Serving Manhasset
$1
Friday, January 23, 2015
vol. 3, no. 4
e to
Guid Camp&Schools
CAMP AND SCHOOL GUIDE
CHAMBER TO INSTALL OFFICERS
TOWN OFFICIALS PROTEST CASINO PLAN
PaGe 25-40
PaGe 8
PaGe 6
2015 section • january 23, a blank slate media advertising
Former m-L firefighter Boesch dies
B O at s a B L a Z e
Longtime Great Neck resident fought flames for 52 years BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO Even in recent years, as his body forged on past its eighth decade, John Boesch could still be seen gearing up for another run with the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department’s Company 4 in Great Neck. The alarm would ring out across Northern Boulevard and there was the 52-year member, a former captain and company president, racing men less than half his age to be the first one onboard the first truck to respond. When he and his wife Susie moved to Florida a few years ago, Boesch hung up his helmet for good, and on Jan. 10, the Korean War-era veteran died of complications due to pancreatic cancer. He was 86. “He loved this place. It’s what he woke up for,” said Kirk T. Candan, the department’s 3rd deputy
chief, who served ManhassetLakeville alongside Boesch with Company 4. “I’ll always remember seeing him running down the block toward the firehouse, trying to get on the first truck.” Boesch and Susie raised three children out of their Westminster Road home in Great Neck, where they lived for more than 50 years, during which time the family became staples of firefighting in the community. Boesch’s two sons, John Jr. and Alfred, went on to join their father in the fire department. Members of Susie’s family were also volunteer firefighters. Last Tuesday, a memorial was held for Boesch at Saint Anastasia Church in Little Neck - where he grew up in the 1940s - where his peers in the department gathered to say their goodbyes. He was buried at Mount St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing. Continued on Page 53
PHOTO BY LYNN POOLE
Four people were hospitalized early Monday after a fire onboard a house boat docked in Port Washington spread to neighboring boats.
Ervin drake, penned ‘Very Good Year’ for Sinatra, dies BY A DA M L I D G E T T Legendary songwriter and Great Neck resident Ervin Drake died at his home Thursday due to complications from bladder cancer.
Drake’s most popular song compositions include the lyrics for “Good Morning Heartache,” recorded by Billy Holliday, and the lyrics and music for 1961’s “It Was A Very Good Year,” which eventually became a hit
for Frank Sinatra in 1965, according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame website. He also wrote the lyrics and music for the Broadway show “What Makes Sammy Run?” according to the Continued on Page 53
For the latest news visit us at www.theislandnow.com D on’t forget to follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow