About

20 Prospect is the place where I grew up and learned the value of front porch sitting. It’s home to another family now, but 20 Prospect lives on in my mind, and on this website. I hope you enjoy my musings, and reverie. Thanks for stopping by.

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17 thoughts on “About”

  1. I have read about a half dozen of your blogs. When I should be doing some work, I have been distracted enough to read a few of them.

    Some time back, Anthony Bourdain did a small segment about Beef on Weck sandwiches on “No Reservations”. I have not had one in ages, so I googled the term to see if per chance I could find one Locally where I live. Of course, you can’t find one, along with “White Hots”, REAL Pizza and Wings, nor can you find any subs that resemble what you can find at South Side 🙂

    A few images linked to your blog (Pok-A-Dot) come up, and I got side tracked and start reading again, amazing how that happens. Hey what ever happened to the “Checker Board” on West Main? Is it still around? If I re-call, back in the day, they had a decent Beef on Weck too….

    Anyhow, though I am not a critic, nor a person qualified to probably make such judgments, you do seem to have a talent for writing, and I can tell your feelings about WNY, and what not, are genuine.The subject sincerely holds your interest enough to write very thoughtful blogs. Just wondering have you ever considered compiling these into a book or e-book?

    It does not seem that anyone is characterizing life in Batavia and surrounding region with this much thought and analysis, I think this type of expression and contemplation is beneficial to communicate, hard to say if others such as I would be interested, – perhaps you can gauge that from the traffic you get on your site?

    Anyhow, you have brought up some names, places,and events that are uncanny and I think we must have probably crossed paths somewhere. Though I am guessing you must be 3-4 years ahead of me, that is if my memory on the St.Josephs entries are correct on my time line, -brain doesn’t work like it used to.

    I’ll be reading more I am sure,

    Hope all is well for you and your family in Minneapolis…

    J

    Reply

    • I couldn’t agree more! I’m a California girl who moved to Batavia in January of 1975. Quite by accident, my first dinner in my new apartment was delivered by Pontillo’s. I had planned to eat it over three days to save some money and was shocked at myself for devouring it (a medium round) that same night. I was hooked and have been ever since.

      We now live in Nashville but talk always turns to WNY and pizza comparisons. It’s no bueno here except for the upscale versions sold downtown – still no match for Upstate. Sigh . . .

      Superbowl Sunday, my husband and I were home alone, kids now grown and living far away like most. My husband jokingly asked, about kickoff time, “where’s the party?,” a reference to the casual spread we put out year after year when the kids were home. After musing over the idea for a bit, I realized I had the ingredients on hand to at least produce a pizza, if not wings, so I dragged out an old recipe and set out to make sauce and pizza dough. Long story short, I had no idea how much “rise” I would get out of my dough and it turned out more a deep dish than what I expected. It was still edible and I was sufficiently inspired to consider a repeat at some point. Naturally, thoughts turned to Pontillo’s and I wondered, “is it possible someone shared that recipe online?” And that is how I ended up on your blog – completely absorbed in the history and remembering my year in Batavia with joy. Your blog led me to wonder what ever happened to the wonderful neighbor who lived below me in Woodstock Gardens. From there, I enlisted our researcher at work, also a former Upstate resident, and together we uncovered some awesome history about him that I feel shouldn’t be revealed here. Suffice it to say, he said he had mafia connections, and apparently he was telling the truth . . .

      Oh Upstate, how I wish you well.

      Reply

  2. Jeff,
    Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the stories. When I first started writing them about a year ago I figured I’d probably run out of them pretty quickly, but it seems like one memorory just brings up another. Each story I write reminds me of one or two more that I could tell.

    Alas, I can’t find Beef on Weck here in Minnesota either. Although we do have a Pizzeria chain that was actually started in the 70’s by one of the Pontillo brothers. He later sold out his half of the business and moved back to NY. They changed the name to Davanni’s, but kept the recipe the same. So I’m lucky in that sense.

    I’ve been kicking around the idea of an ebook, or vanity press book. A whole cottage industry has sprung up around convincing blogger hacks like myself that they too can be an “author”. Maybe someday I will, but if I do I want to do it right and really put some effort into it. And if I do, I’m sure it will be centered around WNY.

    FYI – In case you haven’t read it yet, native Batavian Bill Kaufman has written a fun set of essays on B-town.

    http://www.amazon.com/Dispatches-Muckdog-Gazette-Affectionate-Account/dp/0805068546

    Peace,
    Tom

    PS – SJS Class of 82.

    Reply

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  6. Doing a little research for my own website, I stumbled upon yours. I like it very much. We have a few things in common as well – both very sentimental, both about the same age, both love front porch sitting. I used to do it with my grandpa all the time.

    Thanks for the distraction.

    Reply

  8. I think we are related…distantly. Raffaele and Margarita (Migliacchio) DeBottis’ daughter Mary Anne is the line my family is through. Mary Anne – sister of Antonio, Rose, Frank and Congetta. Mary Anne married Samuel Van Ditto and they are my second great grandparents. Their daughter, also Mary Anne married John Queirolo and were my great grandparents. They had a daughter Jeannine who married John Drewnowski and they had a daughter Josephine (Jodi) who is my mom. Small world!! Hopefully you get this. Would be great to connect!

    Reply

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