I happen to like Amsterdam Muni Golf Pro Joe Merendo, a.k.a. “Joe the Pro”. In fact I like him a lot and have for over 30 years. You want to know why? He’s got a good heart, a unique sense of humor and he’s always been good to me personally and good to the kids in this community who wanted to learn to play the game. A couple years ago, then Amsterdam Mayor Ann Thane seemed hell-bent on kicking my friend out of the Muni Pro Shop. Her reasoning was that he was somehow the cause of decreased play and falling revenues at the city-owned Robert Trent Jones- designed 18-hole public treasure. Most of us who golfed there however, knew that was far from the case..

The rest of Joe the Pro’s birthday post will be published in the second editionof A Year’s Worth of Amsterdam NY Birthdays, which will be available for sale right after Thanksgiving. To make sure you get your hands on one of the first copies, join my mailing list here.

The first edition of A Year’s Worth of Amsterdam NY Birthdays, which features my birthday posts for 320 current or former Amsterdam residents, is currently being sold at Liberty Fresh Market, on Route 30 in Amsterdam. You can also purchase it online here.

April 26 is also the birthday of this modern-day, Amsterdam-born hero.