Guest post: More thoughts on Capt. Bill ...

The following is a guest post by Sharon (O'Malley) Cassidy, Capt. Bill Mooney's first grandchild (and the star of "On the Frontenac, Summer 1939"). Sharon shares some delightful recollections of Cap and his fondness for cigars. We love these stories, and we know you will too. For that reason, we plan on holding Sharon to the promise implicit in her last sentence, namely, that this is only the first installment and that she'll be sharing even more of these memories going forward.😉

Random thoughts/memories of growing up at 1863 Beersford Rd. w Capt. Bill

Capt Bill smoked cigars.

Pre-Castro
Cuban Cigars

My recollection is that the cigars had a pleasant aroma. I liked the smell of them.  I believe they must have been Cuban cigars because when Cap would vacation in West Palm Beach during the winter months, I think he went to Miami (BC—before Castro) to purchase them for himself and his friends because shortly before he was to return home, Mom would field telephone calls from his friends inquiring, “When is Cap coming home?”

As a kid I was fascinated with a large metal ashtray in his bedroom which, more often than not, proudly cradled the remains of an unfinished cigar.  I can still see it…..large, round black metal tray with very bright yellow trim & yellow letters that occupied the space around the rim and spelled out N M H T Y S I I S B.  Thinking it was a word, I would try unsuccessfully to pronounce it until I learned it stood for No Matter How Thick You Spread It It’s Still Baloney.  I learned someone made it just for him.  I would love to know the back story on that ashtray.  I wonder what happened to it.

The Mooney Brothers and their cigars. Standing, left to right: Frank, Charlie, & Bill. Seated: James Leo.(Picture courtesy of Chuck O'Malley. As Chuck points out, Frank owned a cigar shop in New York City.)

During WWII practice Air Raids were conducted at night where all lights were put out. Total darkness reigned!  One warm night there was an Air Raid and we (must have been me, my mom & dad [Bob & Eileen O’Malley], Capt Bill,and possibly my little brother, Bobby) were all on the front porch.  Cap was smoking his cigar.  A Civil Defense person who patrolled the streets during the Raids approached us &  told Captain Bill to extinguish his cigar.  Cap got very indignant & threw the cigar over the porch rail onto the ground.  I later heard the adults say he probably didn’t like the fact that the CD guy called him out and told him what to do.  (I thought the glow from the end of the cigar gave off too much light and a German plane could see it and drop a bomb on us— I was 4 or 5 at the time.)

The ever-present cigar: Frank (left) & Bill Mooney at the Mooney farm in West Park, Ohio.

Often when he was in his bedroom reading the daily newspaper I would pop in, climb on his lap and he would read me the comics or the “funnies’ as we used to call them.  I can remember being fascinated by the veins that were prominent on his hand.  I used to like to run my fingers over them.  I have inherited those hand veins which I dislike but the phlebotomists love.

Sometimes when we asked him to tell us a story, he would always start with the words, “Once upon a time, when pigs were swine and monkeys chewed tobacco….”  Wow, monkeys chewing tobacco, this is going to be a great story, I would think, and I would plead for him to continue the story but it always stopped there.

As I’m walking down memory lane many other thoughts come to mind but I’ll stop here for now.