Mr. Bob Boda was born in 1926 at the old hospital on Quarry Street in Ithaca. He lived in Danby until 1991, when he moved to his Lansing cottage on Cayuga Lake. Mr. Boda was kind enough to send me some thoughts on his life in Danby, and included a picture of his classmates at the old Danby School, which was where the Danby Fire Station now stands.

In this picture, estimated to be taken between 1936 and 1938, are children whose names are still familiar to Danby families, such as Moore, Slights, Hiney, and Schoneman, just to name a few. The teacher is Mr. John Carver. Mr. Boda tells me that "Mr. Carver was a good teacher and well-liked, even though he carried a short piece of rubber hose and a ruler in his back packet, which I never saw him use." The entire class was treated by Mr. Carver to the showing of the original movie, "Alice in Wonderland." Coming back to Danby to visit family, hunt and attend Danby Church services and events, Mr. Boda tells me that he wishes his mother had written down the stories she had in her mind, as she would spend hours talking about old Danby news. I thank Mr. Boda for sharing his thoughts with us in this column.

Cell phones for soldiers

We just sent old cell phones out in the mail for a good cause, and you can, too, by visiting the following website, www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. There is no charge to do this.

Bell ringing

My pal Ernie Payton from Danby Road, who is a retired Salvation Army lieutenant colonel but continues as the coordinator for the Christmas red kettles bell-ringing effort, contacted me to say that help is once again desperately needed. If you can spend a little time at the red kettles for this good cause, please call the Salvation Army at 273-2400 or stop in at 150 N. Albany St. in Ithaca to sign up. Volunteers can be made up of individuals, groups, organizations, families or clubs of all descriptions. "Don't be a No-Bell prize winner," as Ernie says!

Neighbor update

Angela Shipman Cassidy, formerly of Danby and now living in the Mystic area of Connecticut, wrote to update me on her life. Angie says, "My husband Jim and I have two little girls, Emma who is 5 and Caitrin, 2. After graduating from Cornell I moved to Connecticut and had a couple of jobs in marketing. I enjoyed the work but not the living out of hotels and airports.

Once I became a mother, I stopped working and chose to be an on-the-go Mom, and I feel so blessed that I can be! My husband is an engineering supervisor for a defense company. We make it to Ithaca a few times a year to see family and friends. My kids love to visit!"

Danby Seniors

The seniors will meet for their Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the trimmings, at noon, Thursday, at the Danby Federated Church.

Passing

Danby has lost a very good friend with the passing of Esther Dotson last month at the age of 92. Esther was a founding visionary of the Danby Park and Community Center project, purchasing with several other Danby residents the initial parcels of land to be developed.

Her communication skills were crucial and resulted in the project being awarded two major grants. Esther was a retired professor of art history from Cornell University, and in addition to her dedication to the Danby community, had just recently completed writing a book. My thoughts go out to Esther's family.

Correction

In last week's column I wrote about the opening of a new business in Newfield, but called it by the wrong name. It is "Good Stuff by Mom and Me" not "Good Things by Mom and Me." I apologize for this error.