Saltaire Romances-From Mike and Josephine Coffey to the present day

COSMO SEZ:

My mother, Georgiana Hull, suggested I make a post on Saltaire Romances. I immediately decided to limit the post to just those romances that have survived the test of time. No one wanted to see the Saltaire Blog turned into a gossip column, and there isn't enough space on the web to cover all the Saltaire Romances. Even more important, in the interest of protecting the health and personal well being of the Blogmasters, there are many stories that the parties, their parents, children and grandchildren would not want told until after they have passed on. Hence, this post shall be limited to those Saltarians who met their life mate on Fire Island. I will note the Romances I remember, but let all feel free to post comments with the many I miss.

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Saltaire Romances started from Day One:

Mike and Josephine Coffey: From
Dublin and Salthill to Saltaire:


Josephine was from Dublin:

“In Dublin’s fair city the girls are so pretty...
-- “Molly Malone," Folk Song

Mike was from Galway.

As a kid, he must have walked the streets of Galway City, and Salthill on Galway Bay, capital of the wild romantic west of Ireland. This was a time when folks dreamed about leaving that terrible beautiful country. They had no choice. All you needed was a few pounds for passage in some smelly steerage hold, a yearning for freedom, and hope about building a future...

And from the west of Ireland, comes that fear and love of the sea:

If you ever go across the sea to Ireland,

Then maybe at the closing of
your day,

You will sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh,

And see the sun go down on Galway Bay

(Folk Song)

.
No, they never met in Ireland, Mike and Josephine. Dublin was east and Salthill was west and never the twain would meet. Not in Dublin. Not in Galway, not in Salthill. Not until:

Saltaire:

Teegan takes up the story from there:

"My grandfather Mike Coffey was from Galway and my grandmother Josephine was from Dublin.She came to Saltaire a "domestic" worker. As the story goes my grandfather fell in love at first sight with the hapless looking younger sister of his friend's wife. Josie was quite a cook and fed the masses of workers that Grandpa had working for him way back when.

(ed note:

As she wheeled her wheel barrow,
through
streets broad and narrow,
Crying cockles and mussels a-live a-live
Oh
A-live, a-live oh, a-live a-live oh,
Crying cockles and mussels a-live
a-live oh

"Molly Malone"

There are not many pictures of Josie, and the ones that do exist portray her as a much sterner character then the stories tell. –

--- Teegan

Our Lady Star of the Sea, Saltaire.

(Ed Note: most of us never knew Josephine Coffey, but we saw her name in church every Sunday.

(Ed. note: So The Coffeys met in Saltaire and built their home on the Great South Bay.

I wonder if sometimes at sunset on Bay Prom, Saltaire:

"They saw the sun go down on Galway Bay"

.
(JOH)

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COSMO ADDS:

Oliver Hull, Sr. and Georgiana McGill (ie my parents) Met at the Houser House,
Ocean Beach c. 1946

Oliver "Cosmo" Hull and Carolyn Roach Met at Le Dock c. 1985 Introduced by Ted Friend.

Barry Wetherall and Merry Aherne

Patsy O'Hare and Harry Scanlan

Terry McGown and Suzzane Klagsburn

Florence McManus and Ted Gibson

Dan Weinlandt and Carol Scott

Geoff Meluso and Eugenie Chefetz

Frank and Jeannie Jessup

Joyce Vollbract and Larry Cole


Tom Keegan and Anne Coffey


Kenny Savelson and Lexi
Kenny Savelson sez: True, true - Kenny Savelson met his wife Alexandra (Lexi) Hartmann in Saltaire in the early 80s. No real matchmaker per se but a shout goes out to Liv Hempel, Lexi's aunt, who hosted Lexi during those summers back in the early 80s when she visited from Germany, and continues to host us all today! And, my sister Kim Savelson and Todd Wright are yet another Saltaire duet.
- Kenny Savelson


Liz Kelly and Rich Wilde


Kathy Shea and Robby MacAdam


Billy Newman and Jane Wetherall


Steve Latham and Lea

Peter Langdon and Darcy Heurtematte

Pete Notaro met his wife Erin at the Kismet Out one fateful night in 2001.


I'm sure there are many more.


Harry Scanlan Jr. adds: "You can add Kathy Shea and Robby MacAdam to the couples list as well as Billy Newman and Jane Wetherall."

Saltaire Historian III Eliz Starkey reminds us about:

David Ludlow first spotted the lovely Catherine on the Saltaire dock when the ferry pulled in. She was the deck hand......Check this out with David and Catherine.

--Saltaire Historian III

JOH adds:

Steve Latham chimed in. Thanks for the help, Steve:

Steve Latham met his wife of 16 years, Lea, at Saltaire. She was a childhood friend of Claudia Weitzeman from their winter home in Locust Valley. Claudia's family owns the house on the SE corner of Harbor and Pacific, and has known the Lathams for generations. She and her sisters and cousins acted as successful match maker.
-S. Latham


now Bulkhead 2b adds to the string (This is how blogs work)

bulkhead 2b said...
over 80% of the Bulkheads (the softball team) met their significant others on Fire Island.
March 3, 2009 3:17

From Mike McAllister, the names of the Bulkheads that met their significant other on Fire Island:

Andrew Karp (CF) first met his wife Lauren on the Couch of Reggie Bernstein at her house on Lighthouse in the late 80’s
Jon Metzler (3B) first met his wife Lorna who was working the stick at the Yacht Club mid 90’s
Pia Notaro (SF) met her husband Steve Carroll (P/1B) at Jon and Lorna’s wedding.
Brain Feely (SS) and his wife Jeanie shared a house in Kismet in the late nineties I can’t confirm if met her there, we can quibble if this a “saltaire romance” but they are homeowners now.
Thomas Holton (RF) saw is wife for the first time at the Kismet Out but that is as far I will go.
Michael McAllister (2b) met his lovely wife Danielle during one of Ralph Pearlberger’s pick up soccer games in 2001.
Melissa Karp (SF) knew her husband to be David Smith (C) for years as he was a friend of Chris Metzler

Other notables

Peter Langdon and Darcy Heurtematte
Pete Notaro met his wife Erin at the Kismet Out one fateful night in 2001.

See also our post "Saltaire is for Lovers":
http://saltaire38.blogspot.com/search?q=lennon (JOH)

My sincere appoligies to Steve "I" Latham. I had no idea he met Lea in Saltaire, but that is why this Post is up.

New addition: Bob Wright and Louise Corea.

Please feel free to add to this list. It will surely grow.





JOH: Up to the plate steps Teegan from Vermont:





Another romance that survived the test of time..Anne Coffey Keegan and Tom Keegan..they met as kids in Saltaire. Her dad the infamous Mike Coffey and his uncle, Michael Prior was a village worker. Uncle Michael was a village worker and lived over by way the "dump" is now. He brought my dad to the beach to work for summers..give his sister some relief and give the boys some "salt-aire". Daddy and mom's brother were friends and my mom tagged along as pesty younger sisters do. My father would say he knew first time he saw her that she was the one..it took mom many more years to figure that out. They did not get marry in Saltaire but rather in a little church in Sunnyside named Queen of Angels....( another aptly named Sunnyside icon)



Terry Keegan

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New additions:

Robby MacAdam and Kathy Shea

Billy Newman and Jane Wetherall