Howard Jaisle was born on January 16, 1900 in Farmingdale to Stephen and Emma Jaisle.
Howard Jaisle enlisted in the service on November 8, 1918; he did not serve overseas. Jaisle was assigned to the 555th Motor Truck Company until discharge. During his time in the service, Jaisle was promoted to the rank of Corporal on February 2, 1919. He was honorably discharged on July 8, 1919.
After his time in the service, Howard Jaisle married Mildred and had three children. He worked as a salesman and eventually as a manager in a laundry store for over thirty years. Howard Jaisle passed away on May 25, 1965; he is buried at the Melville Cemetery in Melville, New York.
Sources:
Ancestry
Fold3
ND 6/24
John Birkentall Florist opened on Main Street on 1949. In addition to flowers, the florist offered an array of gifts in pottery, brass, copper, iron, planter lamps, and Ming gardens.
John Birkental was born in England and graduated from the Royal Horticultural College of England. He moved to Farmingdale in 1935. He was originally associated with Stumpp and Walter as a manager. His wife, Ann, took a course in floral design prior to the opening of the store.
Source:
Farmingdale Post
John O. Wagner Flour, Hay, & Grain Yard was opened on Conklin Street in 1917. It closed in 1954.
William James Johnston was born on August 11, 1932. Johnston grew up in Emsworth, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. He was the youngest of two sons of parents who emigrated from Northern Ireland to the United States.
Johnston spent about eight years working as a high school social studies teacher in the Pittsburgh area after earning both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He moved to Farmingdale in 1962.
William Johnston served as part of the Farmingdale School District for 32 years, first as teacher, then as assistant principal, and then principal. He and his wife Mildred raised six children in the home they lived in for over 50 years.
In 1990, he became the Village of Farmingdale historian, a position he held for over 20 years. During that time, he wrote articles and led village history walks where people would learn about Farmingdale’s historic buildings and other details of the neighborhood’s past. Johnston also started the “Minute of History” interlude during the village’s summer concert series, which is a break in the musical performances in which Johnston or another speaker would share some of the area’s history. Johnston was honored in 2009 with the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Local Government Historians award, given to him by the State Historian and the Association of Public Historians of New York State. The award recognizes an individual for lifetime achievement in the practice of public history. He and his wife were lifetime members of the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society.
Johnston died on March 30, 2019
Sources:
Fauci, Jennifer. “Farmingdale Faces: William Johnston.” Farmingdale, NY Patch, Patch, 11 Aug 2011, patch.com/new-york/farmingdale-farmingdale-faces-william-johnston
Murphy, Bridget. “Longtime Educator, Village Historian Dies at 86.” Newsday, Newsday, 6 Apr. 2019, www.newsday.com/long-island/obituaries/william-johnston-obituary-1.29429006
Luita Elizabeth Jones (nee Turner) was born in Brushton, New York. After graduating from Brushton High School, she attended a training course for teachers. She taught at the Brushton schools before moving to Farmingdale in 1922. She became a history teacher at Main Street School.
She was the advisor to the Farmingdale Branch of the New York State Junior Historical Association. The members of this association created the book Farmingdale’s Story: Farms to Flight and dedicated it to her.
Source:
Farmingdale Junior Honor Society. Farmingdale’s Story: Farms to Flight. The Society, 1956
Notes from Jeannette Kemball Ketcham