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South Riding Scoop: What’s your claim to fame?
Last week, while dining at Vinatge 51, we began chatting about Donna’s grandfather. Anthony Macerollo, aka Grandpa, worked at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., for 40 years, 14 of which he was the executive chef and served Harry Truman on a regular basis. This got us thinking about all of the interesting family histories that surely lie within our community, South Riding.
Long before Popeye was a TV show, it was a radio program. Stefani’s grandfather was the very first voice of Popeye, and her nephew is the voice of Boots, on "Dora the Explorer."
We sent out a mass e-mail and all of the responses were noteworthy but some were more interesting than others. Russ Ludwig's Great Uncle Earnest, for example, invented the egg carton. What did they do with eggs before there were cartons?
Kristin Flora shared: “My cousin, Craig Mello, won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2006. He grew up attending Fairfax County public schools and graduated from Fairfax HS. He was educated at Brown and Harvard. He is now a professor and researcher at the University of Massachusetts.”
Sarah Steves is a direct descendant of Gov. William Bradford, of Plymouth, Mass. Bradford is credited as the first to proclaim what popular American culture now views as the first Thanksgiving. Colleen Batsakis is the 10th great-granddaughter of Miles Standish, who came here on the Mayflower and was the first commander of Plymouth colony. Colleen also is the 10th great-granddaughter of John and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden. John Alden was the first person off the Mayflower and to have stepped foot on Plymouth Rock. Colleen is also third cousin to Jackie Coogan, who played Uncle Fester on "The Addams Family."
Kim Facey’s mom, Monica Leupold, is a nurse. When she worked at the Mayo Clinic, she helped to take care of Ernest Hemingway.
Steve Pasquale’s story is one of our favorites: “Growing up in Hawthorne, New Jersey, my family lived at 44 Oak Place. Living across the street at 41 Oak Place was the Harry Family. Father Dick, mother Cag, and daughters Martha and Debbie. Debbie Harry was my babysitter. At the time, she was playing in several local bands and eventually got her big break when she formed the band Blondie. So, my claim to fame is that Blondie was my babysitter!”
Tricia Haneghan shared her story: “I was researching my maternal side of the family, the Helm family, and found that they came over from England in the mid-1600s to New York, then came down to Loudoun County (what a coincidence that I’d never heard of Loudoun County until we moved from Illinois to D.C.). The dark side, at least one of them owned a plantation and slaves. One of his slaves escaped and wrote a book about being a slave, including his time on the Helm Plantation. Well before that, one of the Helm men was a Judge. He and his family were brought up on public charges for not fulfilling their religious duties. Basically, they were charged with not going to church! My mother says that’s why I’m a heathen ... it skipped all those generations and finally resurfaced again in me!”
Next time you bump into your neighbor while getting the mail, ask them what their claim to fame is. It just might surprise you (or give you a good laugh)!
E-mail your scoop to southridingscoop@aol.com.
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