Bethpage-Tribune_1979-11-22

              BETHPAGE OLD BETHPAGE PLAINVIEW
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ISLAND TREES PLAINEDGE SEAFORD
VOL. 14 NO. 23 Week of November 22 « 28,1979 20 cents per copy
Sharing An Old Tradition
The end of the month is especially
hard on senior citizens living by them­selves.
With runaway inflation, Social
Security and pension checks don't
cover a month anymore. Thanksgiving
can be doubly hard and depressing for a
senior citizen with nowhere to go for the
holiday. —
When we featured Helen Conway as
Merchant of The Week, last November
1, Helen mentioned she would like to
give the seniors a thanksgiving meal
with no charge. We didn't print her
statement that way because Helen
wasn't sure she could bring the project
off. But today (Wednesday, Nov. 21) be­tween
2: p.m. and 5: p.m. senior citizens
in Bethpage can indeed enjoy a thanks­giving
meal of turkey and all the
trimmings absolutely free.
"The town's given us so much
pleasure, that we feel this is one way to
give something back," says Helen.
The Conways bougnt the luncheonette
from "Uncle Bob" Levine last De­cember
and have catered to senior
citizens all along with specially priced
nutritious meals. The luncheonette is
located at 344 Broadway.
The Tribune pictures the storefront
on our front page today with no one in
sight. Nor will we photograph or inter­view
any senior citizen taking
advantage of the meal. Neither will
Newsday who called and requested
permission to photograph and inter­view
senior citizens during the dinner.
"We are not doing this for the publicity,
and to have the press come in during
the dinner would put a damper on the
festivities. We want this to be a joyous
affair and we want to preserve the
dignity of our senior citizens. They have
done so much for us and are, in return,
the most neglected and mistreated
minority in America."
The Puritans started the Thanks­giving
tradition their first year in
America and invited their neighbors,
the Indians to the festivity. Both groups
"broke bread" together. And they
thanked God for their well-being, a tra­dition
that is now almost four hundred
years old.
It is meant to be a joyous time for the
family. The Conways, Ed and Helen,
have seven children. But they are
proving they have a much larger
family. The Conways are
demonstrating that they belong to the
family of man.
Music by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Brahms will be performed by
the JUPITER TRIO in a recital at the Bethpage Public on Sunday,
November 25, at 3 P.M. The members of the Jupiter Trio are Cora
Gordon, violin; and Suzanne Valerio, 'cello; and Avraham Sternklar,
piano. They are among Long Island's finest and best-known
musicians. As a trio, they have perfrmed at the Lincoln Center
Library, Coe Hall and at Great Neck House.
Their appearance at the Bethpage Public Library is a presentation
of the Nassau County Office of Cultural Development, made possible,
in part by a grant from the New. York State Council on the Arts.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
New Postmaster
master General William F.
Bolger. The appointment is not
subject to Senate confirmation.
The Regional Management
Selection Board is comprised of a
representative of the U.S. Civil
Service Commission; a District
Manager from another Postal
Region; and a Sectional Center
Manager and Postmaster
selected by the Postmaster
General.
John Ratto began his postal
career in 1961 as a carrier at New
Hyde Park. He transferred in
1965 to Deer Park, where he
became Supervisor of Mails &
Delivery ten years later. The
following year he became
Superintendent of Postal
Operations at East Northport, a
position he held until his present
appointment. During 1978 he
served as Officer-in-Charge of
the Holstsviile, NY, Post Office.
Ratio is the recipient of several
Postal Service awards and
commendations. He has com­pleted
several postal supervisory
and managerial training
programs and attended the State
University of New York at
Farmingdale.
John lives in Dix Hills with his
wife Judy, and children, Jay 13
and Jennifer 10.
The appointment of John V.
Ratto as Postmaster of Beth­page,
NY, has been announced by
Northeast Regional Postmaster
General James V. Jellison.
In accordance with the merit
selection procedures of the Postal
Reorganization Act of 1971, Ratto
was nominated for the Post-mastership
by the Northeast
Regional Management Selection
Board and appointed by Post-