August Delledonne was raised in Farmingdale. He served in the US Navy. After his service, he created a partnership with Frank Boccio in automotive parts and accessories in 1946. They travelled both Nassau and Suffolk County serving garages. In 1947, he bought out Frank’s share of the business and opened the A & F Auto Supply on Main Street.
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
Dr. Philip Acinapura began at the Farmingdale School System in 1956 as a reading supervisor. In 1961, he became the principal at the East Memorial School and in 1966, he was assistant superintendent of the district. He held this position until 1988. He received his bachelor’s degree from Temple University and his doctorate from Columbia University. In 1996, he served as a trustee on the Farmingdale Board of Education. He was given the AARP Service Award in 1996.
He was a member of the Community Heath Care Foundation at Mid-Island Hospital.
Source:
Leonard, Christine. “”Dr. A” Honored With Service Award.” Farmingdale Observer. May 24, 1996
Francis William Acker was born on July 19, 1920. He enlisted on August 22, 1941. He was a Sergeant with the quartermaster General Medical Corps with the US Army. He served in the Panama Canal Depot. He was discharged on October 2, 1945.
He was married to Marion and they had two children. After the war, he worked in the Metal Works field.
Source:
Ancestry
NK 2/4/25
Barney Anthony Adamo was born on July 9, 1923. He enlisted on March 7, 1944 with the United States Air Force. He was discharged on May 12, 1946. After the war, he worked for Republic Aviation and was a caddy at Bethpage State Golf Course. Barney Adamo died on April 9, 2005.
Sources:
Fold3
Newsday
NK 11/3/24
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
Adventureland opened in 1962 as Adventureland 110 Playland. Alvin H. Cohen and Herbert Budin purchased six acres of land in 1960. The park was built at a cost of $1,000,000. The first roller coaster, built by the Alan Herschell Co., was named Little Dipper.
The Adventureland Train has circled the park since 1962. The William Dentzel Carousel was introduced in 1962. Each horse, animal, and chariot were carved from wood and then hand painted. This carousel stayed until 1979. The kiddie speedboats were the oldest surviving opening-day attraction. Children would “captain” their own boats on a small ride. It was removed in 2002.
In the 1970s, Alvin Cohen doubled the parks size from six acres to twelve. In 1972, Cohen sold the park to William Miller. Miller would own the park from 1977 to 1987. He brought ride expert Udo Storck and James “Chip” Cleary onboard his team. He imported from Germany such rides as the Looping Star, Pirate Ship, Music Express, Scorpion, Wave Swinger, and the iconic 1313 Cemetery Way dark ride. By the mid-1970s, the park had 30 rides.
The Wave Swinger, one of the first of its kind brought in from Germany, opened in 1974 and is still a staple today. In the late 1970s, Adventureland would premiere its first big roller coaster, the Galaxi. It featured 1,099 feet of track and reached speeds up to 31 miles per hour.
Cap’n Wild Willy’s Bumper Boats, one of Adventureland’s most beloved and most missed attractions was built in 1982. A 100,000-gallon pool was built to house the ride. In 1987, Willy Miller sold his interest of Adventureland to Tony Gentile. The brand, under the guiding vision of Chip Cleary and Udo Storck would expand to include the creation of the Splish Splash Water Park in Riverhead in the 1990s.
When the Galaxi was sold to a location in Brazil, the Hurricane was erected in 1990. With the success of the Bavarian Village, Germantown and Western Town were added in 1997. The Venetian Double-Decker carousel was introduced to the park in 1999. In 2001, Adventure Falls Log Flume was constructed while the Parachuter and Looping Star were both retired. In 2009, 1313 Cemetery way was removed and replaced by Ghost House. Its newest coaster, the family-friendly Fireball, opened in 2022. The Swiss-made FireBall is a "rollerball" coaster, which means it's a fourth-dimension ride, moving side to side as well as along the tracks. FireBall is the fourth of its kind worldwide.
Sources:
Mercaldo, Christopher. Adventureland. Arcadia Publishing, 2014
Stilwell, Andrew. “Small Park Showcase: Long Island's Adventureland.” Coaster101, 25 May 2022, https://www.coaster101.com/2022/05/25/small-park-showcase-long-islands-adventureland
Sweet, Jacqueline. “Adventureland's Newest Rollercoaster 'Fireball' Opened This Weekend.” Farmingdale, NY Patch, Patch, 27 June 2022, https://patch.com/new-york/farmingdale/adventurelands-newest-rollercoaster-fireball-opened-weekend
Sebastian “Seb” Albrecht was born in 1917. He came to Farmingdale in 1937 from St. Lawrence. He graduated from Albany State Teachers College. He was a football coach in St. Lawrence.
He enrolled at the School of Business Administration at NYU and became a CAP> He began his own practice in 1950. In 1957, he was asked to be on the board of the Sunrise Federal Savings Bank.
In 1960, he was appointed by the County Executive to be on the Vocational Education Board.
He and his wife Helen had three children. Seb Albrecht passed away in 2015.
Sources:
“Appoint Albrecht.” Farmingdale Post. February 11, 1960
Mason-Draffen, Carrie. “Accounting Firm Founder Sebastian A. Albrecht Dies at 98.” Newsday, Newsday, 9 Sept. 2015, www.newsday.com/long-island/obituaries/sebastian-a-albrecht-founder-of-s-a-albrecht-and-co-accounting-firm-dies-at-98-h80855.
Oral history with Helen & Seb Albrecht. June 3, 1997
NK 3/19/2025
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
Theodore G. Andrew was born August 1, 1923. He enlisted on February 9, 1943 with the Air Force. He worked for Republic Aviation at the time of his enlistment. He moved to Florida in 1950 where he became an architect. He was married to Mary Jane and they had three children. He died February 16, 1988.
Sources:
Family Search
Orlando Sentinel
NK 2/4/25
George 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
Anthony William Anselmo was born September 22, 1909. He enlisted on March 2, 1944 with the Navy. He worked for Grumman Aviation for over 25 years. Anthony died in 2005 and is buried at the Trinity Roman Catholic Cemetery in Amityville, NY.
Sources:
Ancestry
Farmingdale Post
Fold3
NK 2/5/25
Frank Joseph Anselmo was born on March 20, 1906. He enlisted on January 17, 1942 with the Army. He was a Private First Class. He was discharged on August 18, 1945.
Frank died on December 12, 1969. He is buried in the Long Island National Cemetery.
Source:
Ancestry
NK 2/10/25
Joseph Frank Anselmo was born on September 17, 1917. He enlisted August 1, 1941 with the US Army. He married Zelind on August 22, 1952. Joseph died on March 22, 2015. He’s buried at Miramar National Cemetery, GA.
Source:
Ancestry
NK 2/4/2025
Francis Thomas Arnold was born August 4, 1922. He enlisted with the US Navy on November 3, 1942. He was an Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1945.
He worked for Ranger Aircraft. He was a member of the Talbonard Post American Legion. He was married to Grace Thorman in 1943.
Sources:
Ancestry
Farmingdale Post
NK 2/5/2025
George Andrew Arnold was born on March 1, 1926. He enlisted April 15, 1944 with the Army. He married Claire Hughes in 1961.
Sources:
Ancestry
Farmingdale Post
NK 2/4/2025
Lawrence Vincent Arnold was born on March 22, 1921. He enlisted on October 10, 1942 with the US Navy. He was a Seaman 2nd Class.
He worked for Bethpage State Park. He was married to Sylvia and they had three children. Lawrence died in 1999.
Sources:
Ancestry
Farmingdale Post
NK 2/4/2025
Benjamin Wesley Arrance was born on May 27, 1898. Her served with the Merchant Marines, He was married to Minnie Blesterfedt and worked for Grumman Aircraft. He was the Commander of the VFW Post 516. Benjamin died on December 2, 195. He is buried in the Amityville Cemetery.
Sources:
Ancestry
Farmingdale Post
NK 2/4/2025
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
Barney Aversano was born on June 21, 1909. He was art of the Battle of the Bulge. In 1944, he was awarded the Purple Heart.
After the war, he was a Long Island State Park office. Her was also the PBA President and Treasurer for the NYS Police Conference.
He was married to Madeline Brand and they had one son.
Barney Aversano passed away on November 14, 2009.
Source:
Newsday
NK 3/13/25
Bartholomew Lawrence Aversano was born on June 21, 1919 with the Army. He worked for Republic Aviation at the time. He was discharged on April 1, 1946 achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant.
He was married to Madeline and they had one son. Bartholomew died on November 14, 2009.
Sources:
Ancestry
FamilySearch
NK 2/10/25
Joseph M. Aversano was born on May 8, 1917. He enlisted on April 29, 1941. He was a Staff Sergeant. He worked for C. O. Schmidt as a store clerk when he enlisted.
He was married to Leona Worden and they had two children. They divorced and he married Alice Okeefe and they had one child. He was president of the Republic Club and a member of the Farmingdale Fire Department.
Joseph died on August 1, 2010. He is buried at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY.
Sources:
Ancestry
Farmingdale Post
Fold3
NK 2/10/25
Mary Aylesworth 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