If you walk along the edges of our island, it is evident that a few houses which were damaged by the storm are now demolished and gone forever.
During Christmas, and slightly after, I and many others volunteered to don the Santa suit and help Marissa Bernowitz of the Rockaway Sandy Free Flea Market deliver literally thousands of presents to children all over the area.
One of the most poignant stops we made was in the Channel. There was an address but no house. It was gone, along with all the life that its walls once held. All that was left was a cold and empty lot. Oh, we still managed to find the family alright. They were ‘temporarily’ living in with relatives and getting ready to move someplace else.
You can bet Santa was just as happy to see that they were okay as the kids were to open the carefully wrapped presents. But that was an experience I will never forget.
The St. Camillus-St. Virgilius Parish St. Patrick’s Dance is this Sunday, March 2nd, starting at 2 p.m. Corned beef and cabbage, soda, beer and music by the Cunningham Brothers. For information/ prices/reservations call 718- 634-8229.
Hey! Hit the brakes and sign up for the two part 6 hour defensive driving course.
When: Thursday, March 6th and 13th, 7-10 p.m. Where: St. Camillus’ Springman Hall at 185 Beach 99th Street, Rockaway Park. How much: $45.
Why: Get a three year, 10% discount on your car insurance and take up to 4 points off your driver’s license.
Now: Call Helen at 917-553-2409 or 718-945-4648. Reserve your seat. They are going fast.
Oh: Proceeds go to support St. Camillus St. Virgilius parish religious education classes.
This Tuesday, March 4th, Christ Presbyterian Church By The Sea will have their Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper from 5 to 7 p.m. It will be held at the Shad Creek Yacht Club on Cross Bay Boulevard, west side, and 6th Road. There will be pancakes, sausages, applesauce, juice, coffee, tea and cake. Adults: $8, children under 12: $6 each.
Delivery is available. Please call Janet at 718-318-8454 or Joyce at 917-854- 2202 on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Leave a message and they’ll get back to you with delivery arrangements.
Come and enjoy this pre-Lent celebration. By the way, I had the good fortune last month to stand inside Christ Presbyterian’s church hall. It is amazing how much work has been done by volunteers to bring it back. Seeing it after the storm and seeing it now brought tears to my eyes.
There will be an ecumenical prayer service this Wednesday, March 5th, to mark Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.
Reverend Megan Manas of Christ Presbyterian Church by the Sea and Father Richard Ahlemeyer of St. Camillus St. Virgilius will conduct the Ecumenical Ash Wednesday Service at 8 p.m. in St. Virgilius Church.
All are invited to join in this special service. Additionally ashes will be distributed at St. Virgilius church at the 8 a.m. Mass and 1 p.m. service. Children in CCD will receive ashes at 3:30 p.m. in St. Camillus Church before their religious education classes.
St. Camillus-St. Virgilius parish congratulates all candidates who are preparing for Confirmation on Wednesday, April 9th!
Next week Sunday, March 9th, the Broad Channel American Legion Ladies Auxiliary will be hosting the 11th Annual Jane Fuller Brunch for Cancer Care. That’ll be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Legion Hall located at 209 Cross Bay Boulevard. This a special occasion on two counts. It’s the first Legion brunch, in fact the first BC brunch, in 2014. Second, all proceeds go to cancer care.
Come on out and smell the bacon!
Hi, BCAC! I would love to have your stories and pictures for The Wave. Please send todan@rockawave.com. Thanks!
Here’s a piece of Broad Channel’s past, as compiled by BC Historical Society chairperson Barbara Toborg. “In 1938, we had a great hurricane. It hit Long Island and all New England. Seven thousand people died because there was no warning. At the end of roads in Broad Channel, many houses fell off their foundations, including my hangout on 11th Road. I saw one or two houses float up 11th Road to the Boulevard. Cabin cruisers ended up there also. I took a lot of pictures but lost them when I moved to assisted living in Florida.” –- Frank Carroll, 2013.
Broad Channel Historical Calendars are still on sale at local stores and thru BC Historical Society members. (I’ve got some!) Only $5 each. Buy yours today and get your money’s worth out of it for the rest of the year! By the way, the Historical Society could use your photos and BC artifacts. Contact Barbara.
The Queens Public Library (QPL) now has 5,000 Google tablets available for loan from seven locations. And one of those locations is right here at our Broad Channel library, where the staff was loaning one out to a customer just last week. The other locations are Howard Beach, Arverne, Far Rockaway, Queens Library for Teens in Far Rockaway, Seaside and Peninsula. Borrow one for a month with the option of three renewals for a total of four months.
There are no training classes, but the staff will be happy to answer basic questions.
Finally, Liz Guarino started this column twelve years ago. With a gracious nod to our predecessor, Kathy Louis, the first Broad Channel Bits appeared on March 30th, 2002. The last appeared on February 25th, 2011, the day Liz passed away. She loved Broad Channel. She was happy to write about BC and let the rest of the world know about this special place. This past Tuesday marked three years since she is gone.
I think she would be very proud of our Broad Channel today.
Got BC news? Send it over to workingstories@aol.com!
Thanks for reading
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