When I lived in Garfield Heights, I served on five different organizations, president of four of them. Knights of Columbus, the Kiwanis Club, the Garden Club and the Overall Committee it was called at the time. I was singing at St. Peter and Paul Church, and from there I went to St. Therese Church, where I sang for about 40 years.

My wife and I then moved to Solon. Our kids wanted us out here to be closer to them. Plus two brothers and a sister and children were living here. My wife recently died. July 14, Bastille Day, would have been our 71st anniversary.

How did you meet your wife?
I met her in 1925; we married in 1931. She had about seven or eight guys after her. Beautiful. When I was courting her, she and her sister would pull the shade down; that meant her father was home. If he wasn't home, I'd sit out on the steps across the street and sing to her. The neighbors would come out and listen to the songs I'd sing.

How did you get into the clothing business?
My father was a tailor at the United Tailors Company. He had me work in his tailor shop every day after school. I used to walk from 55th and Scovill all the way to 66th and Euclid after school every single day to help him. I was a first-class clothing presser; it was something I could brag about (chuckles). For a men's jacket, you had to have four different machines to press it.

Then I got a job at Joseph and Feiss and Co. and later at Bartunek and Company. It was the Second World War; they were making all kinds of clothes and uniforms. We worked on the second floor; downstairs men would come in to buy suits. I used to sing while I was working. I remember when Mr. Bartunek came upstairs and asked me to shut up. So I stopped singing, and the guys said, "Hey what's the matter with you? Sing!"

Later I opened my own dry cleaning shop. I was 67 when I quit working full time there, though I kept involved with it until I was 80. My grandson Ronnie took it over.

Did you sing as a young man?
Yes, I did. I was in several choirs. When I was at East Tech, I sang in their choir. But I was also in the ROTC-East Tech was almost like a college.

I was on the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union Choir. We used to travel to a few places around the country to entertain. I was secretary of the local union, the joint board and the grievance board at the same time! Didn't get paid a dime for it (laughs). I also sang at Cain Park (in Cleveland Heights) quite a few times.

How did you get an interest in singing?
My mother was a powerful soprano. It was just something that came to me.

Do any of your brothers and sisters sing?
Yes, two sisters have really good voices. One sang professionally in a restaurant.

Did you sing to your children when they were little?
My sons sang in the choral group with me when I sang for the union.

What kinds of songs do you sing now? All kinds; operatic . I have learned over 200 songs by heart. Let me get my list: "Oh Pal How I Miss You Tonight," "Just a Song at Twilight," "I'm Alone Because I Love You," "You Were Meant for Me," "Because of You," "Always . " (starts singing): If I had my way, dear, forever there'd be a garden of roses
For you and for me.

And .

If you were the only girl in the world, and I were the only boy, Nothing else would matter in the world today, we could go on loving in the same old way..

No .
Oh, so many beautiful songs: "When you and I were 17." I've got so many. I don't know how I learned all these songs; I just heard them and started singing them.

Did you sing in the bath?
Yeah, I'd sing in the bathtub and open a window and the people down there on Force Avenue would come out on their porches and listen. I used to sing arias from operas, all that stuff. I know the English and the Italian arias.

Did your parents play the arias?
No, I just listened to the radio, and I know it from the music sheets. I went to a voice instructor, too, and brought home some sheet music.

At what point did you start singing at nursing homes?
About 30 years ago, when Rocco Scotti approached me. He heard me sing in Garfield Heights one time. I was still working at the dry cleaning place; I was about 65. I joined four choirs with him. Now I direct the two choirs. One choir is the Lakeshore Golden Age Center. The other one is on the west side at Gunnings Place Nursing Home.

Did your wife sing with you?
No, she couldn't sing, but she knew all the songs. I used to take her right along with me when I went to all the nursing homes.

When you go into the nursing homes, how do the people respond?
They can't wait till we come back. Sometimes the women come up to me and kiss me on the cheek. We sing 25 or 30 songs for them. Sometimes Jewish songs, sometimes Italian songs. You just can't hear those songs anymore.

Before we start, I always tell them to join in, and they sing right along with us. The nursing home engagements stop in the summer and start in September. But I go to at least two or three during the week at other times of the year.

Are the people in the nursing homes surprised to find out your age?
Oh, yeah.

Are the people in the choral groups younger than you?
They all are. There's one guy who's 90.

Do you ever think about your age?
No, I really don't. They ask me how do you stay so young? I tell them "No smoking, no drinking and no women." And they laugh.

I understand you have painful arthritis. Do you stand when you sing?
The arthritis is terrible, and I stand most of the time. Sometimes I sit down and my back is to the audience because I'm directing the choir. But when I sing solos I get up and face the audience. I've had it for quite some time, close to 50 years. I used to plant everything in my garden, and then it started. I was singing at the Holy Name church choir, but I can't get up those steps anymore.

But that has never stopped you or made you feel like you couldn't go out and sing. Oh, no.

Do you feel like your healthy aging is due to your family, or to your attitude and lifestyle?
It's definitely in the genes; my youngest sister is 78. But as for the arthritis, my mother had it, too. She lived to be 86. My father died after an operation; he was in recovery and they neglected him. He died when he was 68. My aunts and uncles all lived into their 90s.

You're an avid believer in no smoking or no drinking. What about doing exercise?
No, I never exercise. I can't; I wish I could. When I was younger I did more.

What other activities do you do?
This is it; it keeps me busy.

Who shaped your overall attitude towards life?
Well, I was the oldest of eight kids. I had to learn how to cook, learn how to give the kids their baths, take them to the toilet, wash their filthy clothes on the scrub board in the basement-you know, they didn't have washing machines then. And I can make the best spaghetti sauce you've ever tasted. The monsignor from my parish told me I should open up my own restaurant.

Are all your brothers and sister still living?
One brother died when he was 84; he had problems with his colon. He just wouldn't go to the doctor until it was too late. All the others are still living.

Where are you singing tonight?
I'm singing the national anthem for the Solon Council meeting. Next Wednesday I'm singing at the Garfield Heights Home Days, which I've done before. I start with the national anthem. The mayor is standing there and he gets me to sing God Bless America. His wife's birthday is in July, same day as mine. A couple of times I shocked him and everybody and sang "Happy Birthday" to her really loud; I blasted it. She was tickled to death. I'm going to do it again this Wednesday.

Any plans for your 95th birthday?
We'll have a gathering for my immediate family, but nothing too big. That's because we're having a bigger party for my sister, who will be 90 next week.

How did you get a chance to sing at Jacobs Field?
I actually sang once at the old Cleveland Stadium, too. I sang about four years ago Jacobs Field. I was 91 years old at the time. My great-nephew's wife helped get it set up. The day I sang at Jacobs Field was a make-up game, so this was an afternoon game. Two girls helped me get up in the field because I could hardly walk. It wasn't televised.

Were you nervous?
I could sing in front of the biggest crowd you can imagine and it doesn't bother me. That's one thing I'm thankful for. A lot of people get nervous. Not me. I can hold a note longer than most people can count.

Sing something with a long note
He sings a few lines from "O Sole Mio," finishing the last note in an earth-shaking, opera-caliber vibrato that seems to last a full minute.

Wow! You don't think there's anything unique about your age and ability to sing?
Well, it's unusual, I know, but . ?