Page 86 - LIN-Jan-ForWeb

A toast to Naples’ Cottage, continue past Beardy Banyan, the oldest banyan tree in
the City of Naples at the corner of Gordon Drive. As you cross
good old days on Gordon Drive and enter the parking lot behind Tommy Bahama’s,
stop and reflect that, “this is where it all began.”
New Year’s Eve in New York, and envision Captain Stewart waving his lantern as
Imagine a time in 1919, long before Guy Lombardo landed

the Bon Temps, Naples’ first transportation service, approaches the
pier. Picture guests walking down the street from the pier toward
The Naples Hotel as the hotel staff puts their luggage on a cart
that rolls on a set of rail tracks to the hotel, with perhaps a child or
At the stroke of midnight on December two on top getting the ride of their lives.
31, the world will once again be joined in a Imagine the Captain, who is also the town postmaster, stopping
universal commonality when we all begin to at the post office at the foot of the pier to drop off the mail before
sing “Auld Lang Syne,” the poem by Robert walking over to bring his employer, Walter Haldeman, the founder
Burns that is widely regarded as “one of of Naples, the latest news.
the world’s most popular songs that no one
knows the lyrics to.” The tune can stop (well, Cheers to the New Year
you never really stop a Scotsman) even the
wildest of ye’ Highlanders for a moment
by Lois Bolin of reflection to honor a time long, long When the clock strikes midnight, you will now be
Old Naples Historian gone. More idiomatically, “auld lang syne” prepared to sing one of the world’s most popular
translates to “old long ago” or “days gone by” songs. When you raise your glass to toast out with
— or simply, “the good old days.” the old and in with the new; remember to toast the
While most Scotsmen believe they invented most things — traditions, the culture, the stories and the good old day
and according to the book, How Scots Invented the Modern World:
of life in Naples - all 132 years of it.
The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our
World and Almost Everything in It, they did; but they did not create Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
the tradition of singing (miming is more like it) “Auld Lang Syne” And never brought to mind?
at midnight on December 31. Bandleader Guy Lombardo gets the Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
credit for that. And auld lang syne?
Mr. Lombardo apparently first heard the song in his hometown For auld lang syne, my dear,
of London, Ontario, sung by (no surprise here) Scottish For auld lang syne,
immigrants. When Lombardo, his brothers and their Royal We’ll tak a cup of kindness yet,
Canadian dance band settled in New York City, they caused a stir For auld lang syne!
between the two top radio networks, CBS and NBC, who were And there’s a hand my trusty fiere,
vying to get Mr. Lombardo on their airwaves. And gie’s a hand o thine,
At midnight December 31, 1929, at The Roosevelt Hotel, And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught,
Mr. Lombardo signed off on CBS, concluding the first half of his For auld lang syne
New Year’s Eve celebration, and then immediately signed on with For auld lang syne, my dear,
NBC to broadcast the second half of the festivities. The tradition For auld lang syne,
of New Year’s Eve with Guy Lombardo and, of course, “Auld Lang We’ll tak a cup of kindness yet,
Syne” became so entrenched in American culture that For auld lang syne!
Life magazine once speculated that if Mr. Lombardo “failed to play
‘Auld Lang Syne,’ the American public would not believe that the Remember these words and sing them loudly – loud
new year had really arrived.” enough to stop a Scotsman in his tracks.
New Year’s Eve, Naples style

The center of Naples’ New Year’s Eve celebrations has long been
at one of the town’s most beloved treasures — the Naples Pier. This
December 31, we can relive a moment in time, although there will
probably be more people on the beach at 7:30 p.m. watching the
city fireworks display than there were in all of Naples back when
the tradition began.
Afterwards, walk up 12th Avenue South, the first Main Street
in Naples, and show your family the Norris Gardens and Palm

86 Life in Naples | January 2019