Last Saint Patrick’s Day, The Bayonne Bridgemen Alumni Corps had a busy day.
Before the Parade they made a special trip to Avenue A to perform for Mayor Dennis P. Collins outside his home.
The troupe then went on to perform in the parade down Broadway to the delight of thousands. They ended the day with a celebration at VFW Post 226.
Mike and The Coach were fortunate to receive the video and photo contributions of Chuckie Singer, Jackie George and John Nadrowski. Then we put some friends on camera who shared their recollections of the day, including Dorothy Roszkowski, James Jordan, Nancy DuCharme, Elaine Bottino and Patrick O’Donnell.
We also made good use of the materials available at the Bridgemen web site at www.bridgemen.com
Photo by John Nadrowski
Community Day Nursery, 2007
In June, 2007 Sally Mason and Nina Dobkin came to the studio to inform us about The Bayonne Community Day Nursery Program at Broadway and 27th St.
Sally is the Executive Director of the program and Nina is a member of the board.
The Arts Factory
A new cultural venue has opened up in Bayonne and we were able to get Carl Gonzales to come and tell us about it. Carl first explains to us what he and his business partner Greg Bukshowany have accomplished to this point.
Then Carl tells us about the future plans. For up to date information call The Arts Factory (201) 436-6700.
In our video clip, Carl explains that Bayonne residents will be able to see some high quality performances very close to home.
Jim Dywer and Bill Dwyer were on hand to talk about some upcoming plans for the Bantry Boys and to review the band's recent tour of Ireland.
This was known as the Bantry Boys, 2007 "Circling over Shannon" tour.
At one point, Chuckie decided to dig a little deeper back into the Bantry Boys history.
As of February, 2009 we added another clip from that 2007 Circling Over Shannon Tour courtesy of youtube.
Ginger Kemp, 2007
Ginger Kemp oversees the production of Bayonne's own magazine known as "Bayonne, What a Great Neighborhood".
She also coordinates the highly popular musical presentation series known as "Summer Sounds By The Bay".
In the summer of 2007 Ginger accepted our invitation to appear on the show and tell us about the various public, corporate, and private sponsors who help to make those productions possible.
Over the years, a good idea has been continuously improved upon.
The clip mentions the amphitheater and the chairs.
L. Harvey Smith is the Democratic Nominee for the office of New Jersey State Assemblyman in the 31st District.
He joined us in September to talk about both politics and government.
We discussed past campaigns and his future plans for his Assembly Office.
In the clip we mentioned his brief service in the New Jersey State Senate.
Terrence Malloy is the City Business Administrator and the Finance Director for the City of Bayonne. He is also the Director of the city's Urban Enterprise Zone Program. He visited with us in September to give us an update on the progress of the program.
We got off topic a little and asked him about the possible appointment of a temporary Chief Executive for the City of Bayonne. The clip below contains part of his reply.
We were fortunate to have the company of Bayonne Mayor Terrence Malloy, shortly after his induction to the post of Bayonne's Chief Executive.
We were also fortunate in that our guest did not object to our using the occasion to announce a political fundraising cocktail party.
We had a lively, wide-ranging discussion.
The clip below will give you a brief indication of that conversation.
Dealing with Politics
Hudson County Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico, 2007
Dr. Doreen DiDomenico serves on the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Her district includes the City of Bayonne and the Country Village section of Jersey City.
Freeholder DiDomenico introduced us to a project that she is supporting whereby various Hudson County Parks will be upgraded without the use of public taxes.
In the clip below we asked her about the various negotiations that go on among the Freeholders.
Give and Take
Father Barbone Soup Kitchen, 2007
Father Barbone from Our Lady of Assumption Parish joined us to announce the opening of the St. Mary's Soup Kitchen.
The project will be a combined effort from three downtown parishes, St. Andrew's, St. Mary's and Assumption.
In the clip below Father Barbone tells us how the parish leaders decided to open a Soup Kitchen
Soup Kitchen
Melissa Maiorano, Artist, 2007
Melissa visited us at the end of 2007 and brought some samples of her work.
She also told us about the gallery in Manhatten where her work is displayed.
In the clip below Melissa remembers working on the Dorothy Harrington City Council Chambers mural at the DPW garage back in 2001.
Mural clip
