STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - TOTTENVILLE
Five firehouse friends started holiday gift-gathering together 40 years ago and have no plans to call it quits By Mark D. Stein
More than 40 years ago, former Brooklyn-based firefighters Michael Deddo, Jim Hynes, Richie Evers, Wayne Ward and Joe Zappia began a Christmas shopping tradition, which they're still carrying on today.
- Shopping during the holiday season is almost always a hassle. But for one group of buddies, it's nothing short of a blast.
Former Brooklyn-based firefighters Michael Deddo, Jim Hynes, Richie Evers, Wayne Ward and Joe Zappia began a Christmas shopping tradition more than 40 years ago and they're still carrying on.
While working in Engine 243, Ladder 168 in Bensonhurst, the Staten Island residents were approached by Evers. He wanted some help as he went shopping for his wife.
"We kind of made fun of him and all that stuff," said Deddo. "Then we went along and had a good time. We've been doing it ever since." The holiday tradition started in 1971 and they shopped at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison, N.J.
"They had a nice sports bar," Deddo recalled. "What we did then was go over there, go to the bar, went to the mall, and then came back to the bar."
Last year, they discussed the fact that they were about to reach the four decade mark. They wanted to do something special for their wives. So for the shoppers' 40th anniversary, Deddo, Hynes, Evers, Ward and their wives (the Zappias couldn't attend) boarded a cruise to the islands of St. Thomas and St. Maarten. It was a Christmas gift for their wives.
The funny part, said Deddo, was that St. Maarten had a bar on the beach called The Firehouse.
"A lot of things happened in 40 years," said the 70-year-old South Shore resident. All of the firefighters were promoted and wound up at different firehouses over time, but regardless, they all remained close friends.
Evers now resides in Florida, which prompted the group to head down to his neck of the woods to go Christmas shopping one year. For the shoppers' 40th anniversary, the men and their wives boarded a cruise to the islands of St. Thomas and St. Maarten. From the left are Pat and Jim Hynes, Mary and Wayne Ward, Rich and Denise Evers, and Michael and Kathy Deddo.
The retired firefighters have plenty of stories from spending holidays in malls and other crowded locations.