FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 4, 2021 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 41
Victoria’s
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
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The tales of Dan Rattiner
When my son Josh and
I signed the fi nal
papers and became
the new owners of the iconic
Dan’s Papers, the fi rst request I
made to Richard Burns, from
whom we had just bought the
papers, was “When can I meet
Dan?”
I had been coming out to the
Hamptons and admiring Dan’s
Papers for its remarkable ads
and stories since the 1970s.
Th en, when I founded my own
paper, Th e Queens Courier, in
1985, I really wanted to know
Dan Rattiner, the man who
created Dan’s.
One of the reasons why I was
so thrilled and honored
to own Dan’s Papers was
to meet Dan. But Richard
had discouraged me. He
explained that during the
COVID-19 pandemic,
Dan had become a recluse
and I shouldn’t expect to
see him.
I explained that I just
wanted to reassure Dan
that his treasured brand
would be cared for and
respected for its 60 years of
unique, continuous publishing.
To my delight, within
15 minutes of speaking with
Dan, he invited me to lunch
the following Saturday on his
terrace overlooking the harbor
in Easthampton. I quickly and
excitingly accepted.
I met Dan and his wife
Chris and we all enjoyed lunch
together on a stunning,
sunny day.
I knew Dan was
a prolifi c writer for
the newspaper, but I
had no idea how many
books he had written.
He gave me a few to
take home and little by
little I’ve started reading
them. He’s published more
than 10 books and is completing
a coff ee table glossy
book that features, in his
words, “the wonder and
beauty of the Hamptons.”
Stay tuned!
Right now, I’m delighted
to be reading his book,
“In the Hamptons,” which
was published in 2008. It
has a forward written by the
esteemed writer Hamptonite
Edward Albee, but most
importantly it has dozens of
tales — all true to my knowledge
— of his early years in business.
I laughed to myself when he
described his sales experiences.
I loved the tale he told about
when he was trying to get a
prominent liquor store’s owner
to renew an ad he had taken
the previous year. But he was
dodging him this year.
He “played” the card I teach
my sales team and practice
myself: persistence.
Since Dan believed the store
owner would want the righthand,
up-front placement,
he decided to go back and go
back and thego back again, but
the drop-dead deadline was
approaching and the owner was
hiding from Dan. So, believing
in himself and believing
that Ken Scanlon of Scanlon
Liquor Store would want to
be featured in Dan’s two-yearold
Southampton edition, Dan
placed the ad for him. It read:
“Th is space is reserved for
Ken Scanlon of Scanlon Liquor
Store on Hampton Road in
Southampton. He had the
space all last year. It’s his. And
I am not selling it to anyone
else. But he hasn’t said yes
yet. Show him that he can
make money from the ad.
Go into his store and buy
as much J&B scotch as you
can. He’ll see.”
Dan was even shocked
at himself for his boldness.
But another week went by
and still no word from the prestigious
store owner. So the following
week, Dan tried again,
this time writing the following:
“Readers: Unfortunately I have
been out of town for the past week
so I do not know if our campaign
is working yet. Keep going to Mr.
Scanlon‘s liquor store and buy
J&B for just a little while longer.
In the end, he’s just got to buy
the space. I’ll let you know
what happens.”
Sure enough, Dan got up
the courage to go into the store
and saw Mr. Scanlon sitting
on a stool reading a newspaper.
He looked up and told Dan,
“keep doing what you’re doing
for the rest of the issues of the
summer and send me the bill.”
Success! Th at story
tells everything one
needs to know about
Dan’s brilliance!
Th e book also has chapter aft er
chapter fi lled with stories of the
rich and famous people he has
spent time with over the years.
From great writers like Truman
Capote to red-hot stars like
Billy Joel and Bianca Jagger,
he pulls no punches about his
experiences with them.
Dan is an ”outsider- insider”
who wrote about “insiders“ while
publishing his weekly newspapers
for 60 years, that he started with
little money and a lot of passion,
just like me. Maybe that’s why
we’ve come to love each other.
It also doesn’t hurt that we’re
both from Brooklyn!
Dog owners beware
This past week, my daughter Samantha went through
hell, nearly losing her new puppy Ruby at her dog sitter’s
home.
She and her friend decided that their beloved pets needed
socialization and playmates. So they found a local woman who
takes in pets for boarding and off ers day care
services.
But when she went back to the sitter’s
home to pick up Ruby, both dogs were
gone!
Fortunately, there was a happy ending
aft er an hours-long, heart-stopping
search. Samantha found Ruby, who had
snuck behind a planter on the porch.
Samantha’s friend put out an alert
and all of her friends searched the
neighborhood to fortunately fi nd
her beloved pet, who had squiggled
out under the fence.
Beware when you board your
pet and make sure to check
the fencing! You can never be
Dan autographed his book too safe!
that he gave me!
Meeting Dan for
the fifi rst time on his
deck in Easthampton
and giving him
the souvenir 60th
anniversary tabletop
book.
Dan’s book has chapter
after chapter of pageturning
stories about life
in the Hamptons.
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