Bernie Doyle Retires May 1
What will we do without Bernie? Who will keep us up-to-date on what's happening in Palisades? Who will give us advice? On May 1 we will lose an important — at first I thought father figure, but really it's more like a wisecracking older brother figure — who's been with us for more than thirty years.
Nick Ludington wrote a piece on Bernie in 1996, which says it all better than I can.
Spotlight on Bernie Doyle
For many Palisadians, a trip to the post office means a visit with Bernard ‘Bernie’ Doyle who holds several unofficial posts in the community:
Social historian. Bernie came to Palisades as an infant in 1948 and with short breaks has been here ever since. He has a good memory, many friends, an interest in community affairs of all types and a willingness to share his knowledge.
Town wit. Bantering with Bernie is a favorite activity of many postal clients. Many have been skewered by Bernie’s sharp but gentle wit. A Palisadian once invited Bernie to attend the “talent show” at the church saying he could see the post office boxholders make fools of themselves. “I see that on a daily basis,” Bernie shot back. Some don’t even notice Bernie’s barbs. Some fight back. The late Gert Macy, a fierce Democrat, scored one on Bernie. Noticing the extremist Republican former postmaster Laura Ebmeyer nearby one day, Gert loudly engaged Bernie in talk implicating him — true or not — in shared Democratic activity. When she left, Ebmeyer chastised Bernie for “dealing with the enemy.”
Mayor. If Palisades had a mayor which it does not — and if Bernie wanted to be mayor — which he does not — he would be a viable candidate. Most people know him, like him and trust him and he plays a pretty good game of golf. What more does an unofficial mayor need?
Bernie was born in Brooklyn in 1947. His grandparents lived in the Palisades area and his family moved to Route 340 in Palisades a year later. Bernie’s grandmother played piano in a Sparkill movie theatre and she also gave piano lessons in the Sparkill area. Bernie went to Palisades elementary school and Tappan Zee High School. He was drafted in 1966, served a tour as an infantry combat medic in Vietnam, and was discharged in 1968. The next year he started at the Palisades post office branch then located in the Academic Press book warehouse on Oak Tree Road (now Lederle Packaging Services).
…Bernie was drawn to go west twice for brief periods in the 1970’s: once to attend the University of Utah for a year and once to work in a Utah post office for two. He came back from the second trip in 1979 and has been here ever since. He has watched great changes over the years and says Palisades, Sparkill, Tappan, and Piermont have weathered the storm of development better than most other nearby communities.
“It’s been slower here because the people who lived here cared enough to slow it down,” he said.
Bernie has friends among all groups, whether their bank accounts are full to bursting, modestly healthy or overdrawn. He is nostalgic about the older generation of prominent Palisadians, mostly gone now. He said they were “relaxed, never extreme, and shared their experience with everyone. They were committed to family and community.”
“What set this place apart,” he said, “Is that you didn’t tell how rich people were by their wallets, but by the way they behaved.…"
At last Bernie will be able to go fishing and to play golf to his heart's content. He has no specific plans for the future, but is enjoying the idea of having the leisure to explore in new directions.
The repair of our historic flagpole is one project he might spend some time on. It has been neglected for years and needs restoration.
It's nice to think that Bernie will still be around, and that his executive ability might be turned to improving Palisades.