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| Grove Friends Honor Amelia Migliaccio's 48 Years of Community Service |
by Bruce-Michael Gelbert
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| Dell Harbin & Amelia Migliaccio |
| Photo by Bruce-Michael Gelbert |
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Grovites gathered at the Community House on September 22 to honor Amelia Migliaccio for her 48 years of service to Cherry Grove in an evening, billed as "This Is Your Life, Amelia!" organized by Denise "Dell" Harbin and presented by the Violet Letter. After a slide show, covering everything from Amelia's growing up in Washington, D.C. and early move to Brooklyn to projecting a future in which she'll be enshrined on Mount Rushmore or audition for the Muppets, longtime friends shared stories of Amelia's relationships; involvement with the Arts Project of Cherry Grove (APCG), for which she served as board member, cooked for its In-Town parties, appeared in shows, and sells advertising; arrival in the Grove in 1959; restaurants Amelia's, on the dock, where Island Breeze is and Michael's was, started in 1978, and Top of the Bay, opened in 1980; role as a "founding mother" of the Grove Invasion of the Pines in 1976; and organization of the halftime parade, cheerleaders, and singing of the national anthem for the Grovettes vs. the Suffolk County Copettes Cherry Bowl Volleyball Tournament, after the first game in 1984, and of the Cherry Grove Pride Parade, beginning in 1999. Denise read a 'curriculum vitae' Amelia had prepared and acted as MC.
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Twin sisters Susan and Ruth Freedner met Amelia in 1968 and blame or credit her for their participation in APCG shows ever since she drafted them to play the Gemini in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" in 1978. Susan thanked Amelia for "promoting the Grove" and Ruth praised her for insisting, "You have to join the Arts Project." Rae DiStefano and Matt Baney offered further words about Amelia and APCG.
Charity, who worked for Amelia at Top of the Bay and recalled arguments they had there, quoted her as saying, "I didn't hire a showgirl, I hired a waiter;" told of an abusive customer, who called Charity "faggot" and spit at her, whom Amelia ejected, but still claimed, "The customer is always right;" and when the tiff threatened to erupt anew here, as former employer and employee's recollections differed, said she had learned that "Amelia is always right." She spoke further of the shock she had accompanying Amelia as she tried on leather at Fancy from Delancey, Steve Helfer and Jerry Rice's store, which was also on the dock.
A bagpiper from the Suffolk County Emerald Society Pipe and Drum Corps, in full regalia, played a tune for the Cherry Bowl's 'Not-So-Grand-Marshal,' Amelia, and Sal Piro, an early cheerleader for the tournament, who disguised his voice offstage so well that Amelia thought he was Bob "Rose" Levine, thanked her for playing Jeanne Skinner's assistant in two of his shows, responsible for cuing and prompting the nonagenarian.
Amelia and Thom "Panzi" Hansen, who met Amelia in 1969, when he dated her brother, shared memories of organizing the Ad Hoc Committee to Save Cherry Grove, later called the Cherry Grove Gourmet Club and Terrorist Society, whose members made a difference in the Grove by getting involved in its organizations and becoming officers of them. They spoke of the origin of the Invasion, in 1976, in response to John Whyte's refusal to serve Teri Warren when she came to his restaurant, the Blue Whale, in drag. Panzi, the Grove's newly-elected, first Homecoming Queen, and his partner, Max Killingsworth; Amelia and her partner, Lyn Hutton; and Rose Levine, singing "God Bless America," and a handful of others invaded in drag. When they were met with hostility, Panzi quickly offered, "We've come to bless the harbor." As ire turned to awe, Panzi raised a pink-gloved hand and, from the second floor of the hotel, indeed gave the harbor a blessing.
To the tune of "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria," from "The Sound of Music," Lynne Tunderman sang a parody she had written, entitled "How Do You Solve a Puzzle Like Amelia," but the late Maggie McCorkle, on film, had the last word of the retrospect, singing, "Oh, Where Did the Good Times Go?"
Addressing the assembled, Amelia said, "I have never in my life felt so flattered, so honored ... I just love you all for coming here and doing this."
With Denise coordinating and Sherri Rase assisting, a reception followed, with food, courtesy of Frank Santoro and Pierre Galarneau; a cake, adorned with rainbows, brought to the Grove by Ruth Freedner; and beverages, served, from the bar, by Joe Saporito and this writer.
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