Farmingdale Care was founded in 1985. It provides child care for Pre-K and school age children who reside in the Farmingdale School District. It is a New York State licensed non-profit day care. The program offers both before and after school care with qualified staff. There also is a six-week full day summer program that included trips, activities, and meals. This program has staff that are New York State Certified Teachers.
In 2001, they applied for a New York State construction grant to build a new center for their program. It provides care at four different centers and serves 300 children. The full day summer program was expanded to eight weeks. In 2002, the program expanded to include four-year-olds.
Sources:
“Farmingdale Care.” Farmingdale Schools, https://farmingdale.syntaxny.com/Assets/District_Documents/Farmingdale_care2.pdf?t=636916071332670000
“Farmingdale Care Expands Program.” Farmingdale Observer. May 10, 2002
Levenson, Marta E. “Farmingdale Care Hopes to Grow.” Farmingdale Observer. January 19, 2001
Farmingdale Lanes opened in January of 1960 at 999 Conklin Street. It was newly built and consisted of 48 lanes, a restaurant and lounge, and a supervised nursery. When it first started operations, it was open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The nursery was only open from 9 AM to 5 PM to give parents an opportunity to bowl during the day.
Milton Rosenberg was the builder. Al Becker was the realtor and owner of the building and property. Hy Sturmak was the president of the corporation. S. J. Riotto was the general manager. George Gould was the restaurant and lounge manager. They praised themselves on having fully automatic pinspotting and AMR machines.
Over the course of its history, the Farmingdale Lanes changed owners. In the early 2000s, Bruno Dicapite was owner, as well as Ray Cavagnaro. The Farmingdale Lanes was then owned by the Maple Family Center Company, which was run by the LaSpina family until its unexpected closure in August of 2021.
Sources:
“Bowling Center Open 'Round-the-Clock'.” Farmingdale Post. January 2, 1960
"Bruno's Farmingdale Lanes." Data Axle
"Farmingdale Lanes." Data Axle
Farmingdale Meat Market was incorporated in 1946 as a small local butcher shop. Its founder Julius Seelig had just finished working for Swift & Co., helping supply meat to all the allied forces during World War II.
The business has grown from its beginnings as a local meat market into Main Street Wholesale Meats, one of the largest independently owned federal inspected meat facilities (Est. 1754) serving Long Island and the Tri-State area.
The 1953 Ford Truck used at the bottom of this website was the first truck Julius bought and now the fleet has grown to nine vehicles. The family traditions are being carried on at Farmingdale Meat Market, Inc. and its wholesale division, Main Street Wholesale Meats, by Julius’s son Kent Seelig and his grandson Lee Seelig.
With a growing staff of professionals, be it drivers, cutters, sales force and office staff, they intend to serve all of our new and old customers, as if we were still running that small little meat market started in 1946. As Julius said: “give them great product and great service and you will always have a successful business.”
They specialize in meat products: beef, veal, lamb, all poultry products, specialty meats, and wild game. They only sell meats so they can concentrate on meat and meat products exclusively. they have an aging program where they age USDA prime, angus and choice meats, so there is a product for every need. Since they are federally inspected, they have a very strict HAACP program which ensures the safety of our products.
Timeline:
1946 – Julius Seelig opens store
1956 – Moves to a larger store at 196 Main Street
1959 – Kent starts working with his father
1979 – Kent takes over the business
1988 – Expands operation to include 212 and 214 Main Street
1998 – Expanded USDA Plant
2003 – Deliveries start to Manhattan and Westchester
2007 – New Website is launched at www.MainStreetMeats.com. Lee Seelig, son of Kent and grandson of Julius, joins the business
2010 – Connecticut delivery schedule expanded. New York City grows to three trucks daily
Source:
“Home.” Main Street Meats, http://mainstreetmeats.com/retail/about-us/a-timeline
Farmingdale Music Center is located on 135 Main Street.
In 1923, the LiCausi family moved to 135 Main Street from Manhattan when Al was 4. Al was successful in music, playing piano and accordion professionally from high school on.
In 1945, he inherited his childhood home and converted it to the Farmingdale Music Center
Al’s son, Frank graduated from Five Towns College in 1977 with a degree in Musical Instrument Technology which launched an on-premise repair facility. Frank took over in 1982 with Al’s retirement. Frank was presented Distinguished Alumni Award in 1992 at Five Towns
Farmingdale Music Center now offers personalized music instruction and lessons, repairs done promptly on-premise, and quality band and orchestral instrument rentals and purchase.
The Farmingdale Music Foundation was incorporated in 1949. Its purpose was to further the appreciation of music and the allied arts, It would present an annual concert series. In addition, using members of the community, it would produce an annual Gilbert & Sullivan operetta.
The Foundation would hold annual auditions for music students under 19 all over Long Island. Five or six finalists played at a public concert and were given cash prizes. The Foundation also offered music appreciation classes for children. In 1950, there were 40 applicants and 110 in 1955. The first winner was a flautist, Milton Bergey, from Huntington who used the prize money to finance a summer study at Tanglewood Music School.
The first Board consisted of the following officers:
Paul A. Erlanson, President
Alfred W. Russell, Vice-President
William Wesche, Secretary
S. A. Albrecht, Tresurer
Mrs. H. McDaniel
Dennis J. Donegan
Herbert Grundman
Weldon E. Howitt
Mrs. R MacArthur
Dr. Frederick M. Rosen
William T. Schwendler
Charles Tilgner, Jr.
Carl F, Wedell
Some of the operas performed were “Pirates of Penzance, “The Mikado,” and “HMS Pinafore.” Male and female members of the community contributed in the choirs Song Sirs and the Women’s Chorale. The Farmingdale Orchestra would accompany the singers. The activities of the Foundation had ceased by 1965.
Source:
Rosen, Lucille. “Farmingdale Music Foundation Drew Top Music Talent.” Farmingdale Observer. March 23, 1967
The Farmingdale Observer was founded in 1956 by Frank and Caroline Bunting Klesh. It was sold to Hiber Publishing in 1970. When the Farmingdale Post shuttered its doors in 1981, the Observer took on all its subscribers with no extra cost to them.
Source:
Farmingdale Observer
The Farmingdale Post was a local newspaper made specifically for and about the Village of Farmingdale. It was created by longtime resident, Jesse Merritt (who, at the time, was a clerk for the Nassau County Board of Supervisors) and his wife, Mabel, along with several interested friends.
The first issue was published and put into circulation on November 19, 1920 and they accomplished this from a storefront rented on the east side of Main Street. The storefront was rented from Joseph Appelt, and it was across from the old post office.
In 1922, the paper was incorporated and they purchased property on Front Street. This location was where they erected a small print shop that they called Bethpage Press, but unfortunately this shop burned down in 1927. The shop was completely destroyed and they also lost most of the presses.
A couple of years into its circulation, the New York State Press Association awarded the Farmingdale Post the prize for best editorial page in both style and content amongst the papers of its class.
Mabel Merritt was the paper’s first editor. As editor, she encourage many community projects. One major project that Mrs. Merritt worked on was the editing and publishing of a Community Cookbook, which contained hundreds of recipes from local residents and each recipe was signed by the creator. Mrs. Merritt was a dedicated editor spending the majority of her time in kitchens learning the recipes and any cooking secrets for the paper, as well as gathering local stories for the paper. Her time and dedication was more than successful with more than a thousand cookbooks printed and sold. These books were sold by local clubs, Ladies Aid Societies, and fraternal organizations and on a liberal commission basis.
The Farmingdale Post took pride in their community efforts, especially in aiding in the establishment of the Farmingdale Public Library and choosing the village flower, which is the Forsythia.
In 1934, Griscom Publications purchased the Farmingdale Post. At this time, Mabel Merritt resigned as editor after spending fourteen years in the position, and as the head of the staff. Grey Mason became the paper’s new editor following Mrs. Merritt’s resignation.
The Farmingdale Post had a motto which was “Keep Posted—Read the Post”, and did its best to keep the public informed of local news. The paper was published every Wednesday, until it stopped publication at the end of December 1981.
Sources:
Farmingdale Junior Honor Society. Farmingdale’s Story: Farms to Flight. The Society, 1956
“Farmingdale Post Acquires New Owner.” Farmingdale Post. March 23, 1961
“Farmingdale Post Will Become Tabloid Starting February 28.” Farmingdale Post. February 21, 1952
“Welcome Post Readers.” Farmingdale Observer. January 28, 1982
The Long Island Railroad service reached Farmingdale on October 15, 1841. Two trains ran per day and one on Sundays. The price for a ticket at the time was two cents. The noise of the trains was not welcome by the locals. Adding to their discontent was the fact that the wood-burning engines caused brush fires. In fact, certain farmers became “vigilantes” and tore up tracks and burned down stations to protest. Some even wrecked expensive train cards. In 1850, the Long Island Railroad ceased Sunday service. When service began, there weren’t passenger stations as we know them now. The first structures were fuel stores to keep the wood for the locomotives dry.
Farmingdale had two lines: the Main line and the Central line. In 1872, Alexander Stewart created the Central railroad which connected Farmingdale to Garden City and Babylon. It began building the Bethpage branch that same year. By 1873, the Central Railroad offered Farmingdale residents seven trips per day compared to the two the Long Island Railroad offered. The rates for this line were also cheaper than the Main line. The last listing on the timetable for this line was 1875. The Central line was built on the east side of Main Street while the Main line’s depot was located on South Front Street.
In 1895, the Long Island Railroad proposed to move the Main line’s station a quarter of a mile east. The new depot began having trains arrive at it in May of 1896. In January 1906, the LIRR gave the first public intimation of its intentions to build a trolley road from Huntington Station through Melville and Farmingdale to Amityville. The LIRR bought a two-acre tract from John Mullins opposite the Huntington Station in April. That summer, the LIRR embarked on the process of securing franchises for the trolley from all the regulatory bodies involved. The Highway Commissioners granted the franchise on October 6. In December, cross ties arrived at Farmingdale and Huntington and preparations were made to being work in February if weather permitted. Difficulties created a postponement of the line, but work finally resumed in October of 1908. The line officially opened on August 25, 1909.
The line was 18.5 miles long and the tips lasted one hour and 16 minutes. Three cars gave hourly service. The cars were small double truck convertibles. Power substations were located at the railroad stations in Huntington and Farmingdale. A second story addition was built to the Farmingdale station for this purpose.
In 1914, the Motel T was invented and then World War I hit; reducing passengers even more. One of the last timetables was dated October 1918. By that time, cars were only running from Amityville to Huntington. After making scheduled trips on September 23, 1919, the railroad took away all six trolley cars, effectively ending the Cross-Island Trolley. The Huntingtom to Halesite line remained open, but only carried 100 passengers a day. That car ended service in 1924. All services ceased on August 15, 1927.
In 1955, diesel engine locomotives replaced steam powered ones. An elevated platform was constructed at the station began in 1984 and completed in 1986. On June 22, 1987, the Long Island Railroad began using electrified trains to Farmingdale. Twelve trains operated weekdays providing direct service to Penn Station or Flatbush Avenue. This eliminated the need to change from one train to another at Hicksville or Jamaica. The entire electrification project of the Ronkonkoma Line was finished in December of that year.
In 1990 and 1991, the Columbus Day Fair proceeds all went to the restoration of the train station in time for the 150th Anniversary of railroad service to Farmingdale in 1991. In charge of the restoration committee was Daniel Looney. The station received a new parking lot, painted signs, new woodwork, new doors, new windows, new lights, a walkway, and new landscaping. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places that year. The interior waiting room was renovated in 1996.
Sources:
“Electric Trains are Here.” Farmingdale Observer. June 18, 1997
Maloney, Michael J. “Fair to be Bigger & Better than ’90.” Farmingdale Observer. September 13, 1991
Thompson, Edward J. Farmingdale Train Station Restoration Project. 1991
Thompson, Edward J. “The History of Farmingdale Railroad Service 1841-1991.”
Ziel, Ron and Foster, George H. Steel Rails to the Sunrise: The Long Island Rail Road. Hawthorn Books, 1965
Updated NK 12/22/22
Farmingdale Wine and Liquor was located at 273 Main Street. It was managed by Larry Rose and opened in 1945. In 1947, the store was totally renovated and modernized. Larry's sister Mrs. Lee Sokolov was his partner in the business.
Larry attended Farmingdale High School. He spent a few years in the Army Air Force before returning home and attending Hofstra College, where he graduated from in 1947. In college, he was the president of the Junior Class and vice-president of the Senior Class. He was mentioned in the Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.
The store carried a selection of imported and domestic wines, brandies, cordials, and liquors. They offered gift packages and their specialty allowed customers to buy by the case.
Source:
Farmingdale Post
Police Officer Keith A. Ferrara died on May 29, 2019 at the age of 53 from 9-11 related cancer. Ferrara was assigned to search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center. Ferrara started with NYPD in 1990 and left after 20 years of service. When he left, he was an officer in the Brooklyn Court Section. Ferrara was an avid runner and tri-athlete. He is survived by his wife, Carol (possibly Carole) and three children, Krystin, Matt, and Mark.
Source:
Keith Ferrara. Tunnel to Towers Foundation. (2021, October 6). Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://t2t.org/first_responders/keith-ferrara/
NYPD News [@NYPDnews]. (2021, September 12). Police Officer Keith A. Ferrara, Brooklyn Court Section | End of Tour: 05/29/19 #NeverForget.
[Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/nypdnews/status/1436908691048046592?lang=en
Police officer Keith A. Ferrara. The Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP). (2022, March 11). Retrieved October 14, 2022, from
https://www.odmp.org/officer/24427-police-officer-keith-a-ferrara
The 56th Fighter Group Restaurant opened approximately in 1984 on the grounds of Republic Airport. The 1917 French Style Allied Headquarters Farmhouse sat on the site where the P-47 fighter aircraft was built during WWII. The restaurant was part of the Specialty Restaurants Corporation. John D. Tallichet, president and chairman of the company, said his father, David C. Tallichet Jr., was a pilot who flew more than 20 missions in a B-17 over Europe in World War II, before founding his first restaurant in the late 1950s. The company has about 25 restaurants around the country.
The restaurant was named for an Army Air Forces unit that relied on P-47s, built by Republic Aviation, to achieve a high rate of air-to-air kills in World War II. The 56th was one of three P-47 groups in England, and the only one to previously train on the Thunderbolt. The 56th Fighter Group won a Distinguished Unit Citation for a series of missions flown between February 20 and March 9, 1944. The campaign opened with Operation Argument, better known as "the Big Week", a sustained attempt to destroy the Luftwaffe in the air while attacking aircraft factories with strategic bombing.
The restaurant had rustic timbered ceilings and cozy dining rooms that boasted seven fireplaces and a view of the runway of Republic Airport. It housed an extensive collection of aviation and WWII memorabilia. At one point, the restaurant offered headphones at select booths so people could listen to the air tower.
It closed down in 2012 due to issues with the lease agreement with the airport. In August 2023, the building was razed due to health and safety concerns.
Sources:
Asbury, John. “56th Fighter Group Restaurant in East Farmingdale, Known for WWIIMemorabilia, Being Razed for Safety.” Newsday, Newsday, 22 Aug. 2023, www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/56th-fighter-group-demolished-xxy4xy4o
“56th Operations Group.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/56th_Operations_Group
Robinson, Pam. “56th Fighter Group Restaurant's Nod to LI.” Farmingdale, NY Patch, Patch, 21 July 2012, patch.com/new-york/farmingdale/56th-fighter-group-restaurant-s-nod-to-li
Robinson, Pam. “56th Fighter Group Restaurant to Shut Down.” Farmingdale, NY Patch, Patch, 19 July 2012, patch.com/new-york/farmingdale/56th-fighter-group-restaurant-to-shut-down-bed9ef5f
Allan Finger was born in the Bronx. His first job was at a nearby farm. He eventually moved to Farmingdale. He opened the electronic store Central Electric Service in 1925. He also repaired electrical items.
In 1946, he was appointed Chair of the Parsonage Repair Committee at St. Luke’s. He and his wife Harriet had eight children.
Sources:
“Church to Sell Memorial Funds.” Nassau Daily Review-Star. February 15, 1946
“Success Stories.” Farmingdale Post. April 1, 1932
William Fleet enlisted on October 12, 1861 in Farmingdale, New York. He was 19 years old. He was mustered in on October 16, 1861 with the 102nd Regiment of the New York Volunteer Infantry. He served as a private in Company H. He died of fever on July 27, 1862 in Winchester, Virginia.
Source:
New York State Military Museum
George E. Fuechsel was born on November 29, 1894 in Farmingdale to Robert and Mary Fuechsel.
George E. Fuechsel enlisted in the service on July 22, 1918. He did not serve overseas. Fueschel served in the Veterinary Corps in Camp Upton, New York until discharge. During his time in the service, George, E. Fuechsel was promoted to a Farrier on October 1, 1918 and a Sergeant 1st Class on November 18. 1918. He was honorably discharged on June 25, 1919.
After his time in the service George E. Fuechsel married Louisa and had two children. He worked in the textile industry working with dyes for over twenty years as a foreman and manager. Fuechsel passed away on January 7, 1959; he is buried at the Powell Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.
Sources:
Ancestry
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