"I just returned from a trip back
to RI.......we actually stayed down by Westport on Horseneck Beach. Like
usual the food was great. We went to the Country Inn down by Warren the
first night and pigged out on fried clams and red chowder, stuffies and
little necks with garlic and oil. The next day we did a little
exploration down by old Horseneck Road and Akin's Corners. My ancestors
were Swamp Yankees and Quakers on my mom's side, so Westport and that
area was their land in the early days....If I could afford a great
lawyer, I might find that the land that was stolen from the shunned
Quakers in that area, is actually ours. The Quakers supposedly were
great record keepers and it's possible that squirreled away in some
attic, are the deeds that would prove ownership......ha ha ha.....that
would be neat to kick some rich snobs from Boston off that beautiful
land and end up on an old family farm on the ocean. Dream On.
We went to a big family party in Cumberland on the Sunday before the 4th
of July.....my cousin is a Forte by marriage and they have a beautiful
place on Abbott Run Valley Road....lots of food. We checked out Good
Times on Diamond Hill Road ofr snacks later.....My father used to own
that place when it was Mr Lee's Diamond Hill Cafe. It has been a lot of
places over the years. It was Radlo's Bar when my dad bought it and
renovated it into a restaurant. There used to be a big house on the hill
on the right side of the restaurant that was a cider mill in the
1700's.....I lived there from the first grade until I was 16. After we
moved the jamoke that bought the place burned it down and made a bigger
parking lot,
We rode out to the Cape on Monday and spent the day in Newport on
Tuesday the 4th....Newport is pricey but it's a lot of fun to go there
and do tourist stuff. We had some good pub food at Busker's Pub and
caught the world cup semi final between Italy and Germany.....the place
was packed with rich preppy kids from all over so the service was slow
but we had a blast anyway. I put my wife and kid back on a plane to
Florida on Wednesday morning and spent the rest of the day with my
cousin, Sue in Warwick. We had lunch at the Crow's Nest in Apponaug.....they
have the best red chowder in the world!!!
Thursday I had to get on the road early to drive back to Florida.....I
got stuck for three hours in a traffic jam on the Jersey Turnpike."
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(click on photos below for a larger view)
"Over the years RI. produced a lot of good
athletes in every sport, including boxing.
Providence now has a good young boxer that we can all be proud of, Peter
Manfrado.
But I would like tell you about a boxer that I was, and I'm still very proud
of, my good friend George
Araujo. George is no longer with us, but he's someone I love, and have so much
respect for. I'll never forget George, not because of his boxing ability, but
for the good person he was, in and out of the ring. Araujo help me when I was
boxing, and he helped a lot of other boxers. George married a wonderful woman
Francis, and they have great children. George started boxing in the forties,
as an amateur, and later turned pro. Under the management of Frankie Travis,
George went on to become the New England featherweight and lightweight
champion. George fought and beat some of the top contender in both the feather
and lightweight division around the country.
Sandy Sadler, Patty DeMarco, Charley Riley, Joe Brown, to mention a few. Joe
Brown was KO by Araujo, but later on he became lightweight champion. This
might be something boxing fans don't know
about Araujo, is, to get fights with top notch fighters, and a shot at the
lightweight title, George had to take on another manager from NJ. George got a
title shot with champion Jimmy Carter. A few days before the fight, Araujo
developed a bad infection in his big toe, and the infection spread to his
angle. He had a problem putting his boxing shoe on. Frankie Travis went to the
NY boxing commission, and said they had to postpone the fight, because Araujo
could not put weight on his foot. Frankie returned with the news, that George
had to fight that Friday night, Frankie's face was as white as white as a
ghost. Araujo fought, and won every round on all three judges score cards up
to the thirteen round. Araujo was knocked down in the thirteenth, and the
referee stopped the fight as soon George got up long before the ten count.
Makes you wonder. George had a love for painting. I have one of his paintings
hanging in my home. It hangs there to remind me how lucky I am to have been a
friend of, George Araujo."
"You know, I was thinking about growing up
in RI in the 50' and 60's and how unique it was for us. I can't imagine
anywhere else that had the whole state as there "backyard". Someone
mentions Narragansett and I know exactly what they are talking and remembering
about. Or, 7 mile road or Rocky Point or Goddard Park or Clam Cakes and
chowder. We had it good. We had the time of our lives. It's too bad that's
gone but it's great you rekindled that RI spark where we (who are
transplanted) can go home again. You and all your hard work are appreciated."
"Your web site brought back some
fond memories of growing up in RI....hot wieners, clam cakes, Del's, and
coffee milk.
I grew up in East Providence and
went to HS at La Salle Academy. I left RI for college in Maine in 1969.
I have not lived in RI since but still visit regularly to see my family
and a few good friends (from Federal Hill) who attended La Salle with
me.
The great thing about visiting
East Providence with my two children over the years (they are 19 and 17)
is that they both have developed a taste for the same RI delicacies I
enjoyed growing up. When we drive to RI our first stop after going over
the Washington Bridge is the small New York System restaurant on Taunton
Avenue near Sacred Heart Church to get a couple of hot weiners (we call
them gaggers) with coffee milk. After visiting with my mom for a few
hours, we go over to Horton's near Bovi's Tavern and get some clam
cakes. Before the evening is over, we stop by the Del's just past Our
Lady of Lorretta Church to get a couple of medium size lemonades. We
repeat this sequence every time we visit and sometimes multiple times
during each visit. On one hot and humid summer visit we hit
Del's 5x in one day!
I have tried to make gaggers for
my kids several times but I can seem to find the right weiners and just
can't get the sauce to taste the same as the NY System. I'll try some of
your recipes on your web site to see if I can capture that unique RI
gagger taste.
I also have a lot of fond
memories of HS days hanging out on Federal Hill with my friends (Ves,
Larry, Zang, Armond, Tom,.). Unfortunately, I haven't told my kids many
of these stories!"
