Hoboken Hails Its Local Hero

Through their tears, the citizens of Hoboken, N.J., are planning a local funeral service and raising their voices in song, as they remember their city's favorite son.

Sinatra would have liked this.

Piccolo's Clam Bar, where birthday parties have been thrown for Sinatra for the last 20 years, was departing from its usual custom of playing all-Sinatra, all the time, for customers.

Pat Spaccavento, who owns the diner with his father, Sparky, said, "'The Voice' is silent, so there won't be any music today."

But, apparently, that was before fans Ernie Contri and David Theresa showed up.

After regaling CBS "This Morning" Senior Correspondent Hattie Kauffman with stories of Sinatra's early days, they burst into a rendition of That's Life.

"His music is universal," said Spaccavento. "It touches all people."

And Hoboken is feeling the loss of Sinatra a little more keenly than most of the universe.

"It's like losing a family member," explained Spaccavento. "We're a closely knit group. When one person dies, whether you know them personally or vaguely, everyone still mourns. A little piece of us is gone, too."

Ed Shirak of Hoboken, who wrote the Sinatra biography Our Way, said flatly, "If it wasn't for Frank, Hoboken would be a nowhere town. Frank put Hoboken on the map."

He hadn't returned home since 1985, but his presence is everywhere in Hoboken, a mile-square town across the Hudson River from New York City. Signs welcoming travelers read "Welcome to Hoboken, the Birthplace of Baseball and Frank Sinatra." A street running along the Hudson River is named Sinatra Drive, and a mini-museum at City Hall includes Sinatra sneakers, bobby socks, and photographs with the locals.

In 1996, the city erected a plaque at the remains of Sinatra's birthplace, dedicated to "The Voice." The home where Sinatra was born burned down years ago, leaving only a brick wall, a wooden door and a brick-and-stucco arch. Flowers were placed there Friday morning.

In 1985, when Sinatra boycotted New Jersey after he was called an "obnoxious bully" by a state casino commissioner, it was Hoboken that brought him back. He received an honorary degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, the college he said he always wanted to attend.

He told the graduates that day: "I hope that you all live to be 400 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine."