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| The boys at Agawam Park in Southampton, circa 1945-1949, possibly Memorial Day. Front row, left to right: Frank "Farmer" Stachecki, Bruno Marcincuk, and Joe Cerullo. Back row, left to right: Francis Lavinio, Walter "Singer" Hoinski, Stanley Swiderski, and unidentified, possibly Jack Raynor. Photo courtesy of Christine Marcincuk and Kathryn Boutcher. |
In the letters, Art frequently refers to evenings with “the boys,” a group of young men approximately his own age. Most (perhaps all) had served in the military during World War II. As Art entered the service late, he was also one of the last to return home to Southampton . When the above picture was taken (probably mid- to late-1940s), Art may have been on the other side of the world, serving on a minesweeper stationed in Shanghai or the Philippines
Art to June:
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| Bruno Marcincuk |
Poor Bruno! He and Joe went to see the girls on Saturday night and you know Bruno was hoping to see Mary. Well Mary was out, so he and Joe visited with Jane, Helen, and Lorraine
Poor Bruno but, as Shirl says, what else could he have expected if he knew Mary was dating?
June to Art:
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| Joe Cerullo |
We don’t have a radio yet and never buy a newspaper, but from what I gather from passing people in the street, the Dodgers and Yankees will play the series. Did you and Joe celebrate?
Tonight I went to the first show at the movies – then met Joe and went with him to the school to see the town basketball team beat Center Moriches 53 to 38.
Art to June:
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| Frank "Farmer" Stachecki |
I went to the movies last night and then saw a good fight on television. All the boys were out – Joe, Bruno, Farmer, and Singer.
Last night, I went to the movies with Frank Hoffman. Then he and I and Joe Cerullo watched wrestling at the Anchorage
and met Bruno, Farmer, and Singer there.
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| Walter "Singer" Hoinski |
Then back to the Windmill to eat, and finished the night at the Hampton Bays Diner. Finally got home at 4 in the morning.
Bruno goes to the city tomorrow to march in the Columbus Day parade. Why don’t you go over to Fifth Avenue tomorrow afternoon? You’ll probably see some of the boys from here marching.
Special thanks to Christine Marcincuk and Kathryn Boutcher for sharing this wonderful photo of the boys!
© 2011 Lee Price
You're welcome, Lee. So interesting how this photo happened to land in my mother’s hands by Christine M. Glad you can now share it with the world on this wonderful blog. I enjoy reading this blog and am so happy that I was introduced to it by Art Anderson via Facebook (thanks, Art). Also glad that I could fill in some missing information in your father’s letters about the identities of “Farmer”, my father, and “Singer”. The article in the Southampton Press last Thursday about the blog was very good and I have to agree with your sister, Jamie's comment on Facebook that they should have mentioned Art’s Market because after all it was a great Southampton institution. The post WWII era of America is one of my favorite times in history and I love reading about the happenings in Manhattan and Southampton in real time on this blog. It really brings you back to that time. The most exciting part for me is that my father's name is mentioned in your father’s letters to your mother from time to time. My father likes to tell stories about some of the escapades of “The Boys”. Regards, Kathryn
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