Wednesday, April 22, 2009
My father, Vincent "Jimmie" DeLorenzo
Vincent “Jimmie” DeLorenzo, who owned and operated Jimmie’s Camera Shop in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood for 50 years, died Monday at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton after a short illness.
Born in Chambersburg, he was a lifelong Trenton-area resident and business owner. Jimmie’s Camera Shop originally opened in 1954 at 512 ½ Hudson Street, and in the early 1970s he moved up the block to a larger store at 532 Hudson. One of the larger photography stores in the state for many years, Mr. DeLorenzo served countless area residents selling cameras, film, and accessories until he closed the store at the end of 2005. Mr. DeLorenzo was legendary for always keeping his store open on Christmas Day, in case any of his customers had forgotten batteries for their children’s presents or film for their cameras.
Always a hard worker, Mr. DeLorenzo started working in his childhood, shining shoes at Trenton’s downtown hotels and train station. His father and older brothers had started their famous tomato pie restaurant, DeLorenzo’s, in the years prior to World War II. When the war began, Mr. DeLorenzo began working full-time in the family restaurant at the age of 14 and never looked back.
He was honored to serve his country in the U.S. Army both during the later stages of World War II, and during the Korean War. While in the Army, Mr. DeLorenzo became friends with legendary singer Vic Damone, and Mr. DeLorenzo displayed photos of him on his camera shop walls, as well as those of other celebrities who visited the corner of Hudson and Swan over the years as well as the members of his family.
In 1947, he and his late brother, Alexander “Chick” DeLorenzo opened DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, the landmark Chambersburg pizza restaurant that continues to this day. Eventually, Jimmie left the family tomato pie business to start his camera shop. For the past three years, Mr. DeLorenzo had been working several nights per week in the DeLorenzo’s restaurant on Hamilton Avenue as his nephew Rick DeLorenzo’s director of hospitality.
Son of the late Pasquale and Maria DiFilippis DeLorenzo, Mr. DeLorenzo was the brother of the late Alexander, Anthony, John and Pasquale DeLorenzo, and Mary Commini, and the brother-in-law of the late Leonard Commini, Joan DeLorenzo, Frank Santitore and Nicholas Yannuzzelli.
He is survived by his wife Helen Smith DeLorenzo and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Smith, both of Ewing; his son and daughter-in-law, James and Janice DeLorenzo of Philadelphia; as well as his daughter and son-in-law, Bernadette and Michael Burns of Hamilton. Mr. DeLorenzo was very proud of his two grandchildren, Christopher Michael Burns and Erin Catherine Burns of Hamilton.
Also surviving Mr. DeLorenzo are his brothers and sisters-in-law, Joseph and Victoria DeLorenzo, Americo and Elizabeth DeLorenzo, and Raymond DeLorenzo, all of Hamilton Township; sisters and brother-in-law Faye Yannuzzelli of Brick Township, Erminia and Sam Stia of Hamilton Township, and Norma Santitore of Trenton, sisters-in-law Lucy, Lena and Marion DeLorenzo, as well as many brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, cousins and friends.
Popular in both the Chambersburg neighborhood of his birth and the City of Trenton, Mr. DeLorenzo was a member of the Society of San Felese Brotherhood, and an active promoter of the Franciscan Missions. He was a member of the Church of the Incarnation/St. James in Ewing.
The Funeral will be held Friday, April 24 from the Brenna Funeral Home, 340 Hamilton Ave., Trenton. NJ.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. at Church of the Incarnation/St. James, Pennington Road, Ewing.
Burial to follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Hamilton.
Calling hours will be 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 at the Brenna Funeral Home.
Born in Chambersburg, he was a lifelong Trenton-area resident and business owner. Jimmie’s Camera Shop originally opened in 1954 at 512 ½ Hudson Street, and in the early 1970s he moved up the block to a larger store at 532 Hudson. One of the larger photography stores in the state for many years, Mr. DeLorenzo served countless area residents selling cameras, film, and accessories until he closed the store at the end of 2005. Mr. DeLorenzo was legendary for always keeping his store open on Christmas Day, in case any of his customers had forgotten batteries for their children’s presents or film for their cameras.
Always a hard worker, Mr. DeLorenzo started working in his childhood, shining shoes at Trenton’s downtown hotels and train station. His father and older brothers had started their famous tomato pie restaurant, DeLorenzo’s, in the years prior to World War II. When the war began, Mr. DeLorenzo began working full-time in the family restaurant at the age of 14 and never looked back.
He was honored to serve his country in the U.S. Army both during the later stages of World War II, and during the Korean War. While in the Army, Mr. DeLorenzo became friends with legendary singer Vic Damone, and Mr. DeLorenzo displayed photos of him on his camera shop walls, as well as those of other celebrities who visited the corner of Hudson and Swan over the years as well as the members of his family.
In 1947, he and his late brother, Alexander “Chick” DeLorenzo opened DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies, the landmark Chambersburg pizza restaurant that continues to this day. Eventually, Jimmie left the family tomato pie business to start his camera shop. For the past three years, Mr. DeLorenzo had been working several nights per week in the DeLorenzo’s restaurant on Hamilton Avenue as his nephew Rick DeLorenzo’s director of hospitality.
Son of the late Pasquale and Maria DiFilippis DeLorenzo, Mr. DeLorenzo was the brother of the late Alexander, Anthony, John and Pasquale DeLorenzo, and Mary Commini, and the brother-in-law of the late Leonard Commini, Joan DeLorenzo, Frank Santitore and Nicholas Yannuzzelli.
He is survived by his wife Helen Smith DeLorenzo and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Smith, both of Ewing; his son and daughter-in-law, James and Janice DeLorenzo of Philadelphia; as well as his daughter and son-in-law, Bernadette and Michael Burns of Hamilton. Mr. DeLorenzo was very proud of his two grandchildren, Christopher Michael Burns and Erin Catherine Burns of Hamilton.
Also surviving Mr. DeLorenzo are his brothers and sisters-in-law, Joseph and Victoria DeLorenzo, Americo and Elizabeth DeLorenzo, and Raymond DeLorenzo, all of Hamilton Township; sisters and brother-in-law Faye Yannuzzelli of Brick Township, Erminia and Sam Stia of Hamilton Township, and Norma Santitore of Trenton, sisters-in-law Lucy, Lena and Marion DeLorenzo, as well as many brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, cousins and friends.
Popular in both the Chambersburg neighborhood of his birth and the City of Trenton, Mr. DeLorenzo was a member of the Society of San Felese Brotherhood, and an active promoter of the Franciscan Missions. He was a member of the Church of the Incarnation/St. James in Ewing.
The Funeral will be held Friday, April 24 from the Brenna Funeral Home, 340 Hamilton Ave., Trenton. NJ.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. at Church of the Incarnation/St. James, Pennington Road, Ewing.
Burial to follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Hamilton.
Calling hours will be 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 at the Brenna Funeral Home.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Happy Memories of Harry Kalas
My first prefessional sports game was probably my first Phillies game, during the debut season of Veterans Stadium...I was about 9 years old...Hence my life-long love affair with the Phillies...And since that was the first year National Baseball Hall of Fame announcer Harry Kalas joined the team, the voice in my head in Phillies games is usually that of Harry Kalas (with a healthy dollop of my friend and colleague Dan Baker on the public address system)...During my tenure at Villanova University in the athletic department, sometimes "perks" came my way, and the only ones I really wanted were Phillies perks...Somewhere along the line I latched on to a producer who did the San Francisco Giants road games, and was designated as "their" stat guy when they came to the Vet once a year...Sitting in the big main press box, with beat writers and broadcasters I had come to know both through work, and as a fan/listener/reader...One of those particular Phillies/Giants games, there's a massive rain delay, enabling me to take off the headset and visit the men's room...There I am at urinal stall number one, taking care of business...Halfway through, enter Harry Kalas, who proceeds to stand at the urinal next door, looks me in the eye, and in full Harry the K mode, proclaims, "Boy Does This Feel Good!"...It was all I could do not to burst into laughter, I had to finish up my business, wash my hands and stifle the coming explosion until I got back into the pressbox. Laughing hysterically, the guys on the other end of the TV production crew headsets were wondering why I was laughing so hard. Really, I couldn't let on...Later in that series, I remember my friend and colleague Andy Musser, who also did play by play for the Wildcats, bringing me in to sit in the broadcast booth with Harry, Whitey, Wheels and special guest Garry Maddox, because Garry's son was thinking of going to Villanova to play baseball...It was an honor to be with them...Trust me, though, when I tell you that the moment in the Phillies press box men's room with Harry Kalas was the single funniest moment I will always remember at the Vet, on a par with Ed Sfida's Olympic Torch run to the top of Veterans Stadium, the woman at a later Phillies/Giants game in the front row next to the Giants dugout who got hit hard by a foul-ball, taken away in a stretcher, while her husband kissed her on the forehead and went back to finish watching the game. Harry Kalas, who are the Man!...It was always a pleasure to hear him, to see him, to meet him at events like the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association annual awards banquet, and a pleasure to help him get Villanova-Syracuse tickets way back in the day. I will miss him. His career touched generations of fans and families throughout the Philadelphia area. And his work with NFL Films and beyond will be missed (who's going to do the next Puppy Bowl???)...I wish I could have added "Boy does this feel good" the Harry Kalas doll I have with sound card of his memorable calls. It's a memorable one for me! I hope to see him and Whitey together in ther great pressbox in the sky one day.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Memories of April 2, 1984
Coming back to my Villanova dorm room with my parents from a Sixers home game, we learned on the radio of the death of the great Marvin Gaye. It was upsetting; at that time in my youth I was really into his music. I remember writing an appreciation of him and his music for the school newspaper that week. A year later, around that same time, we celebrated Villanova's 1985 NCAA Championship. On April 2, 1985 I was in NYC with a great friend of that time, listening to Marvin Gaye records and...I'll always think of him at this time. And the people I knew in that youthful period of my life.
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Uploaded by Mustafu
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Uploaded by Mustafu
Memories of April 1, 1985
Once in a while I'll get my Villanova Wildcats 1985 NCAA Championship ring out and remember how it all happened. Yes, the victory over Georgetown was incredible. But the stories behind the scenes were even more incredible. For me, a 1984 Villanova grad working full-time in the athletic department, that period of days was bittersweet. A skeleton staff needed to be on campus to support the other teams that were cometing on the campus that weekend. So yours truly, Don DiCarlo, Andy McGovern and maybe one or two other folks didn't make the trip to Lexington for the NCAA Championship. I got to watch the game on Rollie's couch in his office on his TV, eating a great extra cheese pizza along with about a dozen PA State Troopers. I also was able to witness the post-game celebrations at the corner of Lancaster & Ithan first-hand, and field the call from President Reagan's office the next morning with the invite to the White House. Beyond that, I can't say much more. But I remember it well. Fondly. And then there was that other April 1st, seven years later, when it all changed again. But that's a story for another day.
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