Published: February 13, 2007 11:08 pm      

VALENTINE'S DAY: Couple readies for 75th anniversary

Tom Rotondo skipped school as a teen and his parents, who owned a grocery on Summit Street, sent him away to a military school in Kentucky where boys become men.

It was a difficult three years for the Lockport youth, but he looked great in his uniform. That’s what attracted Catherine Snyder. They were married in Niagara Falls, Ontario on April 5, 1932 and this year they’ll celebrate their 75th anniversary.

Tom Sr., 95, and Catherine, 89, make their home just inside the Town of Lockport border on Magnolia Drive. The couple had four children, Thomas Rotondo Jr., Barbara Pool who lives in Burt and Rosemary Sullivan who lives in Lockport. Son Joseph Rotondo died in 1986. Thomas Rotondo Jr. was a five-term Lockport mayor.

Tom and Catherine owned Rotondo’s Grocery on High and Saxton streets, which probably sold more beer than any other store in Niagara County.

The Rotondos, who have 11 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren, plan a small family gathering to celebrate their 75th anniversary. The family had a big 50th anniversary party and Tom and Catherine were blessed by Bishop Henry Mansell, then the head of Buffalo’s Catholic Dioceses, on their 70th wedding anniversary.

“Now we’re gearing up for his 100th birthday.” Rosemary said.

That’s when Tom proudly plans to renew his driver’s license.

Joseph Rotondo, one of the first Italians to settle in Lockport, had a combination bar room and grocery store near Simonds Steel. It was literally the horse and buggy days and he won a pony for selling the most bread. Tom Sr. recalls the buggy would pull the kids in the Summit Street neighborhoods.

The steel workers were frequent customers and would run up a tab at the bar.

“Father had them on the books and would trust them,” Tom Sr. said.

Tom got into a little trouble, however. “I skipped school here and they got mad at me and they sent me to military school.”

The motto of the Kentucky Military Academy was, “Send us the boy and we’ll send you the man.”

“It was a good place,” Tom recalled. “The only thing, you were down there with those rednecks and Southerners who were still fighting the Civil War. They were from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi... They were brutal, those cadets. They used to be wicked.”

However, his Kentucky Military Academy classmates achieved some measure of fame. They included Victor Mature (Samson and Delilah, Doc Holliday) and Jim Backus (Mr. Magoo and Thurston Howell III in Gilligan's Island).

Tom Sr. wore his uniform at home and that’s when Catherine first saw him. According to Rosemary, her mother said, “He was so handsome.”

Contact Bill Wolcott at 439-9222, Ext. 6246.