In most of Shirley's bios, there are only one or two sentences about his activities involving politician Vincent Impellitteri and his roles as Vince's campaign manager and as NYC commissioner of commerce. The fact is NYC is where Walter T. Shirley lived his life and his activities in the big apple, had great bearings on almost everything he did out on Long Island.

From his WWI days at Camp Upton with Big Bill O'Dwyer who advised him in the '20's that changing careers from song plugger to real estate might not be a bad idea, to the 1950's when he was involved in politics of the city and Washington DC. He never lost contact with Broadway and the Cafe Society either from the time he entered it. Walter was ubiquitous in many events that would shape the town that bore his name.

The natural salesman in him used everything in selling the benefits of living in the country. Particularly the part of it that he owned. Fact is he never did. Although he spent a few months in the spring and summer of 1945 at Island View Manor, His ideal "Vacation Paradise" was not Shirley Long Island. It was at his "Wyndcrest" estate at the Westchester Country Club or Palm Beach, Fla. or in pre Castro Havana where he spent most of vacation time. His friends used to say Walter was a professional vacationer.

What we have here then is a sampling of news events and photos that illustrate Shirley's life and some of his closest friends in New York city and places other than "his town".

They shared the trenches at Camp Upton together and were life long friends. Big Bill advised Little Walt that perhaps he should "go for it" and someday buy up some of that acreage that they once marched through. Of interest to me is that when O'Dwyer became District Attorney for Brooklyn in 1939 he hired my great uncle Lewis Joseph to be one of his prosecutors. They relentlessly went after the Albert Anastastia murder for hire gang known as Murder Inc. Uncle Lou stayed at the Kings County DA's office until he retired 1960's

O'Dwyer reenlisted in the Army in WWII as a Major, then ran for and became Mayor of NYC. In 1949 during his second term he resigned to become ambassador to Mexico and another life long Shirley friend city council president Vincent Impellitteri stepped in to fufill O'Dwyer's term at Gracie Mansion as acting mayor. Shirley's attention from his little town on Long Island may of been diverted as he dove into big time POLITICS