Eleanore Merolla:
CLASS OF 1965
Newfield High SchoolClass of 1965
Selden, NY
Eleanore's Story
Hi,
I attended Newfield High School from 1961 to 1965 and have all my old yearbooks, purchased one each year. They are great fun to look at and I even know some of the people now that I didn't know then. I also have one from Oxhead Road Junior High School!
I got married right after high school graduation and am still married to the same guy-47 years going on 48! We lived in Selden until February, 1988. We had purchased a house there right away and still have it. We decided to rent it out when we moved and have the same tenants since 1989. They are really great people and we are very lucky to have them. We moved to Nesconset and have been there ever since.
We only moved to Nesconset because we found a house there (purely by accident, we weren't looking for one) that really "caught our eye". It is very old (built in 1923) and has a LOT of character. We always get what we call "sightseers" that stop in front of the driveway just to look at it. People even ask if we would like to sell it but the answer is always "NO"! We'll never find anything like it again. It has a gazebo within walking distance from the back door (we use it a lot in the summer), a large piece of property, a three car garage, a very long driveway (I don't like to get the mail in the winter) and an extremely decorative cement wall in the front with iron gates-looks kind of spooky!
All those years, I really wanted a muscle car but never seemed to get one. My husband would just buy a car (we were in the gas station business for a while and we found some nice cars) but never one to my liking. He seemed to always lean toward luxury type cars, while I was still thinking about muscle cars. In 2011, the opportunity presented itself to buy a new car. Well, I never got over the "muscle car thing" and it didn't take me long to decide what I wanted. I chose a 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT in the limited production color "Green With Envy". This is one purchase I will NEVER regret. This car is so much fun! It's the fastest one they make (470 HP out of the factory but we did a few minor bolt-on modifications (catback exhaust-a Corsa from Mopar and cold air intake) which got it up to 512 HP). It is still naturally aspirated. I drive slow so I guess all that horsepower is wasted on me but the car attracts so much attention and people are always asking me about it. Many think it'...Expand for more
s old as it's styled after the 1970 Challenger! When my husband drives it (he has a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland which saves us in the winter as my car is rear wheel drive and not practical for the snow), the Challenger instantly becomes VERY fast!
We have one daughter, Debbie (divorced with one child, a son named Glen, age 11). They live with us and add much joy to our lives. Debbie regularly sells costume jewelry at the spring, summer, fall, and holiday fairs. She takes a short break after Christmas and then gets going again. She also sells some handmade items.
When I got my Challenger, I started going to "hot rod meets" or cruise-ins, as they're sometimes called. Debbie and Glen would go with me. I also started entering judged competiions, and finally worked my way up to First Prize in my category. Debbie and Glen love going to the car events, particularly Glen. Now Glen wants to have his own "hot rod" so he is saving up for one. I think he is torn between an older Chevy or Mustang.
Then my husband caught "the bug". He now has a 1966 Ford Thunderbird and a 1969 Chevrolet El Camino. So he also goes to the shows, etc., unless he is too tired-still working at 70 years old!
As far as pets go, we have 4 cats. Debbie and Glen have a "mutt" named Popeye, some kind of Pit Bull mix but too big to be a pit bull.
So I guess that's about it for now. If something interesting comes up, I'll update!
Update 1-10-2014--Okay, now we have 5 cats, adopted a pathetic little black kitten from the Smithtown Animal Shelter last May. I have read that many consider black cats to be bad luck and don't get adopted as easily as other colors. I think it's nonsense, so I picked up this little "gal" and she is very happy to live here.
Also, the "car thing" is still going strong and I found myself a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am in the beginning of August at a car show in Sayville. It is a "wild" looking car with a custom paint job and a 1966 Pontiac 421 HO (high output) engine that came out of a 2+2. However, the previous owner was setting up the car for racing (I think 1/8 mile) and the transmission and rear end aren't compatible. It revs up too much so we're going to change over from the current 4-speed to an automatic with overdrive. We have been told by the speed shop that this will solve the problem. The car is really "cool" and I love the T-tops!
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