Babylon Rotary Club 18th Annual Wine and Food Expo: Sunday, Sept. 20, 4-7 pm at the Long Island Yacht Club, Little East Neck Road South, Babylon. The Expo will feature wines from top Long Island growers and a wide variety of food from the finest local establishments. A live jazz band will provide entertainment. Tickets are sold in advance and may be purchased from Aaron Stein at Norton & Seigel, 2 East Main Street, Babylon Village, at 669-0365. Baskets of wine will be raffled. All proceeds go to charities that the Babylon Rotary Club supports. Recent local charities have been West Babylon School Literacy Project, Babylon Village Youth Project, Mercy INN Food Kitchen in Wyandanch, a medication grant for the Town of Babylon through the Salvation Army and books for the Outreach Center in Wyandanch. The donation is $50 per person, which includes complimentary wine glass and tray.

August and September 2009 are special months for Marge and Ralph Scordino. On August 1st, they celebrated the milestone of being married for sixty-five years! Marge Horan, who grew up on DeForrest Avenue in West Islip, stopped in at Roulston’s Grocery Store on the corner of Route 109 and Arnold Avenue one day. There she happened to meet one of the employees, a certain Ralph Scordino. One thing led to another and they began to date. However, Ralph joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1940 and served abroad for four years. On July 15, 1944 Ralph stepped back on the U.S. mainland. On August 1st, he and Marge became Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Scordino.

Initially the Scordinos lived in Brooklyn, in the area of Dykker Heights, where the Verrazano Bridge now stands. At the end of five years in Brooklyn, their son Ralph (our current Mayor) was born. They moved to Babylon and have lived here ever since. A second son, Robert, joined the family a few years later.

Thousands of area children were born under Marge’s watchful eyes at Good Samaritan Hospital. Marge, who had received a degree at Long Island College Hospital, began working at Good Sam two months before the hospital opened their doors to patients in 1959. She continued as the Nurse Manager of the delivery room for forty-three years. Meanwhile, Ralph had gone to work for Grumman and served as electrical foreman from beginning to end on the Lunar Escape Module or LEM, which also observed a significant anniversary in August: fifty years ago it originally housed the first astronauts to walk on the moon!

Ralph will be the guest of honor at a family dinner September 12th and toasted the following day when the Babylon Fire Department thanks him for 60 years of service to Babylon Village residents. Marge and Ralph will also be celebrating their birthdays later this month. Marge will be 90 years old, and Ralph will be 91.

Many happy returns to both of them, and thanks to both for their service to the people of Babylon!

Well, Monday was Labor Day, but the workers at the Village Pool were working hard, cleaning and getting the pool and surrounding area ready for the next three seasons! Meanwhile a few diehards did laps and swam until the frigid water drove them out to seek the warmth of their towels. Thesun-worshippers covered the sand at the east side of the pool, and others lounged in chairs near the pavilion. The terrific crew at the concession stand (where else can you get a soda, delicious hamburger, and french fries for $5?) continued to do business. On the west side of the pavilion, the 11th Annual Labor Day Pool Party went on until the end of the day. Thegroup, formed by Village residents from Twin Oaks and the nearby streets, got together to enjoy the day with food, swimming, games and conversation. The adult team was badly beaten by the kids at volleyball, but no one seemed to mind. When the pool did finally close, they formed a convoy to their homes, blowing their car horns all the way! Everyone is sad to see the pool close for the season, but the thought of next summer will help us all survive in the gloomy days until then!