How would you like to have had vocalist Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey’s Band play at your senior prom? Well, one special resident, Margaret (Maggi) M., was that lucky lady! Her father had asked her what she wanted for her senior prom and she wishfully told him she wanted Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey to play for her special night. Her dad made a phone call to Frank’s mother, Dolly, and it was all set! But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s start at the beginning.
Maggi was born in 1923 in Hoboken, New Jersey. She enjoyed being the only child until the arrival of her sister, Mary, seven years later. Maggi went to Sacred Heart Academy, where the exciting aforementioned senior prom took place! After graduation she attended the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, New Jersey, but decided after one year that it was not for her. She worked in New York for a number of fashion retailers including Hattie Carnegie, DePinna’s, and Bendel’s. During the 1950s Maggi traveled to Scotland and Europe to visit her sister Mary and brother-in-law Ferdinand (yes, just like the bull).
One day, while back in Hoboken, Maggi accepted her father’s invitation to come visit him at the courthouse where he worked. There she met the famous director Elia Kazan, who was in Hoboken to film his movie On The Waterfront. About their encounter, Maggi remarked that Kazan did not seem too interested, intent instead on what her father had to say. Later that night at dinner her father announced that Kazan had offered him a part in the movie as the court magistrate. Kazan was famous for using local scenery and local talent for his movies and he did just that in Hoboken. Her father’s claim to fame was his courtroom scene opposite Marlon Brando.
Frank Sinatra had become a star by then and would make frequent visits to see his mother Dolly who continued to live in town. Maggi tells a great story about how Dolly Sinatra would come into the millinery shop that her mother managed to pick out hats to be custom made for her.
In 1967 Maggi married Joe M., also of Hoboken, and they lived in Hoboken until 1991. Maggi and Joe then downsized to a condominium in North Bergen, New Jersey. Sadly, Joe passed away in 1992. In 2004 Maggi decided she wanted to live closer to the Jersey shore and packed up and moved. It was there that she met Harry W., who would become her special acquaintance. Maggi’s sister Mary passed away suddenly in November 2015, and her brother-in-law moved into The Highlands several months ago. He persuaded Maggi to join him here at Kensington Park. You will always find Maggi dressed to the nines, with matching shoes for her outfit, and her hair brushed and ready to go.
We are so happy that Maggi has become part of our Kensington Park family!
October 14, 2018