Growing up in the Town of Newburgh, in the mid Twentieth Century, was wonderful. Granted, most people feel that way about their childhood, but somehow I believe we were blessed with many things other communities didn’t have or offer. One of them was the Coral Reef.

The Coral Reef was on State Route 9W, in front of the old Middle Hope Hotel, and across from the Middlehope Drive In and the Twin Oaks, next to Morehead Motors. Prior to it becoming the Circus, followed then by Gemini North, it was a wonderful venue for dining and music.

Being close to the New York City Metropolitan area, many of the major music acts blossoming in the early 1960’s performed there. I’m providing a few of the ads from editions of the Evening News in that era to help some of you recall a memory or two of those days and provide younger readers an idea of what the atmosphere was back then.

Looking back, none of us at the time realized how big some of these performers would become. We bought and played their records, perhaps watching them on the Ed Sullivan Show, Shindig, Hullabaloo, Where the Action Is, or American Bandstand. The Coral Reef provided a stage in our backyard where they also performed.

Back then, we didn’t have to shell out hundreds of hard earned dollars to have an enchanted evening to see our idol perform. I remember a number of acts that I saw there, as do friends of mine. Great memories!

Remember, too, there were dress codes! No t-shirts or ripped jeans! Sports coats for the gentlemen and dresses for the ladies. Sometimes a tie was also required for the guys. Many places had them available if you “forgot” yours.

Post COVID, there seems to be a welcomed resurgence of live music in our area and our Town offers great, free summer concerts at Chadwick Park, but the magic of the 60’s has left us. Major performers now pack stadiums and you have to take a second mortgage on the ranch to get a good seat. I’d like to drift back to the days of a reasonable cover charge, taking your best girl with you, and enjoy some really fine tunes, maybe with a rum and coke or CC and ginger to keep you hydrated.

These days, we often see the news that another one of these older performers has left us but Willie and Keith still keep the spirit alive and probably will for many years to come.