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MILL POND INN…. Centerport Icon…..
Ah, the Mill Pond Inn in Centerport…. (Now known as the Mill Pond House)
Growing up in Centerport was a highlight…. Happy Days, a new High School in Harborfields, new friends, fun things to do!!!!
Back when my parents first moved to Centerport in 1955, they discovered the Mill Pond Inn… When my Dad was home from his trips they would go here at least 2 times a week and of course always “dragged” me along. When my Dad would return from a trip (he was a Pan Am Pilot) he couldn’t wait to get back home and have some cocktails and a nice steak dinner at the Mill Pond Inn. The owner, Jerry Griffin and his wife Irene, lived in an apartment upstairs. My parents soon became great friends with them… my Dad would always bring him “trinkets” from his overseas travels which he would proudly display in the restaurant. My parents would “drag” me there and I would eat dinner with them and get driven back home to “study” while they would sit at the Piano Bar and sing the old tunes well into the night…. “Down by the Old Mill Stream”….. “If you knew Susie”… songs like that!
The Mill Pond was our “Home away from Home” … The nicotine was thick on the walls and the dark and cozy atmosphere was inviting to the people who wanted a place to hang out and socialize…
Back in the late 50’s the Mill Dam in Centerport would freeze, allowing a place for us to meet with our friends and drink hot chocolate and skate on the pond. Mill Pond Inn owner Jerry Griffin set up a spot light on the pond and shovel a little spot for us and light the skating area. They would build a little fire and provide Hot Chocolate for all the kids. There we would meet our friends and skate and have a blast!!! Oh what fun this was!!! We are so lucky that we grew up here!!! The memories are unforgetable!!!
This was the BEST place to grow up!!! How lucky are we!!!!
SUBWAY SERIES BATTING HELMETS from 1988….
In the Spring of 1988, there was a lot of talk in the New York Sports press about a potential Subway Series in baseball that year since both New York Teams were potentially awesome …
This inspired Huntington Resident and baseball fan Brian Asher to create and develop the one and only Subway Series batting helmet. The helmet consisted of a basic Mets or Yankees souvenir batting helmet to show your team allegiance to which was added railroad tracks, a stadium which was half Shea Stadium and half Yankee Stadium which houses a wind up toy motor. The toy motor had a “driveshaft” sticking out of the top of the stadium to which was attached a plastic rod with a number 4 Subway car on one end and a number 7 car on the other.
When the rod was wound up, the cars would revolve around the stadium on the track. A little apple symbolic of the BIG APPLE was secured to the top of the stadium. The helmet was finished off with decals of the words “Subway Series” in graffiti style writing on either side of the helmet and the names of the Shea and Yankee Stadium stops on their respective sides. There were also decals on the stadium to show details as well as on the subway cars.
Brian’s brother Jerry, a Huntington attorney and licensed Professional Baseball Player Agent enlisted the help of two of his clients, Buddy Harrelson (Mets coach at the time) and Rafael Santana (Yankees shortstop at the time) to make a 30 second commercial which aired on Yankees and Mets games on Cablevision in October of 1988. After a considerable investment in plastic injection molding tools, consulting fees, materials, advertising and office space, “THE ASHER BOYS” were in business!!!
The hats are currently a “collectors Item” ! You can e-mail for information about these hats if interested. sasher@signaturepremier.com
Below is a photo of Buddy Harrelson, Brian Asher, and Raphael Santana………….