Born on the 4th of July

By: Carol Silva

When I was a kid, my parents packed us in the car every 4th of July and drove us from our Levitt house in Hicksville to Salisbury Park in East Meadow (that's right, it was called SALISBURY PARK - back then - not Eisenhower Park!) to see the 4th of July fireworks. You'd go early enough - in the late afternoon - to avoid traffic nightmares and to get a spot for our blanket. But that 10 minute drive there - always turned into a 2 hour trip home - as tens of thousands tried to leave the park all at once to get their sleepy kids home.

And if you're a Yankee Doodle Dandy -- besides Uncle Sam - guess who was born on the Fourth of July?

How about Ann Landers, Neil Simon, Gina Lollobrigida, Calvin Coolidge, and Louis B. Mayer?

Ann Landers dished out advice to readers in 1200 newspapers, including Newsday, for nearly 50 years. Bronx-born playwright Neil Simon is the comedy writer from the "Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows" and authored plays including "Barefoot in the Park," "The Odd Couple" and "Plaza Suite." Subiaco, Italy born Gina Lollobrigida made several Italian films before making fireworks in her American movie career in the 1950s. Among her co-stars Frank Sinatra, Yul Brenner and Rock Hudson.

Movie maker Louis B. Mayer was born Eliezer Meir in Russia in 1884. He came to America and bought and renovated some Massachusetts movie houses. Before he was done, he merged with movie maker Samuel Goldwyn to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

They're not the only July 4th babies of note. New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is one of the most famous of them. And for decades, that July 4th birthday has put extra pressure on the boys in pinstripes to win one for the Boss - because the Yanks usually play on Independence Day.

Hey, Stephen Foster - "The Father of American Music" was born on July 4th in 1826. He's the guy who wrote "Oh! Susanna" and "Old Black Joe." And on July 4, 1804 Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Massachusetts where he wrote those books you may have hated in high school - "House of 7 Gables" and "The Scarlet Letter."

Ever heard of a Rube Goldberg job? On July 4, in 1883 - the real Rube Goldberg was born. The cartoonist was all about making the easy outrageously difficult. By the by, Rube lived in tawny Asharoken and word is - in 1953 he designed what became the village seal with a portrait of Chief Asharoken.

But perhaps the granddaddy of all those Independence Day birthdays belongs to President Calvin Coolidge. He was born in Plymouth, Vermont on July 4, 1872. Coolidge was the only president born on July 4. But how's this for irony? John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe all died on the Fourth of July.

Happy Birthday to all of you and Happy Birthday America!

Comments

[MARY SCHMITT]

Hi Carol, I to remember "Salsisbury Park" and those wonderful 4th of July fireworks!! I lived in the "B" section in Hicksville, and was also on the Levittown Swim Team (LSA)..my girlfreind knew you in Hicksville and swore I would remember you. She decribed you to a tee. I have seen you in person but never had the nerve to talk to you. Love you on the AM news. Keep up the intersting articles and the informative daily news. Sincerely, Mary Schmitt (Weir) [email protected]