December 19, 2014
For our 50th Leonia Lives interview we have compiled a three-part series of updates of many of the past 49 interviews, of which this is the third and final part. We feel fortunate to live in such a diverse and talented community and are honored that so many of you shared your lives with us. Everyone has a story to tell and we look forward to the opportunity to write it.
Gwynne McConkey: Retired VP Operations, Info Systems and Technology at Lifetime Television (January 2012)
Since retiring, Gwen continues to be a passionate, committed volunteer. “My main focus has been the Newark Museum, but I’ve also spent time with the VNA of Englewood, Hospice and I continue to serve as a trustee for the Community Chest of Leonia. I’m currently looking for something new that would involve younger people and/or technology. Know an organization that needs help? Let me know. My personal passion is travel. In the past few years it’s been Spain, Cuba, Costa Rica and the topper – three weeks in China. Absolutely fascinating. And that doesn’t include the domestic trips.”
Hoodie Crescent: Fabric Designer/Quilter (August 2013)
Hoodie continues to design fabric, and recently attended the annual Quilt Market in Houston. “Since the interview, I joined Rotary of the Palisades and designed all their marketing materials for Leonia Oktoberfest. That included mugs, T-shirts, posters, and all signage. I am also redesigning their website. My son Zento is a sophomore in college.”
Fumio Mike Ito: Musician, Co-founder Leonia Jazz Jam (June 2012)
Mike continues to play guitar at the Second Friday Jazz Jams at the Leonia Presbyterian Church. “Every year, my wife Hoshiko and I visit Japan to see family and friends. One of them is Mr. Tsuneyuki Shimizu, who we used to play Peter, Paul & Mary’s songs together when we were college students. When we visited Japan in September 2012, he arranged to have a concert to play these songs at his church. On our recent trip to Japan, we performed two more concerts. Although many Japanese cannot understand the lyrics, they understand the feeling the songs evoke.”
Paul Del Corral: Performance Artist/Musician (September 2013)
Paul teaches circus arts at Next Step Broadway in Jersey City. He will also be teaching classes in Paramus in 2015. He and fellow Leonian, Michael Fishbein, often juggle together and recently performed at Leonia Oktoberfest.
Eliza Kurtz: Emmy-award winning Freelance Producer and Editor for MLB and VH1 (August 2012)
“All is well but I traded in my 1920s Leonia Craftsman Colonial home on Glenwood Avenue for a mid-century modern on three acres in Garrison, NY. My daughter Haley is a senior in college and I had been itching for a house in the country. I will always think fondly of my Leonia friends and all the kind people who welcomed us there when we first arrived. Meanwhile, I’m editing a show called “Hawaii Life” for HGTV, and hoping the Mets will get some magic back in 2015.”
Tom Sullivan: Theater Designer (October 2012)
“In July of 2013, I left Hudson Scenic Studio after 16 years to work as a Senior Project Manager with Rose Brand Inc. Rose Brand is North America’s largest supplier of fabric, hardware, paint, production supplies and custom built soft goods and curtains for theatre, film, television and industrial production. Recent projects include the blue monologue curtain for the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, draperies for Julie Taymor’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn and Radio City Music Hall’s new main curtain. I work with several departments to develop new products and customers. I recently traveled to Taiwan to consult with a customer who is building a performing arts center.”
Gina Masland: Musician (December 2011)
“I’ve moved back to my birthplace, Sweet Home Chicago, and falling in love with the city all over again. While it’s wonderful to be close to family and friends here, I certainly miss the dear friends I made in Leonia. As always, I’m grateful that music continues to be a part of my life.”
Lorraine Massie: Hairdresser/Author Curly Girl (August 2014)
“We are currently updating our home in Leonia and will hopefully be living back in it by Christmas. On a personal note, on October 15th, some of my family members celebrated our fathers 91st birthday in the UK. This was technically my 1st birthday with him after finding and reconnecting with him earlier this year. He is meeting many grandchildren and great grandchildren for the first time too! Professionally, the foundation I am proud to support, ‘Keep A Child Alive,’ raised over $2.5 million at the annual KCA Black Tie Ball on November 1, with all proceeds helping and benefitting thousands in need of HIV treatments, care and food.”
O.J. Sikes: Retired UN Worker, Cowboy Music Radio Broadcaster (February 2014)
“I am still broadcasting western music. The interview we did closed with a reference to plans to take my young grandsons into the city to a concert a cowboy friend of mine was to give at the Met, when the museum was opening a display of Western art. We followed-through, and the boys had a ball! The other day, the 4 year-old asked if I had a cowboy rope and said, “Granddaddy, when can you take me out West?”
David Braun: Yiddish scholar and Leonia Historian (June 2013)
“Since my interview, I made good on my public vow to be a regular at the Leonia Swim Club. In 2013 I built up my stamina and commitment, and in summer 2014 I went nearly every day to swim a mile. In Leonia’s civic life, I was appointed a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Economic Development Committee. I remain Borough Historian and co-administrator of the Facebook group “I Grew Up in Leonia,” which grew from around 1,100 members at the time of the interview to over 1,450 now. In the context of Yiddish language and culture, I was interviewed for the Jan 1, 2014, issue of the New York Times, and this summer I became co-president of the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center, a venue of long standing in the Bronx that hosts public events in Yiddish. I also learned to read Korean adequately to navigate any north Jersey Korean restaurant menu.”
Donna Racik: Prompter at the Metropolitan Opera (May 2011)
“I was featured in a New York Times article on the Met orchestra in May 2014 and adjudicated the Margot and Bill Winspear competition at the University of North Texas. I taught master classes at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music, using techniques for Eden Energy Medicine to lessen performance anxiety and increase focus in study. I’m finishing my coursework and requirements as an advanced Eden Energy Medicine practitioner and have begun studies in ortho-bionomy. I was a speaker at Patrons of the Met in October and at the National Educators Conference at the Met.”
Chris Rainey: Author, Poet, Minister (December 2013)
Chris is now working as an instructional designer at UPS. “I still take walks at Flat Rock Brook Nature Preserve, but am concerned about the recent proposal for bow hunting of deer there and how that will affect my walking and praying there. My family took the free Ed Koch Queensboro (59th St) Bridge into Queens on two occasions to see Mets games using the Outer Roadway this summer. We have lived in the area over 20 years and just learned about this. Now I live in regret for all of these years paying the toll at the TriBoro Bridge.”
Jim Guyot: College Professor (August 2011)
We continue to ping pong across the Pacific as we transition leadership of the Burmese Pre-Collegiate Program to a younger generation, graduates of the program who have graduated from U.S. liberal arts colleges. They and their classmates face a fascinating demand for culturally congenial returnees with a modern education to a society newly opened to democracy and hungry for foreign investment. Dotty and I recently moved to Santa Clara where we share a house with our daughter and her family. I have not found the same density of musicians (in Leonia one out of every thousand men, women and children is an oboist), or writers, or theater folk.”
Alison Miller: Dancer, Singer, Actress (May 2014)
Alison continues to develop her passion for dance through her intensive studies in NYC. She teaches yoga and movement to adults and kids and is committed to offering affordable classes to her community. She was recently seen in the Players’ Guild production of “Kiss Me Kate. “Please visit my FB page “Spirit Dance” and take a further look at my fervent endeavor.”
Hans and Ellie Spiegel: Community Activists (November 2013)
“We still live in Leonia and we continue to flourish in its support as we grow older. We love being greeted by name. We love being recipients of vegetables from the community garden. How can we keep believing that one day we will have a more peaceful and just world, we ask ourselves. Immigration reform was promised but alas, nothing happened. And the U.S. military involvement in the Middle East has been drastically expanded. Doing nothing is not the answer and so we continue to vigil for peace each Sunday and work with CoFiA (Community of Friends in Action), helping our local day-laborers find work, medical care, learn English and press legislators for immigration reform.”
Leonia Lives 