The Story of Sinatra and Hoboken and What Went Wrong By Anthony De Palma, Jr. Epilog 2 - He Did Come Back Editor's note: But, of course, Sinatra did come back - twice. The first time was in July 1984, when he joined President Ronald Reagan for a visit to the St. Ann's feast. Mark Giordano, a 30-year-old sales manager with AT&T was there. "My father was the Hoboken Director of Public Safety at the time, and he was in charge of local security for the President's visit. There were rumors flying around that Sinatra would be with Reagan, but only the security people knew for sure and they weren't telling. Well, the limo drove up, the President and New Jersey Governor Thomas Keane got out, and the President stepped back almost as if he were saying, 'And now presenting...' Then, Sinatra got out of the car, and the crowd went bonkers. People were hugging him and kissing him and crying." Sinatra didn't stay long, however. When the President went into the school auditorium for a speech, Frank walked back by himself to where the limo was parked, on Sixth and Madison, and left. Former City Councilman Sal Cemelli met him along the way and asked where he was going. As Cemelli recalls it, "I asked him where he was going, and he told me that it wasn't his day, it was the President's, and that he was leaving." The second -- and last -- time Sinatra returned to the city of his birth was a few months later, on May 23, 1985, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, the school his mother had once harbored ambitions for him to attend. While he was in town, the campus carillon played "My Way." That night, Sinatra went to Washington, where he received the Medal of Freedom from President Reagan at the White House. In a way, that day may have closed the circle for Sinatra and Hoboken. And, even if it didn't, Dolly would have been happy. Acknowlegments: Anthony De Palma's article first appeared in the February 1982 issue of New Jersey Monthly. It was reprinted in Hoboken History - Issue No. 21, 1998 almost in its entirety, with the generous permission of the author. Thanks also go to the Jack Theresa family, Frank Monaco, Patricia Politis, and Leonard Luizzi. 
 
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