“Overcast skies did nothing to dampen the mood on East Tremont Avenue on Sunday, where thousands of Bronxites lined the streets in green beads, shamrock hats and Irish flags for the 28th annual Throggs Neck St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Marching bands, bagpipers, local politicians and community organizations filled the mile-and-a-half route to cheers from the crowd.
Leading the procession was James “Jimmy” Dorrian, a 95-year-old Throggs Neck native, Navy veteran, and former member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Soccer Team.
Joining him as Grand Marshal was Anne Meyers, a celebrated opera singer and 45-year pillar of St. Benedict’s Church choirs, who said the honor caught her completely off guard.
Jimmy Dorrian’s grandson Brian Dorrian flew in from North Carolina. He said the day carried deep meaning for the family, rooted in his grandfather’s faith and their long ties to the neighborhood.”
On St. Joseph’s day the Residents gathered in the auditorium for the blessing of the St. Joseph’s table and to share in the magnificent display of pastries donated by our friends and benefactors on Arthur Avenue.
On Valentine’s day we were joined by the Fordham University Students. Their energy coupled with the Residents enthusiasm filled the celebration with lively dancing and a very inspiring inter-generational bonding.
A first ever “Poetry Sharing” Event took place in March drawing a large crowd of residents anxious to share their favorite poem. Some poems were created by a staff and family member, others were poems the residents kept and treasured for many years. One of the Residents majored in English Literature and offered to share a wealth of knowledge he had retained over the years about some famous poets discussed during the event. Everyone enjoyed the event so much they asked to continue to meet quarterly.
Another fun-filled event took place in March called “Guess Who.” Photos of the Residents in their youth were gathered and posted. Could they guess who they were? On the day of the event the photos were again posted and each table received a large display of the photos. They were allowed to confer with one another. The winner would be the table who had the highest number of correct names matching the photos. Most of the Residents attended this activity and the room was buzzing as everyone shared their thoughts, observations etc. Some of the Residents seemed to have changed very little over the years and others were difficult to recognize. It was a great afternoon! Everyone had so much fun, guessing, sharing and above all being together.
