Nostalgia

Memorial Day weekend in 1973, I was stuck at the neighborhood parade wishing I were in New York City. Carole King was giving a free concert on the Great Lawn of Central Park — a gift to her fans, her chance to “give back a little bit” to the city and its residents that had given her so much,…

Until I was 7, my family lived in the foothills of the Conococheague Mountain. This is a long and narrow mountain, located in the far western corner of Perry County. The highest point on the mountain is a summit known as Round Top.

I retired at the end of 2018 and a few months later purchased a late-model Corvette.

I lived in West Reading when I was young, although these facts are probably typical of other locations. We did our food shopping at mom-and-pop grocery stores. In fact there was one about a half block from home, where my grandfather was a clerk.

For generations, May in Lancaster County has meant that a cloud of barbecue smoke would rise over Long's Park, as the former Sertoma Chicken Barbecue served thousands of chicken dinners.

I got drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1968. By June 1968, we were sent to Vietnam.

A story in your paper about a chance meeting, resulting in a happy marriage, caused me to recall a similar experience.

A Christmas memory from Rome:

Editor's note: This story was initially published on December 23, 2019. 

The Village is about to end its nightclub era. 

In 1925, my father, Michael “Mike” Valavanes, his sister Beatrice and his brother Andy, lost their father. Daddy was 4 years old. Their mother, Theodora, a Greek immigrant, now had to work the family restaurant, The Sun, seven days a week to support her family. The Great Depression brought e…