FEATURES Times Newsweekly Community Profiles • Local History • Nightlife • Food Reviews • Neighborhood Events And Memories 21 • TIMES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014 Author Taps Into Glendale Roots PPeennss NNeeww BBooookk FFooccuusseedd OOnn NNeeiigghhbboorrhhoooodd HHiissttoorryy During his research, Brady was disappointed to discover that photographs of Glendale landmarks such as the old Belvedere and Acme theaters, Von Westerhagen’s restaurant, Gebhardt’s restaurant and many of the other local businesses from his childhood were unavailable. “I had to take a bunch of my own photos to include some of these places in the book,” he added. “I hope that the mix of old -SEE AUTHOR ON PG. 64- Author Ralph Brady (at right) is pictured with Finback Brewery co-founder Basil Lee during the Dec. 5 book-signing event. Brady penned “Glendale,” part of the “Images of America” series, which profiles the neighborhood’s history. story and photo by Kelly Marie Mancuso Local author Ralph Brady celebrated the publication of his newest book “Glendale” with a special book signing at Glendale’s own Finback Brewery on Dec. 5. Residents, history buffs and beer enthusiasts alike flocked to the brewery’s tasting room to meet the Glendale native and purchase a copy of his muchanticipated book. Brady’s photo narrative Glendale is part of Arcadia Publishing’s “Images of America” series dedicated to exploring the history of America’s small towns and neighborhoods through photographs and mementos. The 2012 publication “Landmarks and Historical Sites of Long Island” was Brady’s first foray as an author. “When I retired, I started looking for things to do to fill my days,” he explained. “I decided to pursue a life-long dream of becoming an author.” Brady’s first book took readers on a virtual journey throughout the twin forks. It included historical pit stops such as Theodore Roosevelt’s Oyster Bay Sagamore Hill estate, or the “Summer White House,” as it came to be known. He followed the success of his first publication with “Borrowed Time,” a fictional tale of a cancer-stricken Long Island boatyard worker who travels through time to work along side his grandfather in 1899 Greenport. When Brady began to shift his focus back to Glendale, he quickly discovered a great lack of information chronicling the history of his beloved hometown. “A couple of people that I know who are originally from Glendale as I am, asked me why there was no book about Glendale,” he explained. “I thought there had to be and did some checking, but all that I found was an almost 40 year old book that book really didn’t do justice to Glendale. I grew up here and when I realized that there was no recent book about the town, I decided to be the one to remedy that.” Brady began the arduous task of acquiring photographs and historical facts about the neighborhood. “The first place that I turned to for help in doing all of this was the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society,” he explained. “With their help and access to their photo archives, I was able to begin the project.” Brady also credits the Queens Library and Queens Historical Society, as well as neighborhood family and friends, with helping him to secure additional photographs of Glendale’s past. Woodside Kids Help Peers Around World The Kiwanis Club of Glendale honored fifth-graders at Woodside’s P.S. 229 who collected Halloween donations for UNICEF with a pizza party last Wednesday, Dec. 10. As noted, Yetro Cheng collected a record $400 trick-or-treating for UNICEF. In all, the students raised more than $7,800 to benefit the international organization that assists children across the globe. The students are pictured above with teacher Gloria Sfiroudis, who coordinated the campaign. (photo: Marcin Zurawicz)
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