During the 1960s and ’70s, Hamilton Beach was a close-knit community that fostered lifelong friendships, as shown by a new memoir.
Hamilton Beach resident Theresa A. Tomeo published a memoir of her childhood days growing up in the neighborhood. The small community comes alive in Tomeo’s book, “The Screen House Kids.”
Tomeo published the book in late June using Amazon’s free publishing tool, CreateSpace. The story follows a group of girls, the screen house kids, growing up in Hamilton Beach during the 1960s. Tomeo spent 10 years writing the book and up until publication, she was adding information into the book. The most significant recent event is Superstorm Sandy, which flooded and destroyed a good part of the neighborhood.
“The whole concept of this book is about this group of friends who would do anything together,” said Tomeo, who is now in her 50s, as her daughter Arlene sat by her. “I wanted people to know that even in this day and age that strong friendships are still possible but you have to work hard towards it.”
The self-published, 250-page book, reads like two grandmothers reminiscing about the past and Tomeo said that is how the idea for the workdeveloped. Tomeo’s daughter, Arlene Arebalo, helped her edit the book and get it published.
“We went through so many revisions that I can’t even read the book anymore,” Arebalo said.
In one part, Tomeo recounts how her group of friends, who she calls the LULAS (Love U Like A Sister), go out on the water one night.
One night they were all hanging out at John’s house. They decided to go out on his boat. While they were out there cruising around the bay they decided to try night water skiing! First Ronny, then Terry! Those idiots were water skiing all around the parameter of Charles Park, IN THE DARK.
That was probably the craziest thing that Terry ever did, but Laurie took the cake for being wild.
In another section, Tomeo writes about her 50th birthday and the “trailer trash” theme. One of the party guests brings a trailer trash doll that is pregnant and when you pull the doll’s chord, it says “Get me another beer, I’m drinking for two.”
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