Dorothy Fieg Roman Receives Visitors

By Greg Fieg

Dorothy Fieg Roman, 82, received family visitors, including two of her three sons, at her Bridgewater, NJ home over the past weekend.

Having been retired for a number of years, Dorothy cheerfully greeted No. 1 son John Roman, nieces Lisa Fieg and Diana Monaco and nephew Greg Fieg. Earlier in the day she was paid a visit by No. 3 son Mark Roman and granddaughter Jessica Roman.

Dorothy vividly recalled her days as a girl growing up in Oneonta, describing in colorful detail the day of her wedding and her entry-level job as a legal secretary for the late multi-millionaire attorney Al "il avvocato" Ferone and his partner John Steidel. (Steidel's offices are now occupied by another of Dorothy's nephews, William R. Bookhout, of Oneonta and Cazenovia.)

She was misty remembering the funeral of her dad, Lothar Fieg, the moving eulogy of mayor Roger G. Hughes and the Stars and Stipes lowered to half staff over city hall in memorial.

Dorothy told of her father's unsuccessful endeavor to manufacture brass-lined garden boxes which lost him thousands of dollars. She remembered passenger service at the train station in Oneonta and the flag man at the grade crossing at Gas Avenue.

Her guests heard about Tony Molinari, the wealthy former bootlegger who lived across the street, and the tiny Pine St. apartment, rented from Wilmer Bresee, that she shared with her husband, the late Robert Roman.

Also among Dorothy's recollections were the conversion of her parents' homestead furnace from rock coal to pea coal, which could be fed into the fire automatically instead of hand stoked. She remembered ice being delivered by horse-drawn wagon and the return of her brothers Bud, Frank and Philip after World War II.

She confirmed a story that had been disputed about Uncle Bud who, sitting at the kitchen table, had a momentary Pavlovian response to the sound of the commonplace Oneonta noon whistle. At its sound he leaped up and bolted outside, the screen door clattering against the doorjamb, as if the whistle signaled an impending air raid. Bud retired from the military as a captain at the end of the war, having flown the P-51 with the Army Air Corps.

Lisa, Diana, Greg and John later repaired to John's 2,000 sq. foot luxurious garden home in an exclusive gated community in Somerset, NJ. Mark and Jessica also stopped by to visit John and his wife, Anne, who set a marvelous table for the entire group.

Those in attendance also decided, a quorum being present, that the next Fieg family reunion will be held in July 2012 in Cooperstown. Susan Williams, who heads our ad hoc accommodations committee, was consulted by telephone.

Aunt Dorothy at the Roman home in 2008 - computer generated graphic renderning. Cute, huh!