Letters A Shared Irish Heritage
You are to be commended not only for the professional magazine, Irish America, which you have so ably published these many years but also for the unique manner in which you periodically gather together so many successful Irish and Irish Americans. (I was fortunate to be invited to your Business 100 lunch by my son, Sean Flanagan, who was one of your honorees.) As a former marketing executive I recognize how Irish America has created a catalyst or unique forum which provides your honorees the opportunity to forge bonds of friendship, establish possible business relationships and, above all, bask in the glory of a shared heritage.
John P. Flanagan
Red Bank, New Jersey
G-Mack
Thanks for the great article on Gerry McNamara and especially my hometown, Scranton. The memories came floating back. My Dad went to Holy Rosary back in 1906 or ’07 and Stirna’s restaurant, mentioned in the article, was a big name in our family. It’s a great place and the food is also great. I was there last year for my cousin, Eileen O’Malley McNish’s funeral. Some of my happiest memories are of growing up in the ’40’s and ’50’s in Scranton. I still go back for Tech Reunions.
Cecilia Davitt Thomas
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Cate’s Doorstepping!
Will you please explain to your readers the meaning of doorstep used as a verb? I am referring to Louise Carroll’s excellent and interesting interview with Cate Blanchett. On the left column of p. 38 she says, “I could never have done the doorstepping stuff she did.” Later talking about the gangster Gilligan she says, “Guerin had doorstepped him.” Just trying to keep you honest!
Joseph P. Swords
East Meadow, New York
Louise Carroll responds: To clarify, in the UK and Ireland, to ‘doorstep’ is to arrive at someone’s house or place of business without an appointment to ask questions. Usually a journalist or photographer will doorstep a public figure. This is a tactic that has been popularized by an Irish-American filmmaker, Michael Moore, whose documentaries are based on doorstepping people.
Bing Was Best
Thank you for the wonderful article and long overdue “redemption” of Bing Crosby (Oct./Nov. issue). I am 51 years old, grew up in the Woodlawn section of the Bronx (parents were from Monaghan and Longford) and like my friends listened to all the great rock and roll of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. However, I have always had a great appreciation of the music that my parents’ generation enjoyed. What surprises me is that whenever there is a discussion about the great performers of that era, Bing Crosby, the greatest of them all, is forgotten. Yet, if you read the biographies of any of the great singers of the second half of the 20th century, whether it be Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Eddy Arnold, Mel Torme, or Tony Bennett, you will find that they all were greatly influenced by Crosby. Tony Bennett said, “Crosby was bigger than Elvis and the Beatles put together.” So why is it that the public and it seems, the media, is so ignorant to all this?
Crosby was number one at the movie box office for seven straight years (1943-49). He was a number one recording artist and number one on the radio simultaneously. Nobody else, before or since, has ever been close to that. He has sold well over a billion records, more than twice as many as Frank Sinatra. Yet, if you were to mention Bing’s name at a party or to a group of people under the age of 55 or 60, I’ll bet that most people would merely remember him for “White Christmas.” At my wedding several years ago I gave the disc jockey some Crosby to play (I knew darn well that he wouldn’t have any) and it was amazing how many guests asked, “Who is that singing?”
Sinatra recorded over 100 of Crosby’s original hits. Bing had 41 number one hits, while the Beatles had 27. Elvis had 19 and Sinatra just 14. I rest my case.
Sylvester McGinn
Received by e-mail
Remembering Henry
Thank you for the honor of naming me to Irish America magazine’s Business 100 list and for including my profile in your magazine. It is particularly gratifying for me to learn of this honor in the year that Ford Motor Company celebrates its centennial anniversary and we remember the legacy of my great-grandfather and succeeding generations of the Ford family.
I greatly appreciate your good wishes for my success, and I am happy and proud to accept this award. The Waterford crystal harp will be a special keepsake for me in a year filled with many wonderful remembrances.
All my best. And, again, thank you for this honor.
Bill Ford [William Clayton Ford]
Chairman/CEO
Ford Motor Company
Dearborn, Michigan
Editor’s Note: While it’s unusual for us to print letters from our Business 100 honorees, we thought Ford’s mention of his great-grandfather, Henry, whose father was born in Ireland, was noteworthy.
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