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Couple married by Murray
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Vol. 29 No. 20
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Fallen officers not forgotten
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_________________ BALDWIN ________________
MAY 12 - 18, 2022
Singing of love for timeless Silver Lake By KARINA KoVAC kkovac@liherald.com
Sherry Boylan Hackney/Sherry Shots Shows
RIChARd SpANo, who grew up in Baldwin, playing at a First Presbyterian Church Courtyard Concert in Portsmouth, Virgnia, last July.
Richard Spano grabbed for his emergency dime to call his mother, Josephine. He was 13 and a student at St. Pius School in Uniondale, studying to be a priest, and had just been told by his teacher that he could win a trip to the Bahamas or a 12-string guitar because he got the highest marks on his biology test. He called his mom to explain his predicament of choices, and she told him over the pay phone, “A trip to the Bahamas probably sounds nice,
but you’ll always have the guitar.” So Spano went back to class and asked for the instrument. Now, 57 years later, long into a successful career as a rock musician and songwriter, he has finished a song called, “(Down by) Silver Lake” on his yet-to-be-released second solo album, “In the Shadow of Cupid’s Arrow.” The song is an introspective homage to Baldwin, where a young Spano lived on Arlington Avenue, a time that remains among his best memories. Although he now lives in Continued on page 4
Thursday nights are all about classic, new and cool cars By KARINA KoVAC kkovac@liherald.com
“Every Thursday Night” car meets, at Fireman’s Field and Training Center, started back up last week, and will continue until Sept. 1. Organized by Jerry Brown, a Hook and Ladder Two firefighter and the head of Baldwin’s Hot Rod Association, the get-togethers celebrate Baldwin’s rich car culture, while collecting for a cause. Participants’ $3 donations “fill the boot,” and benefit the Steven Barry Memorial Scholarship fund. Barry was a firefighter who gave his life in service in 1975, and the proceeds of the col-
lection are given to a worthy Baldwin High School senior at the end of the school year. On May 5, Brown, 57, proudly displayed his 1948 Chevy, which he got from the iconic BaldwinMotion car shop. The original Baldwin-Motion Performance Group, which lasted from 1967 to 1974, represented a partnership between the Baldwin Auto Company, a franchised Chevrolet dealership that dated back to the early 1920s, and Motion Performance, a high-profile speed shop with a reputation for building fast Chevys. Both operated in Baldwin, but were known far beyond for the quality of their work.
Thursday nights ■ Picnic tables available for enjoying a meal ■ A DJ plays classic rock ■ Lighted area with ‘waterfront’ parking ■ Swap and sale welcome Brown turned up the Chevy’s mystique a notch when he pointed out the pinstriping, done by renowned detailer Gary “the local brush” Kupfer. Brown went to Kupfer two years ago to
request the detailing work, but was told by Kupfer that he was backed up a year. “So I waited a year to the day, knocked on the door and said, ‘Remember me?’” Brown recounted with a laugh, “and he did … He’s in his 70s, and still with steady hands.” Brown said that as more people start coming to the event in the warmer weather, he expects
to expand it, with amenities like food and ice cream trucks, for car owners and spectators alike to enjoy. Steven Burke brought his “numbers matching” 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS, which he’s had for 14 years. “Numbers matching” indicates the car engine’s authenticity, because it matches Continued on page 9