Madison Merchants Share Lessons from Their Mothers

Bonnie L. Cramer; Monday, May 13, 2013 • 6:16am

Dr. Romano's motherMADISON, NJ – All across the country, people are preparing to celebrate Mom on Sunday. In the spirit of Mother’s Day, TAP of Madison asked some local business owners what lessons they’ve learned from their mothers.

At the dental office of Dr. Sam Romano, his mom was helping around at his office and she said, “The most important lesson I taught is to be honest, to do your best in school and be self-sufficient. I taught both my sons how to cook,” said Mrs. Carrie DeMarzo Romano. Doc Romano indicated that what he learned from his mother at an early age was this, “The greatest gift you can give is the gift of helping others. Be caring, have integrity and dedicate yourself to excellence.”

In uptown Madison, Louisa DeRose, owner of Hair We Are, said, my mother always told me to “respect yourself. It’s the only way you can respect others.”

Mary Roberta Murphy, 88 years old, a resident of Sunrise Assisted Living, had just finished having her hair done at DeRose’s shop. She was walking arm and arm with her daughter, Sue Ballance, toward their car, and her daughter said, “C’mon, Mom, what did you always tell us when we were kids?”, and Mrs. Murphy replied, “Behave.”

Arleen Gaetani, Owner, of New Leaf Consignment said, “My mom passed on a life-long appreciation for fine things and beautiful surroundings.”

The new manager at Coccia Realty is Kathy Ricketts. She said “My mother always dressed up, even now at 70 years of age. It doesn’t matter what you have, but you should always look your best. Be neat, be clean and never leave the house without your makeup on.”

Joanne Dauber, the owner at Once and Again Consignment said, “My mother always told me to never get mad, that only dogs get mad. Wake up every day with a song.”

“Never settle, my mom would say. I’ve been working since I’m 14, and now I’m a store manager. I think she was right about that,” said Olesia Senezak, Manager of the newest store in town, Second Time Around.

From Cramers Carpet One, owner Brad Cramer said, “My mother has been a widow for over 30 years, and she is a strong woman. She’s 90 and still mows her own lawn. My mom taught us self-reliance, and if you want something, you need to be the one to work for it.”

Just down the street, Nina Karamallis , one of the owners from The British Emporium said “the most significant lesson my mother taught is to always believe that God has a will for us even if we often don’t understand.”

Nicole Francoeur from Rose City Framemakers said, “My mom would tell me to follow my passion. That’s why I majored in Art, not Education.”

These were the lessons learned from mothers of some Madison Merchants.

From The Alternative Press