Ancient Hixtory
Wonderful articles about the history of Hicksville, researched and written by Ron Wencer. This complete monthly series spans 4 years, from May 2018 until April 2022. Enjoy!
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- Ronald Wencer
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Arthur H. Heiser, Bird's-Eye Map of Long Island (annotated by author)
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, September 8, 1910
Hicksville Becomes a Suburb (Part II)
On Tunnel Day (the day in 1910 on which the LIRR first carried passengers beneath the East River), the Brooklyn Daily Eagle printed a two-page detailed aerial drawing of Long Island. The implication was clear: For New Yorkers who had been longing for homes outside the City, the whole of the Island now was within reach.
Click here to continue reading September 2019: Hicksville Becomes a Suburb (Part II)
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H. Strehm, 34th Street Ferry, 1910
New York Public Library Digital Collection
Can you imagine a Hicksville with no commuters?
Click here to continue reading August 2019: Over and Under the East River
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- Ronald Wencer
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Horse and Wagon
For twelve chilly, meandering hours, the horse had been plodding on its way from one village to the next. Now, early in the evening of one of the shortest days of the year, Jericho's roads were as dark as Freeport's had been when the horse set out that morning. The animal was hungry, and the old fisherman driving the wagon knew it. And so, Bill Rhodes drove to the Jericho Hotel, right at the corner where the Turnpike ended at Main Street. He tied up his rig and slung a feedbag from the horse's head.
Click here to continue reading July 2019: 1878, A Man is Murdered
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In the 1950s, not long after my tenth birthday, I walked over to "Town" on an errand for my mother. As usual, on the way back I took a short detour past Boslet's Hobby Shop on Herzog Place. In the window, I saw something new:
HO Scale Heinz Pickle Car model by Revell Inc., c.1957
worthpoint.com
A railroad car built to carry only vats of pickles seemed strange to my young brain.
Click here to continue reading June 2019: The Heinz Era, 1893-1921
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On the first Memorial Day after World War I, Hicksville school children laid wreaths at three saplings, planted in memory of the local men who had died in the conflict: Sgt. Joseph A. Barry, Pvt. Charles A. Wagner, and Cpl. Walter S. Wheeler.
No one in the village visited the men's graves that day, for they lay buried in France.
Gold Star Mother Ellen Barry stands at the grave of her son Joseph.
Plot A Row 1 Grave 29, Suresnes American Cemetery, Suresnes, France
Photo courtesy of Barry family relative C.E.B. Howard
Click here to continue reading May 2019: Greater Love Hath No Man Than This
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The Magic of Hicksville's Mike Caruso
Each year, connoisseurs of fine automobiles attend the Salon Rétromobile in Paris. At the 2019 Salon, Ivan Dutton Ltd exhibited five superbly restored vehicles to showcase the company's work. Four were classic Bugatti's - but the fifth was a storied Midget racer, powered by half of a Bugatti engine, and built in a salvage yard in Hicksville.
Built by Mike Caruso, its presence amidst hundreds of the world's most prized cars was a reminder of two facets of his unique legacy: his outstanding success as a builder of racing cars, and his role in the preservation of a number of classic automobiles.
Partial view of Ivan Dutton "stand" at Salon Rétromobile, Paris, February 2019
photo provided by Mark Thomas
Click here to continue reading April 2019: Automotive Alchemy
