Kay Michetti: A Brooklyn Girl Who Fell in Love with Ridgefield
If you've ever received a compliment from Kay Michetti consider yourself blessed. Kay has the wonderful ability to make you genuinely feel like the prettiest girl in the room, "Oh you look bue-tee-ful today hun.” Kay, a Brooklyn girl at heart, has carried her NY accent all the way to CT. It is with all the sincerity in her heart that she gives out her friendly compliments to anyone and everyone.
We met at Ridgefield's quaint and well-known breakfast nook, the Early Bird Cafe, where I was to learn about the girl from Brooklyn who fell in love with Ridgefield.
Always prompt, Kay arrived just before I did. She patiently waited outside poised and calm, in a beige pantsuit, red lips, and her jet black hair was slightly pinned back and relaxed. When I finally caught up to her she greeted me with a warm smile and several compliments that would make anyone gush. She later warned me not to let them go to my head.
Inside, the chatter of the breakfast crowd hummed. We were quickly seated at a bench for two beside the cafe wall. There Kay, adjusted herself looked at me and said, "Ok whatta ya wanna know?"
Where are you originally from?
Originally? I’m a Brooklyn girl.
How long were you in Brooklyn?
Most of my life, let’s put it this way… till I was 24. Then I moved to Ozone Park, Queens. I lived there for 42 years. Should you put down that I’m married? Angelo, he was in the Navy for five years, Second World War, volunteered. Let’s, see, three children, three beautiful daughters, Linda, Sarah, and Kathy. Emphasize three beautiful daughters.
He was (Angelo) the best thing in my life. I don’t know what I would do without my daughters; they were always there for me.
When did you move to Ridgefield?
Oh, that’s the thing, let me just tell you what happened. My daughter Kathy moved to Ridgefield first. And whenever we would come to visit, we used to say “Look at this town, look at this beautiful town.” I fell in love with this town before I even moved here. Just a beautiful town. Me and my husband had a job near the airport in Queens until he retired. My daughters are twins, Cathy and Linda are twins, and Linda missed her sister and she wanted to live near her sister and buy a house near her sister…and so she bought a house and I moved up around the same time because I knew we had to be around our children, and being we loved the town we decided to be together.
So what else to you wanna ask me about the town?
When did you move here to Ridgefield?
I been living here 21 years.
So your grandchildren were raised here?
They went to school here, wonderful schools here.
What was it about this town that you loved?
It had a beautiful country setting. Put in there (this interview) that I fell in love with this town before I even moved here. What is about this town is that they have the best school systems, my grandchildren were born here, some of them, and let’s see, the advantages of this town, ok? We have the most beautiful senior center I think in the whole country (Ridgefield’s Founders Hall).
What else I gotta say?
I know you’ve written letters to the Ridgefield Press about how much you love this town and even posted them in the Kohl’s break room.
Also, and another thing too, let’s see, we were also picked for the most beautiful town in CT.
What are involved in?
What am I involved in? Well, I’m involved in… I do adoration chapel every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to twelve, by Saint Mary’s Church. Which I love, I really do. Let’s see, I work for Kohl’s. My customers are wonderful, honest to God I think I have the best customers in the world. I love them all, I miss them too. I’m really thinking I’d like to go back.
Here’s the thing now. I couldn’t get over it, during the holiday season, you know Christmas time, so many of my customers would buy for the less fortunate children, spend 100 to 200 dollars for the less fortunate - they were so good-hearted. As far as my customers, I think I have the best customers, I truly miss them.
Here you wanna laugh? Get this- if I go to Stop n Shop they see me and are like, “Kay, Kay where ya been?” hugging me, they miss me. They were just unbelievable, in other words, it was just great.
What advice would you give future generations in embracing their hometown and roots?
The home town right…We’re blessed to live in this town. There are so many activities that are available. Even the parades we have such beautiful parades, all different camp and all this stuff here and the parents are so involved, and they participate in the sport, you couldn’t ask for a better town to live in.
And for everyone to be nice. I tell people nice things to help. I swear, by the time they got out of the store they were smiling. If I could just help make somebody’s day a little bit better, but it comes from the heart it’s not just an act of any kind. I meant it from my heart, in other words, it doesn’t hurt to be nice to other people, in other words, life is too short. I try to make their day a little better.
But I swear as God is my witness, it’s the truth. You don’t know what heartaches some people have. Nothing is perfect in this world.
I don’t know…whatever someone would want to have in a town that is perfect. To me it’s perfect. Ridgefield has it all, Ridgefield has it all.
Before leaving the interview Kay caught me in my car, tapped on my window, and made me assure her that I would have nothing but nice things to say.
The truth is Kay is the one with the powerful message of being kind, cherishing your hometown, and keeping an open heart; I'm simply carrying the message.
It is Kay's deep love, not just for this town, but and others, that makes her ideal for my first story of Ridgefield's Unsung Heroes.
It is my hope that we can all embrace Kay's sincere and heart-warming message and pass it on to our fellow neighbors.
On a side note I am happy to report that Kay is working back at Kohl’s, so be sure to stop in a say "Hello!"