Who Are They Calling Old?
August 29, 2007
Editor's Note:  Click on the link below to view a web page analyzing the oldkewgardens.com traffic and audience composition. I wish I knew where they got their information from.
Click here to view the web page


August 24, 2007
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Hi Joe,
    Anyone familiar with Mowbray Drive before 1970 will notice the empty lot next to the old Miller house. My friends will notice my 64 Corvette and 61 Chevy ( behind the bush ) parked in front of my house.
    Sometime around 1970 a brick single family home was built on that empty lot. The home was built by Henry Met who built a similar house on the next block. Neither house seemed to belong on either block. Mr. Met went on to build many 2 family homes in Kew Gardens. I worked for him on a number of his houses in between jobs as a musician.
    This picture was taken in 1964.
Roger Sabo
[To contact Roger Sabo, click here]


Alrick Man III Passed Away
August 22, 2007
Today's New York Times, page A17, carries the obituary for Alrick Man III, grandson of the founder of Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens. He died on July 23rd at age 84. A memorial service will be held in Southport, CT, on August 25th. The obituary lists the family's surviving members.
Murray H. Berger
Executive Chairman, Kew Gardens Civic Association
[To contact Murray H. Berger, click here]


August 22, 2007
Hi;
    I lived on 118th street at Curzon in Arden Terrace from March of 1998 to March of 2007. Left my rent subsidised apartment due to landlord apathy and a noisy freak that moved in above me. (The apartment is now at market rate, alas)
    My years in Kew Gardens were some of the best of my life. I miss it, and my apartment, tremendously. It really is a unique community, and am so happy to have this website to reflect on my time there.
    I pray that that this wonderful community will survive the ravages of greedy developers who have no thought in tearing the communitys fabric to shreads. My heart sank as I watched the Hatikva on top of the hill being torn down. Likewise the gouging out of the old Salty Dog on the corner of 118th and Metro to build that hideous apartment tower.
    Best of luck to all my neighbors I knew and loved throughout the years, some really amazing people live in Kew Gardens! I found this site through a google search years back, and revisit it often.
Scott Coe
[To contact Scott Coe, click here]


Maple Grove, The Cemetery and Our Park
August 22, 2007
Editor's Note:  The "Little Red Hen" blog has an article about Kew Gardens' Maple Grove Cemetery.
Click here to read the story.


August 20, 2007
    I happened to read the posting from Carlo Dalsas dated May 17, 2007.
    As a child I was told that Will Rogers lived on 82nd Avenue on the southwest corner. The house was "refaced" in the 50's with stone like stuff. I remember when it was being done. I was friendly with a girl named Stephanie Salem who lived in that house.
    My fathers name was Saul ... not Sol... and he lived at 124 81st Ave. Obviously I know that as I grew up there in his house. He was the designer of the original equipment, with assistance in later equipment from Sidney S. Smith. My mother was the business end. She had a good business head, knew accounting etc. so ran the day to day end of the business.
    My great grandfather, Alfred Dickey, was the first lieutenant governor of North Dakota after it became a state. He was responsible for North Dakota's exhibit in the Columbia Exposition held in Chicago, IL in 1893. He received a medal from the president of the US for his work at the Exposition. I have passed it on to my son.
    He left some money for a library in Jamestown, ND which is still in existance and is named after him. You can google it for more information.
June Marantz Chamberlain
[To contact June Marantz Chamberlain, click here]


Yes FHHS ALUMNI - we are having a Reunion
August 18, 2007
Joe our Webmaster here at OKG's has graciously created a new link for ALL you FHHS alumni to register for the planned and confirmed Reunion.
    Who is invited: All Alumni from 1960-1966
    The Date: Saturday, June 21, 2008
    The Time: TBA but probably 7PM
    The Place: Melville Marriott in Melville NY (Long Island) (Rooms will be available for out of towners at a special rate)
    The Cost: $88 PP (please feel free to bring your spouses or signifigent others)
    The Attire: Dressy Casual (NO JEANS, SHORTS, TANK TOPS, PLEASE !!!!)
See Below for the link to The Professional Reunion Planner's Website (Reunions Unlimited) to register.
    Click here for the link
See you soon
Bonni Watson
Class of 1965
If you need assistance or have any questions please email me at either of the below addresses:
or


August 17, 2007
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Hi Joe,
What ever happened to Lenny Schneir and his poems and Marty Marks and his anecdotes ? I`m glad Linda W. is still around.
    This picture is for Tommy Rotavera. The 1981 Camaro was the other non black car that I owned. This picture was taken in front of my house on Mowbray Drive in the late 80`s.
    Tommy a new Vette is on order and it will be the traditional black.
Roger Sabo
[To contact Roger Sabo, click here]


The Kew Cozy
August 16, 2007
    As a child, growing up in Kew Gardens, I would be remiss if I didn�t mention this old favorite restaurant of mine. Tucked away, unobtrusive, the Kew Cozy felt like you were going to a beloved relative�s house or at the very least, a very dear friend�s. The people who ran the Kew Cozy knew our names and it truly was an experience I remember with great fondness.
    On cold afternoons walking home, after having played in the kids� section of Forest Park, my mom and I would stop at the Kew Cozy for a snack. She would get coffee and I would always get the same thing. An English muffin with butter and grape jelly and a hot chocolate in their thick rimmed mugs, topped off with plenty of whipped cream. For years, I have tried to replicate the taste of that simple English muffin but to no avail. I have tried margarine, butter, jam, jelly but it never quite measured up to the taste it had at the Kew Cozy. In addition to being a nice memory, my theory now is that they used salted butter, mixed with grape jelly on an undertoasted squishy English muffin. The taste was undeniably splendid, the memory of the ritual was even better. Often, we were joined at the Kew Cozy by my friends and their moms too. When you entered the Kew Cozy you were greeted by little booths and tables and a very long counter with stools. We always sat at the counter for those afternoon snacks.
    The owner's name was Carl and I believe, he and his wife and daughter worked in the restaurant. It was like having dinner at Grandma�s house, only better. You were a part of the family if you ate in the Kew Cozy, especially if you were regulars like we were. Almost every Friday night my family went there for dinner. I remember the heaping mounds of mashed potatoes (gravy on the side) that my dad would dig into or the enormous amount of potato salad he would eat. There was no nouvelle cuisine here. This was cooking, stick-to-the-ribs German, old fashioned cooking; it was delightful. I remember the home-made soups being served �piping hot,� as my dad used to say, accompanied of course, by those small packages of Saltines. There may have been a basket of bread that accompanied dinners but I�m really not sure; it could be wishful thinking.
    Chances are, that when you ate at the Kew Cozy, you would run into someone you knew; someone from the neighborhood or �village� as Lee G. used to say.
    Unbeknownst to me, my older sister, had a ritual every day before boarding the bus to Richmond Hill High School. Every morning at the Kew Cozy she would peer into the clear cake plate that had a dome and a handle on top. There, she selected from a bunch of delicious pastries (including my favorite, the jelly doughtnut) a French crueller with vanilla icing as her breakfast. As soon as they handed her the crueller she would take a bite right then and there. The rest, was consumed, waiting for the bus to take her to school. If you have to go to school, this made the tedious chore, just a little bit sweeter.
    Once, when my mom was working and traveling over Thanksgiving, my dad, sister and I went to the Kew Cozy for the Thanksgiving meal. We knew that our meals would be home-cooked, plentiful and hot. We didn�t have to worry if there would be jellied cranberry sauce (did it come in one of those small white, crinkled cups?) or if there would be stuffing. The only problem that night (and it has became a family joke) was that each time the kitchen door opened and plates of delicious smelling food would come out, they would go to another table. Time and time again, even though we had arrived quite early, we were the last to be served. But it was ok, no one complained, we knew they would get to us in due time. We watched the older ladies with their beautiful blue bouffant hair and the dapper, elegant gentleman eating their meals with our drooling mouths and rumbling stomachs. It was torture to watch but when the food finally did come, it was, of course, worth the wait. My sister and I still, when playing �Remember when�� will always bring up that Thanksgiving at the Kew Cozy.
    The Kew Cozy was a place for comfort food, all good aromas and fresh food. I remember they had a variety of pies for dessert. Dessert is a ritual in our household.
    I don�t exactly remember when the Kew Cozy closed but I remember I was upset when I saw it. It was a tradition, an institution, no diner or coffee shop could come close to the atmosphere there. How COULD the Kew Cozy close? Wasn�t it a landmark? Shouldn�t it have been?
    Things changed after that, or maybe I just grew up. But not having the Kew Cozy open was like a chapter finished in a beloved book. Not having the Kew Cozy to go too anymore seemed to touch, not only our stomachs, but our hearts too.
Laurie Fessler



August 12, 2007
I wanted to see what would happen if I googled my maiden name, Francine Marks and I came across your website. I was born in 1968 and attended P.S.99 graduating class 1979/80. I did view my 5th and 6th grade class photos. I would love to hear from any of my class mates.
Francine Marks



August 12, 2007
If anyone knows about a 50 year reunion that will be in 3 years for graduates of Forest Hills High School of 1960, please let us know by emailing this guestbook.
Linda Widder Wiesner
[To contact Linda Widder Wiesner, click here]

Editor's Note:  Try this link:
Forest Hills High School Classes of '60's Reunion


August 12, 2007
For Tommy, I think the car in the driveway in Roger's most recent picture is on blocks in his garage in his house on Long Island.
Linda
[To contact Linda Widder Wiesner, click here]


August 11, 2007
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Hi Joe,
To respond to Tom Rotavera`s recent posting regarding my black cars. I am posting a picture of one of only two cars that I have owned that were not black. This picture was taken in my driveway on Mowbray Drive probably in 1985. Pictured with me are my cousin and her friend who were visiting me from Los Angeles. The car is a red 1976 Corvette. My Cousin, pictured on the right lived in Dale Gardens and moved to California when she was 5 years old. Notice the Regents Row T shirt. Does anyone know when R.R. closed ? I still have that shirt and it still fits.
Roger Sabo
[To contact Roger Sabo, click here]


Featured Photographs Switch
August 8, 2007
Editor's Note:  This week's Featured Photographs were supposed to be about the "Chaplin" house on Mowbray Drive. Sorry, that Featured has been delayed for a week or two. Instead, this week's new Feature will be "A Walk Along 82nd Road."


August 5, 2007
Hi Joe,
    Have you noticed all of Rogers' cars are black? AAAAAAAAAAnd there isn't a spec of dust on any of them!! Now that's true love! lol.
    Rogers' guitar is even black, Johnny Cash was envious! So who needed color film in the 50's and 60's?
Tom R.
[To contact Tom Rotavera, click here]


August 4, 2007
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Hi Joe,
I found another picture of the tree that was on my front lawn on Mowbray Drive. Also in the picture is my 61 chevy which was the car I was driving in 61. Many of my old friends will remember that car and the good times we had with it. PS 99 and the Silver Towers are in the backround.
Roger Sabo
[To contact Roger Sabo, click here]


Kew Gardens on YouTube
August 3, 2007
Editor's Note:  Don't ask me why, but someone videotaped the trip from Penn Station to Kew Gardens on the Long Island Rail Road and put it on YouTube. So, if you're truly desperate for nostalgia:
Click here to watch the video.


"Worthy of a Fantasy Thrashing"
August 3, 2007
Editor's Note:  A building on Metropolitan Avenue at Brevoort Street takes it on the chin from the Queens Crap Blog.
    Click here to read the article.
To see what that site used to look like, click here.


August 1, 2007
Ellen posted a picture of me and my girlfriend on February 2007. I would love to know if I remember her and hear from any old friends who remember me. My name is Ralph Wachs I lived in K.G. from 1957 to 1970, I graduated from P.S. 99 in 1959.
[To contact Ralph Wachs, click here]


"Fat Boy" Gets No Respect
August 1, 2007
Editor's Note:  Click on the link below to read an article about the Civic Virture Statue on the Queens Crap Blog.
Click here to read the article.


Posting Messages Here
August 1, 2007
[Ed.'s Note: The reason each guest book posting does not appear here immediately is that I review each message individually before posting to eliminate spam or unwanted adult content. Email me if you want to make a correction to a message you have already posted or if you would like a message removed.]




How to contact Guestbook signers

Some Guestbook signers choose not to publish their email addresses. If you wish to contact one of them, send me an email identifying the guestbook signer you wish to contact and giving me the date his or her message was posted. Your email to me must contain your full name, and may also include anything else you wish to tell the signer. I will forward your email to the Guestbook signer you wish to contact, but with no cc or bcc to you. It will be the signer's decision whether or not to make contact with you. Any emails which contain spam, adult content, or appear suspect for any other reason will not be forwarded. ~The Editor.