Beacherjun12.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 24, Number 23 Thursday, June 12, 2008 THE Page 2 June 12, 2008 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $38 6 months $21 3 months $13 1 month $6.50 Travels with Charley: Celebrating 91 Wonderful Years with Dominic Farina by Charles McKelvy Dominic J. Farina and I are both May babies, so could say I worked my way from the ground up. I I may as well tell you that I made a point in May to saved my money and dreamed of a better life.” spend some quality time with a living legend of New Dominic Farina has much to be grateful for, espe- Buffalo history. cially as the partner with the former Adelaide Mar- So please forgive the tardiness of this report, and tinal in an “Italian-Swiss Colony” that has, since please know that Mr. Farina made May the merry their wedding day on January 6, 1945, produced month that it is in New Buffalo by celebrating his four successful children – Richard, Mary Ann, Ron, 91st birthday on 05/01/08. and Paul, as well as six grandchildren and an amaz- ing great-grandson named Aden. And he is. “I’m not sure,” he said, “but I don’t know of any other lawyer in Berrien County who’s older than me. I still go to court once in a while, and they’re really nice to me.” Dominic Farina remembers a time when folks were not so nice to Italians and Catholics, but he says his parents remained resolute through many trying times and thus succeeded in establishing a highly successful barbershop in New Buffalo where he began learning the barbering trade at the age of six “by shining shoes and sweeping the fl oor.” When he was eight, Dominic joined his older brothers Rosario and Joe and their father John in shaving customers, and he said he had to stand on a box in order to reach their faces. “And our bar- Dominic Farina celebrated his 91st birthday on May 1 by continuing to practice law. He is certifi ed to appear before the Supreme Court of the ber business is still being carried on by my nephew United State and the Michigan Supreme Court, but he says he currently George Calnin at George’s Barber Shop (at 18 N. does not have any clients who require such services. Whittaker Street).” Although he was born at his parents’ north side Dominic Farina can see it from his second story Chicago home in 1917, the man who certainly has offi ce just as he can see the many changes to the to be Berrien County’s oldest practicing lawyer said “sleepy little railroad town” of his childhood. on the day after his birthday that he has considered “This was a great place to grow up,” he said. “I New Buffalo his home since his parents brought can remember swimming in the river, and riding him here when he was all of two. home from the Michigan Central station (on Me- In a wide-ranging refl ection of his long, produc- chanic near Whittaker) in a horse and buggy. There tive and healthy life that began on the east side of used to be wild rice growing around the mouth of Whittaker Street in his second fl oor offi ce at Farina the river, and hunters would come home with lots & Wojcik, P.C. and concluded on a fl avorful note on of ducks.” the west side of Whittaker at Brewster’s Italian Dominic Farina played short stop for a New Buf- Café, the son of Sicilian immigrants said he had lit- falo baseball team that traveled on Sundays to face erally climbed from a shoe shine box to certifi cation rivals in Stevensville, Three Oaks, and La Porte, to appear before the Supreme Court of the United and he would have loved to have played baseball States. for what is now called Western Michigan University “I started out shining shoes at my father’s bar- when he attended that “teacher’s college” from 1935 ber shop in New Buffalo,” Farina said. “I guess you to 1939. THE June 12, 2008 Page 3 Open ‘til 6 p.m. Evenings Little House Fashions Women’s Casual to Dressy Fashions in sizes 4P to 24W Missy - Petite - Women’s SIDEWALK Dominic Farina was one of only eight graduates from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1942. He is third from the SALE upper right in the photograph. But the baseball coach had his favorites, and so when the wrestling coach recruited the muscular June 13th & 14th young man from New Buffalo, he signed on and wrestled with distinction for Western. Everything outside will be 1/2 price and more! Most items will be as low as $10.00 each! Summer clothing, fall clothing, red, white & blue items, quilted purses, Crabtree and SO MUCH MORE! $10.00 Tuesday Shop Tuesday, June 17th and When he wasn’t working his way through what is now Western Michigan receive a $10.00 coupon for every University, Dominic Farina was winning matches for the wrestling team. He is pointing to his team picture. It’$50.00 you spend to be used on s a Although he doesn’t wrestle anymore, Dominic PENDLEPfuture purchases in June. Farina said he’s feeling quit fi t at 91, and he said his secrets to longevity include never having smoked TON and a lifelong diet of Italian cuisine. Select groups of Pendleton, Bleyle, And, of course, his long and happy marriage to Blast and summer sweaters are his Swiss-American wife Adelaide. And as to how they met, we will leave it to Valpo now 25% off! Lawyer to tell. As reported in the Winter 2001 edi- tion of the journal of Valparaiso University School of Law: “While attending Law School, Farina met Ad- Little House Fashions elaide Martinal, a native of Valparaiso who worked 409 Alexander Street, LaPorte, IN downtown as a teller at Farmers State Bank, which (219) 326-8602 or Toll Free (877) 711-5980 is now Bank One and doing business in the same On Hwy 35 - 5 Blocks South of Lincolnway location. He was smitten by her good looks but Turn right on Alexander couldn’t muster up enough courage to ask her for [email protected] www.littlehousefashions.com a date. Monday-Friday 10 am to 6 pm Saturday 9 am to 4 pm Farina Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 June 12, 2008 Farina Continued from Page 3 the town only had one other lawyer before me. It ‘The summer after I graduated, I returned to Val- was a small general practice. We didn’t focus much paraiso to visit my good friend Dr. Mike DeGrazia on criminal law because there wasn’t any demand who was a dentist,’ Farina explains with fond mem- for it.” ories. ‘He gave me a shot and told me to come back in 20 minutes. So I went to the bank and asked Ad- elaide for a date. She said, ‘not tonight but tomor- row night, I’ll meet you here in front of the bank.’ I go so nervous that I went back that night to wait for her outside of the bank. Finally, the police came and took me to jail. I was allowed to make one phone call, so I called Adelaide and asked her why she stood me up. She said, ‘I told you not tonight but to- morrow night.’ It turned out that the incident with the police was all a set-up by my fraternity brothers at the University,” Farina recalls with laughter.” And it was with more laughter that he recalled his service as a commissioned offi cer with the U.S. Army Medical Administrative Corps during World War II. “I served on a ship that had a hospital in it, and I crossed the Atlantic 24 times for Uncle Sam. I pulled teeth, and I almost embalmed a guy, but the funni- est thing that happened was when we were taking some German POWs back to Germany right after the war, and this one German soldier complained of pains in his abdomen, and, being a barber, I shaved Two New Buffalo institutions: attorney Dominic J. Farina, who turned 91 his stomach in preparation to take out his appen- on May 1, and his family’s New Buffalo Savings Bank. dix and there was the scar from an appendectomy And the demands of journalism require at least he had had fi ve years before. So I just gave him a closing mention of Dominic Farina’s aerial exploits double dose of paragoric and sent him on his way.” as a private pilot. He purchased his fi rst airplane And too bad there isn’t way more room in this in 1964, and although he no longer pilots planes, he newspaper to tell of how Dominic Farina “became still loves to go up with his son Richard.