Lutherans are not numerous in Mineola, but the Church of Our Saviour has a dedicated congregation of 150 families, that's about 300 people. The church was founded in 1921 and the first pastor was the Rev. Walter Schwolert, followed by Conrad Schroeder, August Brustat, Arthur Doege, John Marschhausen, Robert Mursch and now the present pastor, the Rev. Albert W. Triolo. Sunday worship and Communion is at 10 a.m. and Sunday school is also at 10 a.m. They also have a pre-school program called Noah's Ark.

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Catholicism is the faith of about 90 percent of our population, with people of Portuguese, Irish and Italian origin predominating. Willis Avenue used to be called the "Street of Churches" with Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Church of the Nativity, St. Paul's Methodist Church and now the Grace Assembly of God Church, all located on that street. Long gone are the Methodist and the Anglican churches. The exception is the First Presbyterian Church at First and Main Streets. The Temple Beth Sholom Chabad is also on Willis Ave.

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Jack Ryan of Roslyn Road is a retired electrical engineer. He and his friend Irene Tuvbert lunched at the Seacrest Diner. Irene works at the Park Funeral Home.

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Few have given more of their life to the Mineola Chamber of Commerce than Jerry Mehlman. He and his partner in the insurance business, John Lindner, joined the Chamber 50 years ago. Jerry was twice the president of the organization and has been a board member since its inception. For 16 years, he faithfully wrote the chamber newsletter, a two-sided single sheet, but it kept the community informed as to what was going on in the business world. He has watched the chamber struggle from the days when they had nine or ten people at meetings, until today, when they often have 80 in attendance.

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Our completely unofficial questioning of people in Mineola, Williston, Roslyn and Roslyn Heights regarding the candidates finds that most people in Mineola and Williston Park don't like Hillary. On the other hand, people in Roslyn and Roslyn Heights think highly of her. People in Mineola and Williston seem to like John McCain and a lot of people in all four villages had good words for Barack Obama.

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One of Mineola's proudest moments was when Teddy Roosevelt came to our village in 1900 to lay the cornerstone for the Nassau County Courthouse. Teddy delivered a speech before the ceremony.

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Adam Simms and his wife, Jeanette, have lived on Woodnut Place for 20 years. Adam is a professional writer with the Hugh Carey Government Reform Group where he serves as a research fellow. The former governor puts in appearances even though he is 91 years old.

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The Book Shelf in Albertson is closing. Few small book sellers can survive the competition of Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and Borders.

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The Cincinnati Museum has joined the Smithsonian and the Ellis Island facilities in agreeing to host the traveling exhibit, "The Story of America's Nuns." Our daughter, Sister Annmarie, is part of the group working on this vast project.

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Jerry and Monty Chiu are new residents of Beebe Road. Jerry is a software analyzer.

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Frank Chester and his wife, Darleen, of Lehigh Road, shop at King Kullen. He used to work for Barrons Auto Body. Former Williston Park Mayor Tom Muldoon and his wife, Carole, also like that store.

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Jim Agnew of Garfield Ave., Ireland's unofficial ambassador to the US, walks four miles a day.

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Tom Azzolini used to work for that Chase Bank opposite the United Nations. His wife Molly was born in England and was called by a friend in London who spotted her name in this column's web site. They live on Clinton Ave.

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Dan Murphy has breakfast at the Station Diner. A resident of Brown St., he is in construction.

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Steve Parmet of the County Seat Kiwanis Club lunched at the Churrasquiera.

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Joe Lester, owner of the Ivy Cottage, is just back from Ireland.