Update 3-6-12

Hi,

Business first, this time of year.

We got $175 towards the Booker Gibson / Vince Tampio scholarships.  Added to the $240 we had, that gives us $415.  That's $215 in the Gibson fund and $200 in the Tampio fund.  Not that it's a race or anything.

$585 to go.  As before, please make your checks out to me, Rich Eisbrouch, and send them to:  23030 Dolorosa Street, Woodland Hills, California  91367.  Please indicate in the bottom left corner of the check which scholarship you'd like to support, or if you'd like your money to be split between them.

Also, Linda Tobin Kettering nicely said that she'd happily present the awards again this year, which is terrific.

And I confirmed to Liz King Giordano at South that we'd again support the scholarships, for the ninth of our projected ten years.

Related to South, Emily Kleinman Schreiber wrote reminding everyone that:  The next meeting of South's Alumni Association will be this Thursday, March 8th, at 7:15 in the school library.  As usual, everyone's welcome, and Emily would like to get as many people as possible involved.

Related to education:  This weekend, I was giving a test at a nearby high school and happened to glance at a list of the school's teachers.  Something that surprised me was that out of 125 teachers, 25 taught Special Ed. 
    This is a wealthy, upper-middle class community.  What's going on?  Well, it seems there are no vocational programs anymore.  People uninterested in college, who used to be trained for careers, are now being forced through simplified versions of Romeo and Juliet and Tale of Two Cities. 
    Yeah, I know:  if I had kids or grandchildren or had taught high school, I would have known this already.

In mail, another topical link from Barbara Blitfield Pech:  This is to the Valley Stream Times, billed as "Valley Stream's new online content site."  The link:  ValleyStreamTimes . com   (please remove the spaces).

Clicking on the link, I got these top stories:
        Holy Name of Mary Students Honored
        Woman Robbed of Chain
        Two Teen Girls Robbed on Merrick Road
        Valley Stream Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Awards
        Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, Councilman Jim Darcy, and Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin
                 Host S.T.O.P. Program (Stop Throwing Out Pollutants)
        Police Investigate Gunshots Fired
        Attempted Kidnapping in Hendrickson Park
            and
        Nassau County to Spray for Mosquitos in Valley Stream
    
The newest story was posted on 10/11/11, so I guess Valley Stream is still a sleepy little village.  The oldest story, posted on 5/14/11, is:
        Long Island Is Losing Its Youth.

I could have told them that long ago, but this story's specifically about kids leaving Long Island.  Some of the text:  "With crushing taxes and a bad job economy, many Long Islanders are looking to move out of New York within the next five years, according to a new Marist College poll.  According to the poll, 26% of adults in New York State plan to move someplace else in the next five years while 67% say they will stay.  That number increases to 36% of New Yorkers under the age of 30 who are planning to leave New York within the next five years."

On the site's home page, if you click on "VS Pics," there's a great photo of the triangular runway of Curtis Field, where Green Acres / Millbrook now is.  And if you click on "History," you get this, unfortunately without narration by -- the I believe late -- John Knapp.

    In the year 1640, 14 years after the arrival of the Dutch settlers in Manhattan, the area that is now Valley Stream was purchased by the Dutch West India Company from the Rockaway Indians. There was no development of the woodland area for the next two centuries. The census of 1840 list about 20 families, most of whom owned large farms. At that time, the northwest section was called “Fosters Meadow”. The business section on Rockaway Avenue was called “Rum Junction” because of its lively nightlife. The racy northern section was known as “Cookie Hill”, and the section of the northeast that housed the local fertilizer plant was called “Skunks Misery”. Hungry Harbor, a section that has retained its name, was home to a squatter’s community. Robert Pagan was born in Scotland on December 3, 1796. In or about the late 1830s, Robert, his wife Ellen, and their children emigrated from Scotland. On the journey to America, one of their children died and was buried at sea. The 1840 U.S. Census for Queens County lists Pagan's occupation as a farmer. Two children were born to Robert and Ellen Pagan after they settled in the town of Hempstead.
    At this time, the community did not have a post office, so mail had to be picked up in Hempstead. Pagan petitioned the appropriate authorities for a post office and it was house in his home, the Pagan-Fletcher House[2]. He was advised that the community needed a name. Pagan chose "Valley Stream" based on the topographical appearance of the area. In 1843, the U.S. Post Office formally accepted the name of Valley Stream. As a consequence, Pagan is credited with naming the community. Pagan died on March 25, 1870.
    Mr. Pagan’s wife, Ellen, also played a significant role in village history. Tired of traveling to Lynbrook for religious services, she began holding the services in her home. A Methodist minister was hired for periodic stops in the Pagan home, and the first congregation in Valley Stream was founded. She also pushed for her husband to change the family to Payan, seen now in Payan Avenue.
    In 1853, Hempstead Turnpike was the only route that connected Valley Stream to Jamaica and New York City. The main streets in Valley Stream that connected the small village to the turnpike were Mill Road (which is Corona Avenue today) in the west, Sand Street (Central Avenue) in the south, and Dutch Broadway in the north. That year Merrick Road, a planked, one lane road came through Valley Stream, connecting the village to Merrick in the east, and Jamaica to the west. With the new thoroughfare in the area, Valley Stream residents and industry began to move southward.
    In 1869, the South Side Railroad began stopping in Valley Stream and a branch of the railroad was constructed that connected the main line with the Rockaways. The new branch is now called the Far Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Railroad.
    The new railroad, combined with the emergence of Merrick Road as a major artery, caused Valley Stream to grow into a substantial community. At the turn of the century, Hendrickson Park became a prime vacationing spot for people from Brooklyn and Queens. The Valley Stream Hotel opened at the beginning of the 20th Century, overlooking the golf course. Many tourists who came to visit wound up moving to Valley Stream. The Village of Valley Stream was incorporated in 1925 as a result of its growth.
    In 1922, developer William R. Gibson came to Valley Stream after building more than 2,500 homes in Queens. He bought 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land on Roosevelt Avenue and built homes on Avondale, Berkeley, Cambridge, Derby, and Elmwood Streets. Five years later he expanded his development to Cochran Place and Dartmouth Street.
    Realizing that his development was perfectly designed for the new class of white-collar commuters he petitioned the Long Island Railroad for a stop. The LIRR agreed to stop in the area if Gibson would build the station himself. On May 29, 1929, the Gibson station was opened. Gibson Hewlett station, as it became known, still retains the name of its founder.

If all that seems familiar, it's because it's lifted from the Valley Stream Wikipedia page, some of which has been here before.  And who said only kids can plagiarize?

The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com

The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com / SouthHS65

As usual, please delete the spaces.


Rich