Academy Candy Kitchen was opened in October, 1946 by George Stiakakis and Virginia Rodites. It was known as a candy and ice cream store.
In 1949, Bernard and Jean Rothchild moved to Farmingdale from Brooklyn and purchased the store with Salvatore De Santis.
In 1950, they expanded the seating facilities and offered a more extensive choice of foods to the customers.
During the war, Bernard served with the Army Air Force as the pilot of B-26 in the European Theatre of Operations. He met his wife while stationed in Belgium and brought her to the United States with him. Jean became a citizen two months after moving to Farmingdale.
Source:
Farmingdale Post
Air Force Captain Christopher Adams died June 25, 1996 when a bomb attached to a fuel truck exploded outside the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. This attack took the lives of 19 Airmen. Christopher was assigned to the 4404th Wing (Provisional), 71st Rescue Squadron, 1st Rescue Group, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
Adams and his tightly knit family, including four younger brothers and two sisters, grew up and played hockey in front of their brick ranch house near the Southern State Parkway in Massapequa, Long Island. At Farmingdale High School, Adams excelled as a student, an athlete, and a leader becoming the Vice President of his class.
After High School, Adams attended Daniel Webster College, an aviation school in Nashua, New Hampshire, where he joined the R.O.T.C. Upon graduation, he joined the Air Force in 1989, fulfilling his childhood dreams of becoming a pilot. While stationed in England, Adams met his best friend and fiancé Capt. Caren Ouellette, where they became engaged and were planning to be married in October 1996. A few weeks prior to his death, Caren bought him a 38-foot cabin cruiser that he called the “Diamond Ring,” named after his fiancé.
Source:
“Air Force Capt. Christopher Adams - American Fallen Soldiers.” American Fallen Soldiers RSS2, americanfallensoldiers.com/air-force-capt-christopher-adams
Dr. Ignazio Edward Alcamo was a Professor of Microbiology at the State University of New York Farmingdale. He authored many textbooks, lab kits, and educational materials. In 2000, he was the recipient of the Carski Foundation Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.
Dr. Alcamo attended Iona College and St. John’s University. Dr. Alcamo died from acute myeloid leukemia in 2002.
Source:
Pommerville, Jeffrey C. Alcamo’s Fundamentals of Microbiology. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Aug 10, 2010
Ellsworth W. Allen was born about 1900. He attended Farmingdale schools and earned the nickname "Doc" while there. His grandfather was Civil War veteran John Allen.
He was appointed US Postmaster in January of 1935. He and his brother Wharton established the Wharton B. Allen Agency in 1943. He was the Water Commissioner of the South Farmingdale Water District and a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Oyster Bay, In 1961, he was elected Republican leader of the Farmingdale Republican Committee.
Allen was a World War II Veteran. He enlisted on September 15, 1942. He was also a former Vestryman of St. Thomas Episcopal Church. He died in 1968.
The Town of Oyster Bay dedicated the park on Motor Avenue to his name in September 1973.
Sources:
"Our Story." http://www.whartonballen.com/about
“Elect Ellsworth Allen Republican Leader of Farmingdale Area.” Farmingdale Post, 6 July 1961
John Allen was born in Cheltingham, England in 1836. His family moved to America in 1840. They lived in Pennsylvania and then Brooklyn before settling in Farmingdale in 1858. He married Mary Pilkington in 1860.
He enlisted August 19, 1862 and went to fight in the Civil War as a member of Company “E”, 127th Regiment. He was mustered in on September 8, 1862 with the 127th Regiment of the New York Volunteer Infantry He served as a private in Company E. He was attached to the 7th Corps, Division of Virginia and was part of the siege of Suffolk and the Six Peninsula Campaign. His outfit moved to Maryland and followed General Lee into South Carolina where they took part in the siege of Charleston and the taking of Fort Sumpter. He mustered out with his company on June 30, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina.
While he was fighting, his wife saved up and bought them their home in Farmingdale as a surprise upon his return. John Allen was involved in the bakery business for 50 years. The first shop was in his home on Front Street before he moved the shop to Main Street around where 246 Main Street is now.
He was appointed postmaster in 1897. His son, Ellsworth Allen, also was postmaster. He laid the cornerstone in the first Episcopal Church in Farmingdale and was one of the organizers of the Farmingdale Fire Department. He was also a member of the Board of Education. He was a member of the H. B. Knickerbocker Post #743.
Allen died in 1925.
Sources:
Allen, John. “Minute of History: Life of an Early Resident of Farmingdale.” Farmingdale Observer. July 27, 2001
"John Allen 1836-1925." Farmingdale Post. July 31, 1925
Junior Historical Society of Farmingdale. Farmingdale's Story: Farms to Flight. The Society, 1956
New York State Military Museum
Updated NK 10/29/24
John D. Allen was born in approximately 1898 in Farmingdale to Alfred J. and Annie E. Allen.
He enlisted on July 16, 1918. He was assigned to the 30th Service Company Signal Corps at the College of New York City in October 14, 1918. He was transferred to the F Signal Battalion in Camp Meade, Maryland in November 12, 1918. He was discharged on January 24, 1919. He never served overseas. He began his service as a Private and left as a Sergeant.
After the war, he was a broker for grain alcohol. In 1956, he was elected President of the New York Produce Exchange.
Sources:
Ancestry
Farmingdale Post
NK 5/24
Andriopoulos began consulting independently in 2012 with the primary goal of expanding his knowledge base beyond the pharmacy industry. He founded Launchpad Five One Six Business Consulting Group in 2013 The quick growth of Launchpad Five One Six sparked the separation of its marketing division into a new entity. In 2014 he launched Media Convergence, a creative marketing agency. The first year of MC’s existence brought a myriad of clients to the company, including their first Fortune 500 client.
In 2016 Launchpad and its subsidiaries moved operations back to Farmingdale, where the main office now stands headquartered in the business corridor of Route 110. Since then, Andriopoulos has launched The reThink Tank (a think tank which focuses on bringing concepts to market) and acquired a partnership in Concierge 360. Concierge is a start-up tech company that brings on-demand concierge and personal assistant services to consumers via a mobile app.
Andriopoulos is also an established public speaker, keynoting conferences across the country as well as doing motivational speaking engagements. He is a proud two-time TEDx speaker and most recently was the closing speaker at the inaugural Speakers Who Dare in New York City. In 2019, Andriopoulos became the Executive Producer of TEDxFarmingdale and held its inaugural event in September of the same year, successfully securing a license renewal for a 2020 event.
At the end of 2019, he signed his first book deal, due for release in late 2020, launched pad Five One Six built out their studio that same year, and premiered “The Launchcast,” a long-form conversation podcast centered around leadership. Every weekly episode features a guest interview and a thoughtful conversation on all things related to leadership, business, life, growth, and everything in-between.
Source:
“Management Consultant.” George Andriopoulos, georgeandriopoulos.com
Arthur F. White Funeral Home has been family owned and operated since 1923. It has locations both in Farmingdale and Bethpage.
The Avalon Luncheonette was located at 333 Main Street. It opened in 1949 and was owned by Edward Werner.
The luncheonette offered Blue Plate lunches, sandwiches, and a large variety of soda-fountain dishes to name a few.
Before coming to Farmingdale, Werner owned the Long Island Luncheonette in East Hampton. He served in the Air Force for four years as an armorer.
He studied engineering at Pratt Institute and worked for some time as a stationary engineer. Edward also studied at the American Institute of Banking and worked at the Public National Bank in New York City.
Source:
Farmingdale Post
Mary Ayleswoth began teaching at Farmingdale High School in September of 1920 in the History department. She was promoted to Assistant Principal. She was the chair of the local Red Cross Fund Drive and served as the librarian when the high school established its library.
Aylesworth passed away suddenly on January 13, 1939. A section of the Farmingdale High School library is named in her honor.
Source:
Junior Historical Society of Farmingdale. Farmingdale's Story: Farms to Flight. The Society, 1956