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Vol. 36 No. 50
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Remembering Pearl Harbor
King Center wins federal grant for special tax clinic By CHRIS ColUCCI ccolucci@liherald.com
Alice Moreno/Herald
City Manager Dan Creighton and Sheena Curry, MLK Center chairwoman, earlier this year, with another recognition for the center.
Long Beach’s Martin Luther King Center, now under the leadership of board chair Sheena Curry, has been awarded a grant of nearly $150,000 by the federal government. The money will be earmarked for the creation of a specialized financial clinic that will offer the community free tax planning, preparation and guidance. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics are a nationwide network recognized by the Internal Revenue Service that provide professional tax assistance at little to no cost. They are intended to help those with limited incomes, and those for whom English is a second language, navigate tax challenges and disputes with the IRS. LITCs were created in 1974 — the nation’s first clinic was hosted by the Hofstra University Law School — and the program has received federal funding annually since 1998. The MLK Center grant is part of a total of $26 million that will be divided in varying amounts ContinueD on page 3
Nicholas Knox, who ‘made friends with everyone,’ dies By CHRIS ColUCCI ccolucci@liherald.com
Well-known Island Park resident Nicholas Knox died peacefully of natural causes in hospice care on Nov. 26, at age 97. The United States is home to nearly 3 million nonagenarians — those 90 and older — but this longtime local was an authentic one in a million. Born in Manhattan, Knox enjoyed childhood vacations at a summer residence on Wisconsin Street, in Long Beach, and spent his formative years attending local schools, including the now defunct Magnolia School. Like many men of his era,
Knox went to work at an early age, starting at 14 in a bowling alley on Edwards Boulevard. He eventually settled into a career as a theater and television stagehand with the Local One union, working from 1947 until his “unofficial” retirement in 1991 — though he continued to stay active until he “officially” retired in 2017. “He had so much energy,” said Knox’s wife of 73 years, Mary Knox, 94. “Five hours of sleep was plenty. He was a very charismatic person. He made friends with everyone, and could even remember their middle names.” Knox’s work with stage and
H
e’d tell us stories about when Long Beach was only dirt roads.
BIll HoUSToN, A.K.A. MR. BIlly Bartender, Shine’s screen actors ranged from Carnegie Hall and the Winter Garden Theatre to TV programs such as “The Honeymooners.” After decades of working with some of the
entertainment world’s elite, he had plenty of tales to tell, which he did with enthusiasm, often while relaxing at a Long Beach watering hole. “He told stories about working with Jackie Gleason and Judy Garland,” Bill Houston, a bartender at Shine’s who is known as Mr. Billy, recalled. “Everybody loved him. He’d tell
us stories about when Long Beach was only dirt roads. He was coming to Shine’s since the 1940s. I served him myself for 34 years.” Whether he was visiting the Knights of Columbus hall, Nolan’s Pub or Shine’s, Knox became more than just a familiar face to many over the years. ContinueD on page 4