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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
·s 93- Year-Old Can Still Entertain· Fellow S·eniors - -- ,. - .. ' - - - · -BY Mary Beth Guylber Jobn Hoffinan J& is a self-described ham. He likes to sing and dances but at 93,. bis health has kept him from dancing too much lately. S1ill, Mr. Hoffman, who lives in Huntington Station with his wife,- Frances, is very much an ente.rtainel:. He bas used bis talents to cheer fellow senior citizens at the Village Green Nutrition Center in Huntington. While he bas cut back on performing, he still helps out when he can. He started coming to the nutrition center about 18 years ago, and be sang and danced for the senior citizens at monthly shows.. A lOngtime music lo1r-er, his soft-shoe- routine got itS start at his Elks Lodge wbere a piano player came to en- tertain regularly. He decided to dress up for the role, so he added a sttaw bat and cane- \the full regalia,\ he noted. He then took his sbow oo the road to the Village Green. \Cecilia\, \Once in Lm-e with Amy\ and \Give Me That Old Soft-shoe\ were 9Jme of his fa verite numbers. But bis taste does have its limits. \No rock and roll, please,\ he said Mr. Hoffman thought his act was popular with older audiences beamse they enjoy seeing someone their own age singing and dancing, and tbey think, ''This is one of ours. Give bim a hand.\ - .. - $ Originally from Brooklyn, Mr. Hoffman is a retired Suffolk ComLty police officer who spent 28 years with the force. He served as a patrobnan first and later · worked also as a juvenile aid officer, visiting various el- ementary schools 1hroogbout the town. He even visited the high schooJ to speak to the older students. He would give youngsters toms of the police station, showing them the fingerpin!ing techniques used and the deten- tion cell, where he said they liked to pretend to be locked up. Years latcrs be still keeps letters from school children tbanting him fOFthese memorable tours. John Hoffman Jr. shows how he used to entertain senior citizens with a soft-shoo routine at the Village Green Nutrf. tlon Center In Huntington. After his retirement in 1969, Mr. Hoffman volunteered for the kinderganen intervention progmm at the Pidgeon Hill School in South Huntington. Retirees came in and spoke to the children about traffic safety, cautioning them to be careful when riding bicycles and crossing streets. seemed to be able to get the children to listen to his ad- ~- Today, being active is very imponant to Mr. Hoffman. He said his spirits stay high \if I'm kept active and I'm allowed to help out here [at Village Green] whatever way they see fit.\ • \I acted as a grandfather,\ he said, noting that he From Own Experience, Teacher Knows How To Help By Mary Beth Guyther Carmen Vega remembers what it is like to be new in the United SlaleS, to not be able to speak the language and to get phone calls ftom her children's teachers, who she aJUld not. undasiand. \I was scared ao go to pkes,\ she re- called. \At the beginning it was very, very difficult to meet people and not be able to say a word ..•• Itss reaDy frighten- ing if you don't know a language.\ In her job as an English as a second language {ESL) teacher at Jefferson Ele- mentary School in Buntingtonll she is helping otlu immigmms!t n:ying ro make it easier for them to adjust to a whole new culture. Mrs. Vega, a resident of Setauket, comes from a family of educators. \I think that I have that in my bloodt she said. A native of Spain, she explained that her father was in charge of of all the school principals in Madrid. She taught the deaf and special educa- tion students in Spain before coming to the United States about 20 years ago. Mrs. Vega •s job does not end when school is over for the day. She visits faJl\- ilies' homes, teaches parents who are il- literate in their native language to read and write, translates documents for them, puts people in touch with agencies when they need food c.· other services, collects clothing for students and drives parents to polling places to vote in elections. She Ellen C'., Be:r:tQw~i'b. -----Attorney at Law ----- Huntington Civic Leader for over 10 Years • Real Estate-Zoning • Environmental Law • Tolvn & Municipal Law • Separation/ Divorce • Wills/ Living Wills/ Health Care Proxies --FREE CONSULTATIONS-- A °Civic-Friendly\ Law Office 780NewYorkAvenue 351 8600 . (Opposite Big-H·Shopping Center) .. also runs the PTA for ESL parents at Jef- ferson. While she admits she did not have some of the problems people coming from Third World countries face today getting housing and food. Mrs. Vega did not have an t>.asy time when she was new here. Even though she had been a teacher in Spain and spoke both French and Span- ish, Mrs. Vega noted that she had to go back to school and start over again in the United States. But she persevered and got her bachelor's degree in teaching Spanish at Stony Brook University. _ When her own children went to school, there were no ESL classes, and she wanted to fill that gap by helping The Cabinets Your Grandmother and Mother Dreamed of Are Here for You Today. other children who did not speak En- glish. So she went on to get her masters' degree, becoming certified in both bilin- gual/bicultural education and ESL edu- cation. Mrs. Vega taught Spanish at Stony Brook University and then became a substitute teacher in Hauppauge before coming to Finley Junior High in Hunt- ington. She said she has taught at all the Huntington district schools (except the newly-established Woodhull Early Childhood Center). This is her fnth year as an ESL teacher at Jefferson School. Mrs. Vega also works with Adelante and La Union Hispanica, two agencies that provide services for the Hispanic SEE TEACHER, PAGE 10 A ugacy of Btallt:; Olfd Unsurpassed Q1miity. Custom Built of select hardwoods. these timeless cabinets a-e available in a varlet¥. of 1inishes to accommodate any room, atrj style. and to make your dream a really. 4E5u ~· JmO~~~~~~ (\'- • • KllUIEN & BAni CABINEIRY ·~ (\ '-J WOOD REFACING \.J F Tues.-Sat 9-5 A DMsioo of R & R Custmn Woodcntl, Inc. 220 East Main Street • Huntin~n M' • 423· 7087 Imctly ~from Marine Midland Bank
