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This Is First Time I Ever Saw It Use Mastic As An Address. It's Really Right On The Border Of Mastic & Moriches On The Mastic Side Of West Lake aka The Larger of The Twin Ponds. It Is Known Today As LADAKINS

Vandenburg's and its subsequent owners are well photographed and documented on the site. Bologna Tony may of been what we knew as Ed's Riveria located next to the Mastic Firehouse. Today its Mikes. As I Revealed At The Library Show The Very First Postmaster & Post Office In Mastic Beach In 1930 Was Al Raynor NOT Cornelius Vandenburg as has been reported for years. Al had the Mastic Beach Post Office for a brief time inside his store that was located on Neighborhood Road & Lakeview Dr . (At The Location Where Sal & Tess Azzatto's Future Tavern Would Be Built aka THE SAND BAR) . Al's place here in this ad may of been what is now know as The Ice Cream Cottage (The former Log Cabin)

FRED'S IS STILL THERE IN MASTIC BEACH. THE GERMAN YOUTH CAMP WAS PART OF CAMP SEIGFRIED
AN AD I'M SURE THEY WOULD REGRET TAKING. SAL'S WAS STILL LOCATED IN PAUL SCHULTE'S MASTIC BEACH HOTEL HERE AS THE ADDRESS PROVES THAT. THE HOTEL WOULD BURN DOWN IN NOVEMBER OF 1937. STONYLAKE FARMS IS A MYSTERY TO ME...ANYONE KNOW WHERE THAT WAS? HOF BRAU INN IS STILL THERE BY HORSEBLOCK ROAD. IT WOULD BECOME MANY DIFFERENT PLACES. IT WAS KNOWN AS THE MASTIC HOUR IN THE '50's

A GENTLE BUT CHILLING REMINDER THAT ALL HISTORY IS NOT WARM, FUZZY & NOSTALGIC. WHAT STARTED OUT "INNOCENTLY" ENOUGH IN THE EARLY 1930's GOT REAL UGLY, REAL FAST. IT IS SAID THAT WHEN BUND MEMBERS CAME INTO PAUL SCHULTE'S MASTIC BEACH TAVERN TO DO A "LITTLE RECRUITING" HE THREW THEM OUT HEAD FIRST. I'M SURE MOST OF YAPHANK WOULD RATHER FORGET THIS EPISODE IN IT'S HISTORY. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE WAS OR THINK THAT FACISM CAN'T HAPPEN IN AMERICA OR ANY PLACE ELSE IN THE WORLD BETTER THINK TWICE.... AND HISTORY PROVES IT DOES HAPPEN AGAIN & AGAIN..... ALL THAT IS NEEDED IS FOR GOOD FOLKS TO DO NOTHING. THERE IS QUITE A BOOK ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS PLACE CALLED "WUNDERLICH'S SALUTE" By MARVIN D. MILLER a Social Studies Teacher From Commack High School.

But On A Brighter Note The View From The Office Window As We Prepared To Hit The Road

THERE ARE MANY FINE HISTORIC HOMES IN YAPHANK, BUT THE ROBERT HAWKINS HOUSE BUILT IN 1850 IS PROBABLY THEIR CROWN JEWEL.

It is located on Yaphank Ave right next door to the Yaphank Garage and I snapped this as we were leaving. The Yaphank Historical Society gives house tours of all the historic buildings in the village from time to time if you are interested.

And lest we forget the name of this website is?

THAT'S RIGHT....

" T. K. L. H. "

CLAIRE ANTOINETTE KNAPP MOVED TO YAPHANK IN THE FALL OF 1925 WHEN SHE ELOPED WITH WILLIS OLIVER PENNEY AND SOLD THE KNAPP ESTATE IN MASTIC BEACH BACK TO HER BROTHER DODI. THE PENNEYS MOVED INTO THIS HOME THAT WAS BUILT IN 1776 AND RELOCATED CLAIREDALE KENNELS ON 12 ACRES OF LAND THERE. IN 1929 THEY MOVED ON TO STONY BROOK AND SOLD THE YAPHANK HOUSE TO ALBERT POPE (THE MANUFACTURER OF COLUMBIA BICYCLES) THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOTES THE HOME ON THEIR WALKING TOUR, BUT ONLY FOOTNOTES IT AS BELONGING TO A MR. POPE DURING THE 1930's. I'M SURE THAT WOULD BE MORE THAN FINE WITH CLAIRE WHO UPHELD THE KNAPP TRADITION OF STAYING LOW PROFILE. MY FRIEND MARTY VAN LITH TOOK PICTURES OF IT FOR ME ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, BUT SEEING THAT IT WAS JUST DOWN THE BLOCK FROM WHERE WE WERE, I JUST HAD TO SEE IT AND SNAP ONE OR TWO FOR MYSELF! ..... AFTER ALL WHAT KIND OF "UNOFFICIAL KNAPP HISTORIAN" WOULD I BE IF I DID NOT?

BE IT EVER SO HUMBLE

It had to be quite an adjustment for newlywed Claire Knapp Penney after living in a 22 Room Three Story Mansion on 180 Acres in Mastic from 1916 - 25 or the place she lived before that in Greenlawn from 1912-16. Or anyplace else she lived prior to that in NYC, Bellport, or wherever. But to be fair the photo below is this same place as it was photographed in 1926 when Claire Knapp Penney Lived Here

SO DOWN THE ROAD WE WENT TO WRAP UP THE AFTERNOON

Boy do I remember these......not that I ever had to ride in one, but I saw them more than once in the rearview mirror. Back then the county didn't get new cars every year and the first year issue the '60 Plymouth did it's duty for several years........

The first time I recall seeing the bubble gum machine on a SCPD Blue & White do it's spinning thing was when I was riding shotgun in Doug Percoco's '58 Chevy Impala, which was also blue (light metallic) and white. We were heading south on Mastic Rd. It was sometime in 1962 or '63 and the squad car might of been a '61 Model Plymouth which was even uglier. We were approaching the rail road crossing and Doug decides to pass the car in front of him. There were no crossing lights flashing or anything, but there is a law against passing over a RR Crossing. Doug must of saw the police in his rearview and so he pulls back in line. That didn't matter...... On came the lights and the siren!! We pull over by the Mastic Bakery summer store and Doug says to me... Good Grief ...IT'S DENNIS ! I turn around and say,"By golly it sure is" ....... Doug said excitedly..... "You got to say something to him!"......He started that slow cop walk towards us and I think to myself now what can I say to my big sisters ex - fiance that I haven't seen since they split up in 1958.... He looked in the window at me and I said sheepishly , " Hello Dennis "...... I didn't even say who I was and I'm not sure if he even recognized me or that it would of been of any help because after all my sister did throw his engagement ring off of the Beach Ten dock into the bay when they split up.

Dennis Kiernan who had the reputation as a no nonsense cop, let Doug go with just a severe tongue lashing and no ticket..... I would run across him may be twice more in the decade plus that I remained living there . Once not long after this at work after school in Hills supermarket in Center Moriches and the last time professionally when he was with the Seventh Squad Detectives. I called about a burglary aboard my cabin boat in Speonk and Dennis showed up ..... that was in 1976. At my 40th High School reunion I was talking with Dave Allen (Class of '60) who is also retired from the SCPD and he told me Dennis is living somewhere in Va or North Carolina. So Hey Denny...if you ever run across this in cyber space drop me a line. I recall some good times with you in the early 50's.