WEDNESDAY NOV 15th
I was looking forward to this day because about three weeks before I left for the Island, I got an e mail from Newsday staff writer Joe Dionisio. It seems the story that he wanted to do the year before about both the library appearance and the website got approved ( I actually had no idea he was going to pitch it again). It's funny how things sometime work out for the best, because his editors gave him a lot more room this time around than he probably would of had in 2005, Joe did the lengthy interview via the phone and I sent up a bakers dozen website photos for them to choose from. Just before I left for NY, Joe told me that the story would hit the paper on the 15th. I went down to the local convenience store bought a couple of copies and was very pleasantly surprised. It was a centerfold piece, nicely laid out across two pages. But I had no idea of the excitement it would cause for the upcoming library show nor did they. The phone started ringing at Kenny's house about 8:30.... "Hey Man Can You Get Me Seats ...It Says You Got To Have A Library Card To Get In ".... Newsday not only prints up a bunch of papers everyday, but they also have it on "THE INTERNETS" .... It is probably the reason why it was standing room only come Sunday....and also the reason why I had some very nice surprise guests. What's even more amazing the following day "MASTIC BEACH'S TANGLED WEB" was in the top 5 e mailed stories for that day....It actually out did the story on O J Simpson and his creepy book .... also my web site counter which averages about 250- 300 visitors per day shot up to over 1200! that day. Joe who had to work on Sunday, showed up at the end of the show and gave me the master layout copy "slick" that they use to proof with. It is now framed and hangs proudly in my ever crowded writing room.
I really didn't have too much on the agenda to do Weds, but I thought I would take a drive into Patchogue, another one of my former hometowns. I lived there from 1964 - 1973 almost as long as I did in Mastic Beach. I had two reasons for going to Patchogue. First one was back in September, I read in the Long Island Advance that Patchogue Floral was closing it's doors after 55 Years as a family owned business. When I was 17, I drove a truck for them right out of High School for 2 years. They were great people to work for and I had dropped Neil Van Ginhoven (who was my boss) a line when the article came out saying if they were still open, I would drop in and say goodby. I had not seen Neil since the day I left there in 1966. I did drop by once in 1994 and spoke with Matty Thomas, Neil's right hand man and the guy who taught me the route. Matty actually lived directly behind my house in Patchogue when I lived on Medford Ave. and besides being a co worker, he helped me out a bit when I first tried my hand as a stock car driver at Riverhead Raceway in the summer of '65. It was that hobby that almost cost me not getting the job, because Hans Van Ginhoven, Neil's Dad and the big boss was reluctant to hire me when I told him about what I liked to do in my spare time. Hans never thought any of his drivers should engage in such pursuits....he called it "HOT RODDING". He actually had two former and future race drivers that I know of drive his trucks. But when I applied in October of 1964, he actually hired someone else, but called me three days later when the guy he passed over me for crashed his truck. I brought along my book "Long Ride On A Short Track" to show Neil the passage about that job interview and the illustration of my car that had a very unofficial Patchogue Floral "sponsorship" painted on the side.
When I worked there in their wholesale florist division, I don't think there were more than 10 employees in the entire place. There were now about 55 people who were either going to have to find new jobs or retire. It took me a few minutes to find him in labyrinth like building it had become and of course he hadn't seen me in 40 years, so he had no idea who the guy who yelled out, "Hey Neil" was. He just sort of waved and kept walking because I could tell he was as busy as a one armed paper hanger. The place was mobbed with bargain seekers to boot. Then I yelled out Hey Boss ! He stopped, turned around and walked up to me. When I said, "It's Ken Joseph "....he about fell over. It was a bittersweet few minutes, but I'm glad I got to see him again. Matty came by very briefly and I could tell he was really busy too. We shook hands, they both went back to work and I found a nice Christmas ornament to bring home to Anne.
My next stop was one of my regular haunts when I ever I go to Long Island the last few years. The Patchogue - Medford Library. They have a lot of good newspaper micro film including the Patchogue Advance all the way back to when it started in the late 19th century. Even though I have mentioned my official research was through , I can't really help myself especially when I have time to spare and I actually had one story I was trying to run down. The actual date of the Dana Estate Fire that I Know had to happen in either the late 1960's or the spring of 1970. I had tried to find it before in both the Center Moriches and Shirley Library micro film of the Moriches Bay Tide but have come up empty. There are several issues from that era missing. Also several inquiries to the Mastic Fire House have gone unanswered. I know a fire of the size of Moss Lots burning to the ground would have to reported someplace and thought perhaps I'd find it in the Advance.
When I was walking into the back door Terry Street entrance a truck pulled up with Edward S. Dew Electrical Contractor lettered on it. When the driver who looked to be in his 40's got out I said , "It's nice to see a business like yours still around" He said thanks "We have been in business for 75 years now" I then asked if he was a Dew. He answered, "Yes I'm the third generation." I then said I was a neighbor of your grandparents and my mother rented our house from them. He asked me when that was and I said." From 1964 - 1977" and then asked him how old he was. When he told me he was 50, I said, "Do you remember when your Dad had the shop in back of your grandfathers house, seeing a yellow hot rod in the driveway back in the mid 1960's ?" ..He said "Yes I remember that car, I was around ten when I used to see it there." We walked into the library together, fired up the computer and I showed him the photo on "the internets" with his grandfather's house behind My Old Yellow Car.... he was amazed and took down the website address.... told me he couldn't wait to tell his Dad, who is now 75, that he ran into me. When he told me he was also interested in old houses and that he had rewired the Nicoll Floyd mansion in Old Mastic I showed him how it looked around 1910 . And another web site reader was hooked.....I think.... like I said Weds was a real good day, lot of good memories and some strange but good co-incidences.
I spent most of the rest of the day there. Had a nice chat with Mark Rothenberg, who runs the local history room and although I scrolled micro - film from 1970 back to 1966 or so never found anything on the Dana Estate Fire.... But I did find all sorts of other stuff of interest, including half the town of Mastic Beach burning down in those 5 years and a bunch of articles on my old school... William Floyd after I had left it. I left with a bunch of print outs and will be adding them in to some updated Floyd pages after the new year.
I had a clear calender and no real plans at all for Thursday. Just was going to go with the flow. It started off with a heck of a bang though when the phone rang and it was Donny Denning calling to find out about getting a seat at the Library show for both himself and his cousin Donald. I had not seen Donny aka Patty Denning since we rode into Brooklyn in my hot rod in 1965. His cousin Donald, I last saw when I first started this Knapp deal. Along with Larry Schulz, they are two of my oldest friends in the world, having met them in the summer of 1951 when I was just four years old. We spent many a great summer together right up until 1963. Both are chronicled heavily in the Buzz & Pee Wee Stories that started this website including the centerfold story The Mansion.
I spent an hour or so shooting the breeze with John Pastore outside of his Ice Cream Cottage in Mastic where I met another Mastic area Old Timer named Rocky. Besides reminiscing with John and Rocky, I got to hear a lot about what has changed for the worse over the years and of the frustrations of those who are trying to fix it. I did take a little drive around town of Mastic Beach to look things over. Just before I left for NY, I had added in a rare pic of the Mastic Beach Drugstore circa late 1940's . I knew it had a different location before WW2 on Mastic Road somewhere but wasn't sure exactly where it was located, not that it really matters. But looking through some property maps at the Shirley Library I found it.
Anna Glassman was the original owner of the Mastic Beach Pharmacy
NOV 16, 2006
This Attractive Cottage Was Many Different Business' Through The Years. It was Tom's Modern
Barber in the late '50's & early '60's. But it started out as Glassman's Mastic Beach Pharmacy in 1941.
I understand there is currently a revival plan for the Mastic Beach Business District being considered. I sincerely hope they can pull it off because it deserves much better shake than it has gotten in the last twenty years or so.
THOUGH 5 CORNERS NEVER WAS A SHOWPLACE, I DOUBT IF PAT OR MIKE SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR STATION THEY WOULD NOT BE THEIR USUAL SMILING SELVES.
There are positive signs though that some folks still really care about the place, This is the south intersection of 5 corners where Cranberry & Bayview meet. Several of the small cottage business stores are spruced up nicely. It can't be the same, nothing can, but it would be great to see the whole town come back alive again. It just needs to get on track and stay there.
THOUGH IT WAS GETTING PRETTY DARK JUST DOWN CRANBERRY DRIVE YOU CAN SEE THAT
THE MOWDYS ARE STILL BEING VERY GOOD STEWARDS TO THE ROBERT ESTATE GUEST HOUSE & CARRIAGE HOUSE JUST BEHIND IT
FRIDAY NOV 17
Another very casual day. I had lunch with and spent the afternoon with two lovely ladies and very dear old friends from out of town by giving them the "Spooner - Knapp Tour of Mastic Beach ". The highlight of it all was the fact that Bob Muse had just came home when we were driving past his place and they got the full tour of one oldest (built in 1858) and nicest homes in Mastic Beach. And it just so happened to belong to the Knapp Estate from 1916- 1940. You can virtually tour it here.
When we drove through the town one of them asked me if the boarded up Schulte's was the place that used to have Country and Western Bands playing in it in the '50's as she used to come there dancing as a teenager. I answered in the affirmative and pointed out the rear window where Doug Percoco & I used to look in and listen to those same bands hoping to play on that stage someday. And of course we did in 1962- 63 with our groups The Islanders and The Continentals. We capped off our tour with a return (for me) to the Flight 800 memorial at Smith's Point.
Also that evening I picked up a copy or two (for the folks back home) of the Hot Of The Press THE PRESS OF MANORVILLE, MORICHES, MASTIC & SHIRLEY....and Lo & Be Hold there was Caroline Linton's piece ! .....another Full Page Article on the Web Site and Sunday's Show. Although it had a few minor errors in it which was highly understandable considering the amount of material we talked about during the interview, they were great at printing the corrections straight away. And All Were Happy In The Tri Hamlet Area and Beyond .....
Another free form day. I spent most of it out in East Moriches with The Sandbecks, old friends from as far back as my college days. Lots of laughs, memories and more good pizza. We did take a drive around their area which included a tour of the abandoned Cerullo Fishing Station and residence on the bay which I'm sure will be torn down any day now and condos or something built there. Being in an old vandalized building brought back lots of memories of the Knapp mansion for me. This was a perfect mind set for my Sunday reading which I knew was going to focus on the very beginnings of how as a kid I got involved in this crazy project. Although I didn't have my camera along with me, But as you know there are many truths to old sayings....that's how they get to be old sayings. Well the one I'm sure you have heard before "Great Minds Think Alike" gets a little variation here with these next photos Great Minds Read This Web Site? (Your reading it right?) I remembered that last summer Marty Van Lith and his pal Dennis Fagan were out there and Marty always seems to have his camera handy ...... So an e mail was dispatched and ..... here it is ...... look quick before it's gone.
"A Penney For Your Thoughts"
Dennis Fagan (Floyd Class Of '62) is just looking around. That's basically all we ever did as kids, when we played in places like this. I know as I looked around that Saturday, I was transported back to the '50's to Mr. Clark's Barn, Schulte's Barn and of course the Knapp Mansion. The price board is like a headstone in that it reveals a little bit of history. Looking at the prices you can tell this place was still open for business not too long ago. When I was a kid the going rates for a boat rental at Mike & Walter's, Captain Andy's or Fred's was $3.00 a day or $5 to $7 with a 3 and a 1/2 to 5 horse motor. There was also an in between price at Mike & Walter's for towing you out to a fishing spot and back if you didn't want to row. Probably about $4.75
