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Flanders: Big Duck 80th birthday gala coming up

Hi friends and neighbors. What an exciting week we had. My firstborn, Thomas, graduated from RHS on Saturday. The weather was perfect. His party was on Sunday, and what a great time we had! It went off without a hitch. I wish I could personally thank everyone in the column who helped to make it happen. For those of you who are reading this and are one of my “angels,” thank you so much. I truly have the best family and friends.

To all the graduates, best wishes for a great future. As you go through life remember this quote from Winston Churchill: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Go forth and do your best. Remember where you came from and be proud of who you are.

Don’t forget the Big Duck’s 80th birthday gala will be held Saturday, July 9, from 7 to 11 p.m. at 230 Elm in Southampton. There will be raffles, music by Bill Wilkinson and the Long Island Sound Swing Band, a dance contest, a costume contest (dress in 1930s attire), a 50/50 raffle, light fare and a whole lot of fun. Tickets are $50 per person and can be obtained by visiting bigduck.org.

Attention RHS Class of 1986 alumni! Get those reunion responses back ASAP. They were mailed a few weeks ago and are slowly trickling in but we need more of a head count to get this party started. For questions, contact me or visit our Facebook page by typing in Riverhead HS Class of 1986 in the search bar.

Calvary Baptist Church will be having a couple of weeklong events this summer for the community to participate in. The first event is a Vacation Bible School called “Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street,” July 11-15 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the church in Riverhead. Open to children in pre-K through grade 6. There will be crafts, games, food, fun and more. Admission is free!

The second event is a bible and baseball camp at Stotzky Park in Riverhead Aug. 8-12, from 9 a.m. to noon for boys and girls ages 7-12. Each morning there will be a lesson and lots of playtime. Refreshments will be served. Any child who loves to play baseball will enjoy this experience, and it’s free! Bring a baseball glove. For more info or to register, visit CBCRiverhead.org or call the church office at 727-4112.

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending a little get-together at the Polish Hall in Riverhead for Mrs. Marion Dorman, who was my fourth-grade teacher at St. John’s in 1977. My friend Evelyn McKavish Conklin and I decided to surprise her and attend. A few weeks ago, the News-Review published a full page ad which contained a bunch of class photos from all Mrs. Dorman’s years of teaching. See if you can find yours truly if you still have that paper. My daughter found me in three seconds. I guess that’s a good thing, huh?

Mrs. Dorman has taught at Riley Avenue Elementary School for many years. It was fun when she introduced us to students she has now. The only thing I didn’t like was that some of them were taller than me. Thank you, Mrs. Dorman, for remembering me and thank you for being the best fourth-grade teacher. When I look back on it, St. John’s was really a tight unit and I’m grateful for the memories and the good times I had.

Since the Fourth of July is next Monday, news for July 7 column needs to get to me before 8 o’clock tonight, Thursday, June 30. If you have any news you’d like to share with the community, please call or email me right now.

I’d like to ask everyone who sends me news via email to please fill in the subject bar. If you send me an attachment with no inkling of what it is about, I will not open the email! With all the spam and virus applications out there today, I’m not risking my computer, or my wallet, by opening something that I’m unsure of.

Please remember to drive safely. Don’t drink, talk or text while driving. I want to continue seeing and hearing from you all. Enjoy your weekend and happy Independence Day.