Pursuit of Persistent Rumors, Part 1...

In the 1950s, there were still a lot of small-town Ford dealers.

I was working on the Taj-ma-dog yesterday with my friend Monty Love.  I was reminded of two separate times in my life when I was involved in following up on some persistent rumor and the result was surprising and rewarding.  This is the story of one of those times.

The 1930 Model A Sport Coupe

It was 1956.  My brother Bill had been invited to leave the University of Michigan at the beginning of his senior year.  He had returned home in disgrace.  He had decided to paint houses while he figured out what to do with his life.  I often worked with Willy on weekends and during the summer to help him in his painting business.  We conducted business out of a 1930 Ford Model A Sport Coupe.  When we had to transport ladders, we opened the rumble seat and slid the ladders into the space in front of the rumble seat cushion with the ladders extending skyward.  We were true professionals, but Willy was earning a decent living under the circumstances.  (Unbeknown to my parents, he had submitted an application for the Navy's Naval Air Cadet Program, and his selection to that program would bring his Model A-based painting career to a close).

Both Willy and I had a love for and interest in old cars.  We had been active in the Model A Restorer's Club as well as the Automobilists of the Upper Hudson Valley, a local but very active car club.  At several car meets, we had run across rumors of an alleged low-mileage 1930-something Ford stored somewhere near Northville, New York.  We decided after hearing about this rumored car for about the third or fourth time that we might go searching for it.  At the very least, it might be a fun chase and we might meet some interesting people.

One Saturday, we headed for Northville, some 40 miles from our home.  We went to a small Ford dealer.  I don't remember if it was actually in Northville, or in a nearby town, but it was a very small dealership.  My recollection is that it was next door to a hardware store and that the two businesses were related.  We spoke to a man and asked if we could look through their records of service provided in 1935-1938.  The man laughed at our ambition, but allowed us to look in several very dusty file cabinets that were nearly twenty years old.  We searched through folder after folder of records of maintenance service, overhauls, and wreck repairs  Remember that in the 1930s, it wasn't unusual to do a "ring and valve job" on a car after 30 or 40,000 miles.  After several hours of poring through these old records, we hit paydirt.  There was a record of a service call on which the dealership had put a car on blocks, removed its wheels and drained its fuel, and preserved the interior with moth balls!

The gentleman informed us that the person for whom the work was done was still a customer, but was quite elderly.  He had bought several pickup trucks from the Ford dealer over the years.  We got directions to the man's house and proceeded to the rural address, a small dairy farm.

Willy knocked on the door.  An elderly man answered.  We asked about the legendary car in storage.  The man informed hat it was his and that it was still on blocks where it had been put in 1936!  Would he sell it?  Yes.  But he would take no less than $735 and would accept cash only!  We proceeded to a barn where we beheld the car, which displayed barely over 10,000 miles on its odometer.  He informed us that he had bought the car for his daughter in 1934 when he was 65 years old.  She was a nurse.  He promised to take good care of her if she would care for him in his old age and remain single.  In 1936, she got married and moved out.  He took back the car and put it in storage.

The Beautiful 1934 Ford Fordor Sedan

Fortunately, the man honored his word.  We drove back home in the Model A, where Bill retrieved $735.  We went back to Northville and bought the car.

The 1934 Ford flathead V-8 engine

After putting a battery in the car, replacing the fuel pump diaphragm, and putting gas and coolant in it, it started perfectly.  We unwrapped the Goodyear diamond-tread tires, and remounted the wheels.  We removed the blocks under the car and Bill proudly drove it out of its time capsule.  The little V-8 purred.  This gorgeous car became Willy's everyday transportation.  A couple of days after we retrieved it, we did a "Cadillac Blue Coral" wax job on it.  It absolutely glistened.

Within a few months, Bill was accepted into the Naval Air Cadet program.  He drove the little Ford to Florida to begin his aviation training.  That's a subject for another entry...

Food, At Last...

It's been quite a while since I wrote about food.  This week I happen to be in the Washington, DC area.  I'm working with two colleagues, Bob Grow and Carol Kelly, both of whom are rather adventurous about trying new places to eat.  As you may know, I'm all in favor of that.


Zeffirelli's Famous Veal Chop

On Tuesday night, we went to a small Italian restaurant in Herndon named Zeffirelli's.  Bob had been there before.  Their specialty is a center cut veal chop that is marinated, then braised, then finished in the oven.  Bob got that.  Carol enjoyed a rockfish dish that looked wonderful.  I started with the Insalata di Finnochio described as, "Shaved Fennel Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts and Truffle Oil."  Spectacular!
My main course was the Tortellacci Alassio.  This is, "Homemade Tortellacci filled with braised veal and beef, served with a reduction of Veal sauce and sage."  It, too, was absolutely wonderful.

Last night we found ourselves with some other colleagues at Tuscarora Mill in Leesburg.  The atmosphere was really fun, surrounded by a large 19th century mill with its massive oak timbers and remnants of old machinery.  I had a delicious corn chowder followed by a Thai Scallop Pasta.  This consisted of braised scallops served with glass noodles, lump crabmeat, and stir-fried vegetables in a Thai basil-lemongrass-tomato sauce.  I would probably order it again, although the menu was wonderfully varied and I might have to try something else.

I would highly recommend either of these restaurants.

The Challenger Connection...

We have commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.  I find it remarkable how vividly our memories can preserve those dreadful moments when pivotal disasters are thrust upon us.  On that morning, a coworker of mine, Lodean Scoble, ran into my cubicle and shouted, "The shuttle just blew up!"  The only TV in our building was a small black-and-white TV in the basement kitchen.  By the time I got downstairs, the room was packed.  We watched in horror as they replayed the images over and over as if maybe the next time there'd be a different outcome.  It never changed.  Seven heroes of the space race had died.

As the investigation into the disaster unfolded, the evidence pointed to a failure of the O-rings in a joint of one of the solid rocket boosters (SRBs).  That had a strong connection to Huntsville, since the SRB program was managed at our own Marshall Space Flight Center.  The manager of that program was Larry Mulloy.  In a long telephone conference the previous night, engineers and managers from Thiokol, mission operations, and the NASA Program Office had hotly debated the safety of a cold weather launch, specifically as the temperature might affect the performance of the O-rings on the solid rocket boosters.  Overnight temperatures were expected to dip into single digits.  There was no previous experience with these conditions, but some Thiokol engineers saw a disaster in the making.  There was a redesign effort in progress on the O-ring design.  Low temperature performance was the issue.  This issue had been the subject of engineering analysis for a couple of years.  It was well known to both the contractor and NASA personnel.

To complicate matters, NASA had sold the shuttle program to congress on the basis of its ability to sustain 24 launches per year.  They were a long way from approaching that goal, having launched 5 times in 1984 and 9 times in 1985.  There had already been four delays in the launch date of STS-51-L.  Consequently, there was enormous pressure to launch.  And so, when Thiokol engineers recommended against launching on 28 January 1986, Larry Mulloy overruled that recommendation.  He was reported to have said, "My god, Thiokol, when do you want me to launch, next April?"  This decision was probably the worst lapse of good judgement in Mulloy's career.  We all know the results.

At the formal inquiry convened by President Reagan, the so-called Rogers Commission, Mulloy was a key witness.  Yet under repeated interrogation, he never apologized for his decision or admitted any error.  He appeared arrogant and defensive.  He said that given the same facts he would make the same decision again.  The inquiry board was not kind to Mr. Mulloy in their final report.  He soon took an early retirement from NASA.

For a while, Larry Mulloy was known to be looking for work around Huntsville.  He was a free agent for many months, shunned by many within the local engineering community.  At the time, I was working for John M. Cockerham and Associates, a small Huntsville consulting firm.  Mr. Cockerham started having discussions with Larry Mulloy about hiring him.  After all, John reasoned, you don't rise to the top engineering echelons of NASA by being stupid.  And after a few weeks of discussions and negotiations, Cockerham hired Larry Mulloy as a Vice President and General Manager. 

I was in the new organization that Mulloy headed up.  I worked for him for the next couple of years.  We did a lot of work together, largely on NASA contracts.  We never discussed the Challenger.

The Other Declaration of Independence...

The Bronck House Today

On May 17, 1775, more than a year before the Continental Congress signing in 1776, the inhabitants of Coxsackie, New York, signed a Declaration of Independence.  They gathered at the Bronck House, a homestead built in 1663, now the oldest structure still standing in upstate New York.  There are 225 signers, most of them Dutch freeholders from the Coxsackie District of the Colony of New York.  The Declaration was found in the 1920's in an attic at Albany, New York by Mr. John M. Clark, then president of the Albany Institute and History and Art Society, who presented it to the Institution, where it remains.  The document was pronounced authentic by Dr. Sullivan and Dr. Wyer, who served, respectively, as State Historian and State Librarian at that time, and by the State Archivist.

The Declaration

Persuaded that the Salvation of the Rights and Liberties of America, depends, under God, on the firm union of its Inhabitants, in a vigorous prosecution of the Measures necessary for its Safety, and convinced of the Necessity of preventing the Anarchy and confusion which attend the Dissolution of the Powers of Government:

THAT the Freeholders and Inhabitants of Coxsackie District, in the County of Albany, being greatly alarmed at the avowed Design of the Ministry to raise a Revenue in America, are shocked by the bloody Scene acting in the Massachusetts Bay; Do in the most solemn manner, resolve never to become Slaves; and do also associate under the Ties of Religion, Honor and Love of our Country to adopt and endeavor to carry into Execution whatever Measures may be rendered by our Continental Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Convention for the purpose of preserving our Constitution and opposing the Execution of several arbitrary and oppressive Acts of the British Parliament, until a reconciliation between Great Britain and America or constitutional principles (which we most ardently desire) can be obtained; and that we will, in all Things, follow the advice of our general Committee, respecting the purpose aforesaid, the preservation of Peace and good Order, and the Safety of Individuals and private property.

Dated at Coxsackie the Seventeenth of May in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand seven hundred and seventy five. (signed by 225 citizens of Coxsackie - only 211 still legible)

I am proud to note that I am the direct descendent of two of the signers of this Declaration, Martin Hallenbeck and Abraham Hallenbeck.  You can see the family connection by clicking here.

The Mafia Connection

I saw in today's news that the FBI had rounded up more than 100 alleged Mafiosi.  My thoughts instantly went to our local Mafia representative when I was growing up, Mr. Paul "Legs" DiCocco.

In the 1960's, I was engaged to Laurie Maxon, a young lady from Schenectady whose parents were the next door neighbors to Mr. DiCocco and his family.  Laurie's stepfather, Elmore Melander, was a cultivator of prize-winning gladiolus flowers.  His gladiolus beds were located along the property line with the DiCocco residence.  We would kid El by telling him to be careful where he planted his flowers lest he trespass on the DiCocco property and we find him at the bottom of the Mohawk River.

According to Wikipedia, "Paul "Legs" DiCocco, Sr. was an Upstate New York racketeer and associate of mobster Carmine Galante who was involved in illegal gambling.

A longtime gambler with numerous minor convictions for illegal gambling, DiCocco was connected to New York's underworld. He also controlled racketeering and other criminal activities with Carmine Galante in Montreal, Quebec. DiCocco also had contacts in New York's labor unions; he and Nicholas Robilotto, President of Teamsters Local #294 in Albany, New York were eventually investigated for conspiring to underbid rival construction companies. DiCocco owned a luncheonette with his brother that was renowned for its Italian cuisine.

In 1951, DiCocco was investigated by a grand jury on charges of corruption and illegal gambling in Schenectady County, New York. This investigation resulted from allegations that Schenectady Police Chief Joseph A. Peters fixed a traffic ticket for DiCocco. Peters denied the charge, but was eventually forced to resign. Receiving a subpoena from Mayor Samuel S. Stratton, DiCocco appeared before a City Hall investigation on his supposed ties to organized crime. During a half hour period, DiCocco pled the Fourth and Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution over 76 times.

In 1977, DiCocco was indicted on contempt and perjury charges. Shortly after his first trial ended in a hung jury, DiCocco accepted a plea bargain to obstructing governmental administration and contempt. DiCocco received three years probation and a $1,000 fine. In 1985, DiCocco pled guilty to felony coercion charges. He had been trying to stop a Massachusetts-based gambling operation from expanding into five New York counties.

In 1989, DiCocco was released from probation due to bad health.  On July 30, 1989, Paul DiCocco Sr. died after a heart transplant operation.  His son, Paul A. DiCocco, Jr. is a driver for actor Tom Hanks."

According to his obituary in the Albany Times-Union, "He acquired the nickname "Legs" as a young boy because of his speed as a runner, basically a gofer, for gamblers playing in card and crap games. Later his "legs" carried him as a numbers runner for Schenectady bookmakers."

A Picture from the Distant Past...

My sister Ann was 1 year and 2 days older than me.  She and I were often mistaken for twins when we were little.  We both attended Mont Pleasant High School in Schenectady, where we both took three years of Latin (wasn't it a prerequisite of a college prep curriculum back then??).  And of course, if you were enrolled in Latin, you were almost automatically in Miss Brakebill's Latin Club.  Once a year, the Latin Club came to school dressed in Roman attire.  My sister tragically passed away in 1965. 

Recently, while surfing the Web, I ran across a site that had been created by Annie's high school class for their 50th reunion.  I was looking through some pictures on their Web site to see if I'd recognize anyone, when I ran across this image of the "MPHS Latin Club" contributed by Mary Corrado.  My sister is the person on the right side of the picture in the front row with the trim on the edges of her toga.

I still miss her.  She was a great gal.

Benny and Theresa's

BL's Restaurant is now called BL's Tavern, but is
still in business at the same location as 50 years ago!

In New York state in the 1950's, the legal drinking age was 18.  That meant that I could legally drink the last few months of my senior year in high school.  The following summer, my friend Hal Johnson and I decided to try to find the sleaziest bar in our home town of Schenectady, New York.  I don't recall that we had any specific guidelines; I think we thought we'd know it when we saw it.

We decided that there were some prime areas in which to look -- upper Albany Street, certain parts of Mont Pleasant, parts of Broadway, and Front Street were some that I remember.  Each night, we'd go to a couple of bars to have a couple ten cent drafts, known as "dimies."  After a couple of weeks of this research, we were covering the bars on Front Street, a street that paralleled the Mohawk River.  That night, we discovered "BL's Restaurant" at the corner of Front Street and John Street.

BL's never qualified as a sleazy bar, but the wonderful people that frequented the place became some of our best friends.  Hal and I would spend many nights at this tavern throughout our college years.

BL's took its name from Benny Lenciewicz, the proprietor.  Benny, along with his wife Theresa, maintained a clean, friendly establishment.  Profanity or antisocial behavior were simply not allowed.  Theresa kept a baseball bat behind the bar and made it clear that in spite of her diminutive size, she would not be afraid to use it.  Benny and Theresa lived on the second floor of the building that housed the bar.  Some biographical notes about the inhabitants of BLs might be of interest:

Benny was almost certainly an alcoholic, but was only a binge drinker.  He would disappear for a few weeks at a time, during which Theresa would run the place by herself.  Benny loved to gamble on the horses and maintained file cabinets full of data on jockeys, horses, trainers, stables, and the races themselves.  He claimed to make money on the races and I believe he did.  When he would go on one of his excursions, he would often return with substantial money that he claimed he made at Saratoga, Aqueduct, or some other racetrack.

Theresa was the former Theresa Barone.  She was an absolutely wonderful lady, and totally devoted to Benny.  She was a very hard worker and never touched a drop of alcohol to my knowledge.  Her brother Tony had been a boxer in his earlier years and he occasionally stopped by the bar.

Schmiggy (last name unknown) was a sweeper at the General Electric Company.  He was marginally retarded, but was a delightful individual.  He could be found at BL's every evening.

Pops (last name unknown) was a produce wholesale merchant.  He was in his sixties and lived with and cared for his mother, who was in her nineties.  I don't believe Pops had ever been married.  Every evening, he would stop at BL's on his way home from work, usually around 9:00 PM.  He always had one drink -- a cup of black coffee laced with peppermint schnapps.  Benny and Theresa had a ritual of harassment that they perpetrated on Pops.  They would start reading obituary notices of people that were Pops' age.  Theresa might start, "Say, Benny, did you see that Mary Battaglione passed away?  It's here in the Gazette.  What a tragedy.  She was only 63 years old.  Just dropped dead with no warning."  At this point, Pops would start to protest.

Curtis was a gentleman of color who usually dropped by at least three or four times a week.  He was a laborer at the GE plant but was quite interested in the stock market.  He frequently gave out unsolicited advice: "You boys need to invest in alumington.  It's the metal of the future!"

One evening, Hal and I took our mothers on a date to BL's.  Benny and Theresa even put a tablecloth on one of the booths in the back room.  Benny cooked steaks and baked potatoes and even made a salad.  It was quite the occasion!

I have only the fondest memories of this place that we found purely by accident.  I think it taught me that good, wholesome, kind and gentle people may be found in the most unexpected places.