quite a few folks came out to celebrate Ely Park on a beautiful sunny morning!

“I’m trying to be able to walk again and hopefully I’ll hit a golf ball again, that’s my goal. I’m driven and as an underdog, I try to overcome. I’m very positive, I always taught the positive and I’m positive I can do it,” he said.

“I fulfilled everything that I wanted to do, the only thing I would’ve liked to have done is teach a little more and if I get healthy enough, I can beat the odds on a few things They’ve read me my last rights several times and I’m still here… and I’m coming back stronger than ever I think.”

With Mauro, three other men were recognized for their contributions to Ely Park: Bob Steiner, Andy Reisetter Sr. and Ronnie Simkulet.

If you’d like to visit the Ely Park Golf Course website, click here: Ely Park

CLICK HERE for the original article by Christy O’Neil on the WICZ FOX 40 Website.

CLICK HERE for “Ely Celebration No. 4 Honors Mauro, Steiner, Simkulet, & Reistetter Sr.

Pictures from the 4th Ely Celebration on August 4, 2017:

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Filed Under: Featured Events, Featured People

John Darrow, BCHS Class of ’77, Still Alive & Kicking!!!

July 26, 2016 By

CLICK here for a Video Interview with John Darrow, Class of 1977.

C'mon would you have recognized John Darrow? What happened to the afro? LOL, reference video interview...

C’mon would you have recognized John Darrow? What happened to the afro? LOL, reference video interview…

I lived the first 17 years of my life in that little house hidden in the trees at 2 Florence Street. Over the years, and there have been many since then, nearly 40 now, I have never lost touch with the heartbeat of my hometown. First through my Mom and Dad and then through other family. Dad passed in 1992 and Mom lived to see the new millennium. Since then I have reunited with many BCHS classmates, none more important and inspiring to me as Mr. John Darrow.

In the video he harasses me that I did not recognize him at first glance and that is true. But c’mon remember that head of hair. And didn’t he disappear to Broadway or someplace like that for a few years? What a great guy and I am happy he is still alive and kicking.

Who better to interview first to try to illustrate the special spirit I am trying to capture with the production of a 2-hour broadcast celebrating our Greater Binghamton community; our old Binghamton Central High School (BCHS), now Binghamton High School (BHS); our class of 1977 and the soon to be graduating Class of 2017?

Nobody has embraced Binghamton history like John Darrow! Shown here as Dr. S. Andral Kilmer!

Nobody has embraced Binghamton history like John Darrow! Shown here as Dr. S. Andral Kilmer!

Why not embrace & display the full impact of community, school, faith, family & friends during our childhood?

Why not partner with BHS leadership, students & the community to give service now for the future?

Why not focus on our high school years extracting the inspiration in a positive manner to share?

Why not showcase our talents, accomplishments & unique BCHS heritage during the last 40 years while raising funds for our alma mater high school?

John has and is the community spirit and civic pride of our hometown of Binghamton! He has worked tirelessly to restore the Bundy residence into the Bundy Museum of History & Art.

He is an eminent local historian and knows the historic figures he mentions in his interview—Dr. S. Andral Kilmer, George F. Johnson, Brothers Harlow and Willard Bundy—and lots more.

The Class of 2017 does indeed have a future in Binghamton.

There's something about John's connection with the Bundy Museum and the time recording concept... maybe it is time that we all got back in touch?

There’s something about John’s connection with the Bundy Museum and the time recording concept… maybe it is time that we all got back in touch?

John’s comment about our Class of ’77 resonates deeply with me… We have simply just been out of touch… we indeed did go our separate ways.

But now is the time to enjoin again with each other to celebrate our lives and especially the lives of our fellow classmates and esteemed teachers and administrators that have passed on.

I bet if you get involved with our 40th reunion that you will find what I have found. It’s fun and nostalgic to recall the environment and interactions we had in high school amidst the studies, sports and clubs we participated in. But it is more meaningful to share and talk about things we know about now and perspectives we have now that we were not even aware of way back then when we were transformed from kids to adults during those four years at BCHS.

Please share your life experiences and your story to make this an extraordinary 40th high school reunion!

We need 'U' to make our reunion a success!

We need ‘U’ to make our reunion a success!

It was great to be back at Bundy with John. Maybe I am already starting to shrink as I remember being a bit taller than him back in high school!

It was great to be back at Bundy with John. Maybe I am already starting to shrink as I remember being a bit taller than him back in high school!

Don't miss the Bundy Museum of History & Art which is home to the Southern Tier Broadcasters Hall of Fame when you come back home...

Don’t miss the Bundy Museum of History & Art which is home to the Southern Tier Broadcasters Hall of Fame when you come back home…

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: BCHS Class of '77

Our Friend Ricky Mauro… to know him is to love him!

July 19, 2016 By

Our Friend Ricky Mauro… to know him is to love him!

Thoughts & Prayers, PLEASE, for my dear friend Rick Mauro on this his birthday! Challenged with an extremely serious health issue, he is dealing with it in a courageous, spiritual, and determined manner. I pray for his health and well-being with gratitude for all his care-givers these past eight years. He already defeated colon cancer and now he will walk again and hopefully even swing a golf club. An Ely Park Legend, the head golf professional for 17 years, and only golfer I know of, amateur or professional, here or around the world, to go EAGLE-EAGLE-ACE! Happy Birthday Ricky! God Bless Ricky Mauro, everyone’s friends!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post; 7-14-17)

 

Great to spend the afternoon visiting with my good friend. Rick Mauro. A year older & No. 1 on the BCHS golf team he was the guy I looked up to (even though he was shorter than me, see pic). Even more so these days as Rick is a courageous cancer survivor. Best guy you will ever meet, Rick has done a lot for junior golfers, especially the underprivileged, up at Ely Park. The Ben Crenshaw of BCHS, he never missed a putt, now I know why… he was the Front Street Miniature Golf Course Champion before he came up to Ely to dominate with a full swing too! Only guy I know, professional golfers included, to follow 2 eagles with an ace, any where, any time… he did it up at Ely Park in a tournament on old Nos. 15 & 16 & the par 3 over the gully… Next visit Rick, I look forward to stroking a few too!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 17 Pics; 7-19-16)

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Filed Under: BCHS Class of '77, Featured People

BCHS 40th Reunion Program: Giving Service Now for the Future…

July 12, 2016 By

BCHS 40th Reunion Program: Giving Service Now for the Future…

Goals of researching, producing and sharing a unique, entertaining & meaningful Reunion Program:

  1. 8 640 BCHSEmbrace & display the full impact of community, school, faith, family & friends during our childhood.
  2. Partner with BHS leadership, students & the community to give service now for the future.
  3. Focus on our high school years extracting the inspiration in a positive manner to share.
  4. Showcase the talents, accomplishments & unique BCHS heritage during the last 40 years.
  5. Target audience is current high school students.
  6. Full video production with local television audience.
  7. Fundraiser for BHS, including ticket & advertising sales; participation on a volunteer basis only.

Organization:

  • Planning Service Force (overall project management) with creative teams (Reunion Program elements).

 Schedule:

Research & pre-produce Reunion Program features throughout the school year.

First edition of Reunion Program for students towards end of school year.

Reunion Program during BCHS 40th Reunion Weekend (Summer 2017)

Creative Guidelines:

11 class of 77Created with an all-inclusive perspective with no direct promotion of any one element.

Explicit promotional references to Politics, Sex, & Religion to be avoided.

No discrimination due to sex, sexual orientation, race, color, pregnancy, religion, national origin, age or disability.

Focus on overcoming personal childhood challenges & finding one’s own unique contributions.

Creative Elements of Reunion Program (Brainstorm List Only, no specific order):

  1. Variety Show format with host, onstage band, talk segments, participation segments and pre-produced features.
  2. Share/contrast/similarities current year 2017 class versus 1977 class.
  3. Yearbook Inscriptions- inspirational, foretelling, entertaining/funny.
  4. Individual talents.
  5. Feature stories, 5-7 minute videos, research & produce, senior curriculum projects?
  6. Talk Segments- students, teachers, community members with ties to BCHS Class of 1977
  7. Talk Segments with individual Class of 1977 members- Sports, Clubs, Marching Band
  8. Picture Show feature- Oscars-like Remembrance of faculty, classmates, etc.
  9. Top-10 throughout the show- nostalgia

9 Binghamton10. SNL Jeopardy

11. Features on students, teachers, community members with ties to BCHS Class of 1977

12. Time Warp- BHS 2017 vs. BCHS 1977

13. Special Class Friendships if both parties willing to share

14. Previous Class of 1977 Reunions- annually for a while, then 11th & 20th?

15. Yearbook- “I’ll Remember You Always” 40 years later. Do we? Pop Quiz?

16. Yearbook Pictures- interesting, unusual foretelling of changes in next 40 years- 2 girls on boys swim team, etc…

17. BHS tour, then and now.

18. Yearbook Advertisers, how many still exist, feature new ones?

19. Talent, musical performances

20. Greater Binghamton promotion, then & now & the future

21. Live telethon segment with call-in participation with every donation made.

1 Pic BHS22. Sketches, stunts, and desk talk…

23. Opening welcome by host, then a comedian looking back?

24. Announcer/Sidekick “From the BHS Stage, in the heart of Binghamton, New York, it’s The BCHS 40th Reunion Program: Giving Service Now for the Future…

25. Variety Show: stage to radio to television to BHS 2017 Stage- Giving Service Now for the Future

Next Steps:

  • Partnership with BHS is critical… GO/NO GO decision date?
  • Approach local television stations.
  • Approach local advertisers.
  • Communicate to Class of 1977 members seeking support & participation.
  • Establish ongoing Planning Service Force (overall project management).
  • Form creative teams (Reunion Program elements), begin Pre-Production..
  • Schedule First Edition & Live Reunion Program.

 

 

 

Filed Under: BCHS Class of '77

Forever Young, BCHS Class of 1977, 40th Reunion, TROML-Style

May 28, 2016 By

1WOW, can you believe it?

It’s almost that time in our lives to celebrate our 40th high school reunion.

I am fascinated when I think about my childhood, my hometown of Binghamton, New York, the people I met and the people who influenced me as I was educated in the ways of the world during those first nearly 18 years of life. I am even more fascinated on the impact of those first 18 years on the last 40 years. I have a lot of be thankful for and I am. There are a lot of people, places, things and situations to be celebrated and I will. Would you like to join me in creating, experiencing and being what may be the best 40th high school reunion ever in terms of giving back to the community, giving back to our high school, and celebrating the inspiration and the people we found in those early years of life in a meaningful way that might enhance the rest of our lives in ways unexpected?

I am speaking of the Forever Young, BCHS Class of 1977 (and like-minded people from other classes including the BHS Class of 2017), celebrating our 40th high school reunion, TROML-Style!

Let me explain…

2 Carl Young HSRemember Mr. Carl Young, our 11th grade Social Studies teacher? Maybe you had Iva Weiss, Elinor Diamond, Theodore Goosley, Anna Helisek, John Irving, Jess Levy, Basder Micalizzini, Harvey Scriber or James Weaver instead? By the way, who were these people? Oh yeah, everyone remembers Mr. Scriber! Anyway, Mr. Young was the teacher for me for Social Studies in 11th grade. Do you remember him? You should if you had any remaining ties with Broome County after high school as he was elected and re-elected the County Executive and served the community from 1981 to 1988. Google him and you might get Carl Jung instead, the notes Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology. In a way, reflecting back, Mr. Young hypnotized me in a positive way as my 11th grade High School teacher.

3 Andy Reistettr w Carl Young HHThanks to the far-reaching and all-encompassing social talents (she must have gotten an A-Plus in Social Studies) of Ms. Ellen (Marie to me) Ruspantini and Mr. Young’s daughter Kirsten I was able to meet Carl and his lovely wife Sil (hell, we are both old now, I can call him by his first name, right?) in Hilton Head, South Carolina during the RBC Heritage tournament on the PGA TOUR. It was an amazing experience that it further inspired me to pursue this 40th high school reunion charitable production idea. We reminisced, we golfed, and we had fun!

Actually I had kept in touch with Carl’s career after politics though my Mom who was a Site Supervisor of an afternoon luncheon Senior Center in the latter years of her life. Mr. Young had a long and distinguished career as the President of the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. He would drop by every so often and my Mom would share with me details of his visit.

4 Andy w Mom 640You have to know my Mom to love my Mom. Everybody she ever met did. One quick story. Living in L.A. Mom and Dad came out for a visit. Being close to Hollywood we took them to see a taping of the sitcom One Day at a Time.  You know the one starring Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother raising two teenage daughters, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli, in Indianapolis. So we go and Dwayne Schneider, the building’s quirky superintendent, played by Pat Harrington, comes out to warm up the crowd and then opens it up for questions. As my Mom’s hand goes up I slowly slide down in my chair and when he calls on her I am on the floor. Mom asks “Schneider, you look like our neighbor George back home, are you Greek or Armenian because you look like him and we are always wondering about him whether he is Greek or Armenian.” Years later I understood that hilarious incident as I transitioned from being embarrassed to being inspired in life. To my Mom it was perfectly logical to go out to Hollywood and tell a movie start that he looked like a guy back home on Florence Street in Binghamton, New York. Why? Because our little world, our family, are community was the world to my Mom. She searched for no other and lived a great life of peace, joy and freedom where she was born her whole life through.

5 Andy w Carl & SilCarl Young is just like my Mom when it comes to service, community and doing something meaningful with one’s life. Plus in one of his classes he jingled the coins in his pocket and did a little skit about the newly emerging financial instrument called personal credit cards. In a way, neither of us specifically remembers, maybe you do, if so please share, he made fun of credit card debt, shedding light on the fact that they were not giving money away for free but taking your money away from you at what was then the modest interest rate of 8 or 9 percent. I credit (sorry for the pun) what I learned in 11th grade Social Studies class for inspiring me to use credit in a reasonable way throughout my life and being totally debt free today.

What I also learned in Hilton Head about Mr. Young is that he has lived, is living (hoping to break 80 someday playing golf with Jay Haas), an incredibly satisfying life. Inspired by the community service of his parents growing up in a small town, getting a liberal degree, marrying his college sweetheart and simply giving back that which he was given his whole life through. A more articulate, intelligent and lovable man you will not find!   

6 Got TROMLWhat is TROML and what does TROML-style mean? TROML? You just read and experienced a touch of it! TROML is an acronym for “The Rest of My Life” and is a dynamic self-realization process utilizing a unique journaling process to extract inspiration from our life experiences, becoming our own True Self, nourishing the Eternal Child Within and formatting the world versus the world incessantly trying to format us! TMI? Well there is more about that on the Personal Revivalist website but remember it is okay to say you went there but not to break my anonymity.

I digressed a bit, more than a bit, but these are the type of inspiring stories I would like to see shared during my 40th high school reunion experience.

So if you are like-minded (God forbid) and inspired like me to do so please step forward and join an organizing committee with me. We need all kinds of help (as I was not in drama club) including sponsors, a producer with heart and passion to tell our story, and classmates to share stories like the one I just did.

a738f930-6ff8-4087-8cfb-6dd0736816aaJeff Lake, we would love to have you and Straight Up as our warm-up band (to the reunion show not another band, you will be the main musical attraction), warning up the audience before the show and putting us in the right mood going to and from commercial breaks.

Who has a talent to share and perform that we all saw present during our high school years?

Who has a talent to share and perform that was yet to blossom during our high school years?

Who is the most successful of our classmates, would they tell us how their BCHS years impacted their success and would they like to be a sponsor of the show?

Who is the least successful of our classmates, would they come and share how in reality they were the most successful if we looked at life from maybe a slightly different perspective.

What ever happened to Stacy Smith, Nancy Olsen and Ellen (Marie) Ruspantini? LOL, I already know but want to know more.

Ladies, insert your own three names of your male classmates and come and find out!

8 BCHSOr for that matter men and men, woman and woman and whatever your gender of preference or desire is. I wonder if Binghamton High School (BHS, the new Central and North combined, remember?) has transgender bathrooms? Seriously, all are welcomed and encouraged to participate but this high school reunion is not about politics, sex or religion, except when it is through our own personal sharing of our life experiences in a positive, meaningful and inspiration manner.

Who has passed on (classmates, faculty, administrators, community) and why and how? How can their spirit be shared and enhance our 40th reunion in an inspirational, respectful and meaningful way?

What is the funniest, most embarrassing or inspirational thing to happen to you in high school?

What did you wish didn’t happen to you in high school and why?

What did your wish happened to you in high school and why?

9 BinghamtonOther great things to hope for during our 40th reunion weekend in Binghamton, The Triple Cities, and Broome County!

How about a City of Binghamton tour, hopefully including his fascinating and historic mansion, from John Darrow?

How about a golf tournament? Ricky Mauro golf clinic? Fundraiser for our old school?

A tour of the old, now new and expanded school?

What is the best, worse, funniest, saddest, most inspirational thing anyone ever wrote in your high school yearbook back in 1977?

Why not bring your yearbook and get the signings you missed 40 years ago or amend, modify or reframe the ones you have?

10 DSGOI will be in Binghamton for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open the second weekend in July and staying for the following week as well. Let’s meet like the lucky folks are doing over the Memorial Day weekend. Maybe even do some auditions? Hopefully get organized around this project!

A balance of nostalgia, celebration and preparation for the rest of our lives!

It will be my best ever 40th high school reunion whether or not our show is a success and gets aired and becomes a franchise for high school reunions around the world.

I will be celebrating my BCHS Class of 1977 40th high school reunion TROML-Style one way or another!

11 class of 77C’mon join, rejoin us in this thing we call life…

Your ideas?

Let’s do this thing!

Happy Memorial Day! Have fun in Binghamton this weekend!

PS- who is the oldest BCHS alumni alive? I want to interview and include her or him!

PPS- anyone know a good contact at BHS for this sort of thing?

PPPS- thinking this would be a good theme song better than “We Must Go Our Seperate Ways”.., time to come together!

 

Filed Under: BCHS Class of '77

Binghamton, a City that Embraced Change… by Tom Egan…

May 6, 2016 By
Tom Egan, Pro-Binghamton, Direct from Paris, France!

Tom Egan, Pro-Binghamton, Direct from Paris, France!

By Tom Egan:

Yes, I’m a big-city guy at heart, but happiness comes in a lot of different packages, and I’m glad I live where I do.

It’s been said that if you are connected with yourself and your emotions, as well as with friends and community, you can be happy anywhere. But that statement sells this town short. In theory, I am “stuck” here because of family commitments and my small business. But if I am indeed “stuck” here, I am a happy and willing prisoner.

In the past 30 years, I have seen our town transform itself from a blown-out post-industrial lesson on the price of resistance into a community in the midst of an economic and social rebirth, with a thriving arts and culture scene that few could have imagined at the onset.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France in 1984...

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France in 1984… Photo Credit: www.fenichel.com

Exactly 32 years ago, I sat in my tiny apartment in Paris pondering a pivotal decision that pitted coming back to the U.S. to attend Binghamton University against pursuing an economics degree in France. An entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of the differences in social mobility between Europe and the U.S. drove me back home. I chose Binghamton for a variety of practical reasons, in addition to the reputation of the university.

 

So why did my adoptive hometown undergo such a substantial and rather abrupt reversal of fortunes about 10 years ago? You could say it was the university, but it had already been here for many decades at the time. Why, then? Was it Mayor Matthew Ryan and his urban renewal initiatives? The Gorgeous Washington Street Association? The Downtown University Center? The committed real estate developers and the grants, agencies and programs that supported them? Mayor Richard David and his focus on developing infrastructure? Was it the club and gallery owners, and the musicians and artists who brought life to gray streets and boarded-up storefronts?

Binghamton's Centennial Celebration on 1967.

Binghamton’s Centennial Celebration on 1967. Photo Credit: WNBF.com

In truth, all of these built a critical mass, setting the stage for durable and sustainable change. As larger economic trends forced us to look beyond our historical reliance on manufacturing, we took advantage of new opportunities in health care, services and education. As the university grew and other opportunities faded, mathematics took over, and the university-related imports making up our permanent population grew from a relative minority to a significant — and even driving — force in our socioeconomic fabric. Our ethnic diversity increased, but our intellectual and creative diversity increased even more. Instead of rejecting this influx and demographic shift, we chose to embrace the opportunity. As a result, this region is now full of people having a sincere desire to improve their lot coupled with some very potent tools to accomplish that goal.

The City of Binghamton We Love Today! Photo Credit: Greater Binghamton Convention and Visitors Bureau

The City of Binghamton We Love Today! Photo Credit: Greater Binghamton Convention and Visitors Bureau

I’m proud to be a part of this community, and I look forward to contributing to, as well as reaping, the benefits of its successes.

The next time you hear someone speaking poorly of our hometown, right after you ask them what they’ve been doing lately to create that change they feel is needed, consider taking a moment to educate them on where we have come from and where we are headed. You never know, you just might help them to change their tune.

Tom Egan is a Binghamton resident.

Originally published by Press Connects

Republished with permission of the author.

Filed Under: WeLoveBingo

First Three Ely Park Celebrations Recognize Twelve Honorees…

September 28, 2014 By
This is the title of Andy Reistetter's book on Ely Park.

This is the title of Andy Reistetter’s book on Ely Park.

Three ‘Ely Park Celebrations’ have been held to honor the people who have significantly contributed to the legacy of Ely Park.

The first ‘Ely Park Celebration’ honored longtime Ely Park Head Golf Professional/Golf Superintendent/General Manager (in those days he did all three jobs) Steve Vaskovic and two sons of Ely Park- professional golfer Al Morley and amateur golfer Mike Popik. All three honorees were living at the time and participated in the celebratory event up at Ely Park.

The second ‘Ely Park Celebration’ honored Ely Park’s golf course designed and first Head Golf Professional Ernie Smith, and two long time members, amateurs Walt Kozak and Bob ‘Bert’ Kollar.

The most recent ‘Ely Park Celebration’ honored one of Ely Parks first caddies, long time Golf Professional and successful golfer Al Vaskovic (younger brother of Steve); lifetime member of the PGA of America, member of the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and accomplished golfer Ed Nosewicz; legend, 1969 club champion and creative writer, Bob ‘the Bear & the Barracuda’ Marachek: and three guys who played Ely Park every Sunday since 1948 (57 years at the time)- Joe Gomulka and ‘Hammer & Nails’ John Hammer and Joe Kovarik.

If you would like to nominate someone to be an Ely Park Honoree at our next ‘Ely Park Celebration’ please contact AndyReistetter@gmail.com with supporting information, documents and pictures if you have them.

The Twelve Honorees to date:

Joe Gomulka

John Hammer

Walt Kozak

Bob ‘Bert’ Kollar

Joe Kovarik

Bob Marachek

Al Morley

Ed Nosewicz

Mike Popik

Ernie Smith

Al Vaskovic

Steve Vaskovic

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured People
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