Plaques saved from Seaford Ave. School

In the past few months, the Seaford Herald Citizen has been running excellent news articles by Editor Andrew Hackmack, Reporter Laura Shofer and others.  In the issue of November 20-26, 2014, it reports on several items saved from the Seaford Avenue School before demolition and donated to the Seaford Historical Society.  Almost every time I voted there, I looked at the 1939 plaques and resolved to photograph them.  I never did so, but I am glad the Herald Citizen has published the photos.
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I erroneously thought that the upper plaque referred to the WPA, which we learned about in history books of the early 1950's.  Instead, it refers to the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, which built 7,488 school buildings, the Triborough Bridge, and financed the 11,000 volt electrification of the Pennsylvania Railroad, if I'm correct, from New Rochelle to Harrisburg and Washington.

Wantagh Preservation Society

At the Wantagh railroad station, the Wantagh Preservation Society has a display of photographs and announcements as shown below.

Arlene, one of his granddaughters, lived here and attended Freeport High School because Wantagh High School had not yet been built.  Later, she shone as teacher of Latin and English literature at Freeport High School.

 I wonder which direction this view is, east or west.

When did Mulcahy's arrive?

Was it in 1972 that McDonald's replaced the hotel?  That McDonald's had decorations of railroad themes inside.  Because it did not have a drive-thru, it was demolished (in the 1980's or 1990's?) and the present building constructed.

Seaford Fire Dept. Tree Lighting December 6th

Veterans' Day, 2014

 Each year, the well-phrased prayers and comments on peacetime and wartime impress me, especially since respect, decency, mature values and common sense replace jingoism.

 Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Groups of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts added to the commemoration by their presence.

Autumn, 2014

North from the station platform, October 19, 2014.

View from Shore Place near Island Channel Road.

Mill Pond Park, Merrick Road, Wantagh, October 27, 2014.

Harvest Festival, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014

Speed cameras

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

This device clocked a skateboarder at 12 m.p.h.  The cameras are about 400 feet north of this sign.

Both northbound and southbound devices are attached to this pole.  At top are the lights.

The camera lens in this photo seems to be aimed at the rear of northbound cars.  Presumably, the boxes are merely controls and transmission devices.  Or is downloading done physically by an employee visiting each camera?  Near the lower box can be seen a flat pad, one in each direction. Might this register an approaching car and ready the camera, or is it the radar capturing the speed of the car that has just passed?  I could not determine the aim of these pads. 

American Lion

American History / American Biography Book Discussion a the Seaford Public Library, Monday, September 29, 2014, 2 p.m.  Book: American Lion, Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham.
A thought-provoking study of Andrew Jackson chronicles the life and career of a self-made man who went on to become a military hero and seventh president of the United States, analyzing Jackson's role during a turbulent era, the political crises and person upheaval that surrounded him, and his legacy for the modern presidency. Facilitated by Library Director Frank McKenna.  Copies of the book will be available when you register.  Registration begins Monday, September 8th, at the Registration Desk.  
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I have no idea whether the street names were selected, recalling Jackson's nickname "Old Hickory," which he earned during the War of 1812.  I suspect that Jackson indicates a family that was around here in the 1700's.  Maybe Hickory resembles the Maple Street two blocks north and parallel.

Marie McCormack, taught at Seaford Manor School

We are sad to learn that friend Marie McCormack passed away yesterday, August 3, 2014.  She and her husband raised their family of eight in Seaford.  For many years she taught at the Seaford Manor School.  May she rest in peace.
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Her funeral Mass is Friday, August 8, 2014, 10 a.m. at the church of St. William the Abbot, 2000 Jackson Avenue, Seaford.

A hundred years ago

A hundred years ago, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.  In 1917, the United States entered the "Great War," leading to this memorial facing Sunrise Highway in front of the Seaford train station.  Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

Newsday has taken the alphabetical list of World War I dead as assembled by volunteers at the New York State Military Museum and made it more searchable by community, linked here. Entering community names Seaford, Massapequa, Wantagh, Bellmore, and Merrick comes up with no names.  The list for Hempstead shows eight, but it is ambiguous whether it is Town or Village of Hempstead.  As Baldwin is unincorporated, but listed with six losses, I surmise that communities with "no names" did not suffer deaths. The lists show how, in combat, illnesses also could be fatal.  

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Many thanks to all who served.

Taco Bell demolished and rebuilt

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

The week of July 20, 2014, saw the destruction of the closed Taco Bell restaurant at 3950 Sunrise Highway, Seaford.  As of August 25, 2014, the signs indicate that a new Taco Bell is under construction.  Edit: a new building was opened for breakfast, lunch, and "dinner" a few days before Christmas, 2014.
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The county tax records state that the building was built for Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips in 1972.  Please see the comment from a man who worked there.  Recent assessments were for $591,000. What was there in the 1950's?