•The Pilot Club of Babylon invites locals to its annual Senior Citizens High Tea this Sunday, April 11th, with scrumptious food and wonderful entertainment. There is no charge for the event and it runs from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. The Tea will be held in the Education Building behind the First Presbyterian Church on East Main Street. Please call for reservations: Alicia Catania at 661-4979 or Jerri Romeo at 661-3302.

•Also coming up on Wednesday, May 5th, is the Pilot Club’s Annual Spring Fundraiser, which benefits Start School Right a program to provide local school students in need with school clothes and supplies, as well as food baskets. In addition, the fundraiser benefits Pilot’s local and world-wide efforts to treat and prevent brain injuries and disorders. The party will be held at Chateau La Mer in Lindenhurst from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. and will include a hot and cold buffet, open bar, and entertainment by Rhapsody – “Long Island’s Top Party Band”. Tickets are $55 per person and are available from Debra Cook (243- 2812) and Jerri Romeo (661-3302).

•This weekend there is a special art show at the Conklin House, featuring the paintings, drawings, and sculptures of local artist Bus Freitag. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Bus was a long-time teacher at Babylon High School where he passed along his artistic skills to the students of BHS. The exhibit will open on Friday, April 9th, with a wine and cheese reception from 7 to 10 p.m. The exhibit will continue on Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. Make sure to stop in!

•Hopefully you were among the many people strolling around the village last weekend and enjoying the spring weather. I passed the Easter Bunny outside of Glen’s Dinette on Saturday, April 3rd. Friends and customers were enjoying the food and the company, some of them in pajamas, as Hapi and Chrissy Auer celebrated their 20th anniversary operating one of Babylon’s favorite eateries.

•Argyle Lake was crowded with weddings, and families taking advantage of the weather and the beautiful setting. How many of you know that Argyle Lake was previously named Blythbourne Lake and most of the land on the west side of the water was part of the estate of E.B. Litchfield (as in Litchfield Avenue)? At one point in those days, there was a mill on the lake, located just about where the waterfalls have been located for the past 100+ years. This changed of course, when the Argyle Hotel, Casino, and Cottages were built during the later part of the 1800’s, and named for the Duke of Argyle, who was an investor in the project. Several of the original Cottages are still standing, and many nearby homes were built with wood taken from the Hotel when it was torn down.

•Driving around the area one can see the repairs of all the damage done by the March storm seem to be making good progress. Here and there one can see telephone poles or trees still standing at unnatural angles. Rumor has it that there is still a chance that the area will be eligible for FEMA funds for all the poor home and business owners who incurred so much damage as a result of the storm.It certainly was a good month for the local tree companies, as well as for a number of local contractors during a slow season.

Friends attended the Easter Parade in Garden City this past Sunday and raved about it. An Easter tradition, the parade consists of a great many oldtime vehicles, and many drivers and passengers were dressed in fashions of the same era as their cars! Although I’d never heard of it prior to this year, I hope to see it for myself next Easter.

•Wishes for a happy birthday go out to Betty Oberholzer, Kathy Novotny, Penny Quinane, and Jo Ann Lewald!

•April 17th is the date of the Jimmy Buffet Night, to benefit the Babylon Rotary Eradication of Polio Program, sponsored by the Hofstra Rotaract and the LIYC Tween Club. Tickets are $15 and there is a cash bar in addition to beef and chicken tacos, salads and all the trimmings. Call Doreen at 669- 3270 for more information.