Bethpage-Tribune_1998-02-20

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Serving Bethpage, Island Trees, Plainedge, Seaford, Old Bethpage & Plainview
VOL. 32 NO. 8 Feb. 20-Feb. 26,1998 40 CENTS
Central Park Historical
Society Update
JANUARY MEETING -
Wednesday, January 28th, Mr.
David Catalano, Superintendent of
Bethpage State Park, gave a very
interesting presentation on the de­velopment
of the Bethpage State
Park. His program was enthusiasti­cally
received by all in attendance!
In preparation for this program,
Mr. Catalano researched the history
of the park. Unfortunately some of
the history has been lost or never
documented. While all are eagerly
preparing for the US Open in 2002
an effort will be made to gather in­formation
on this grand and beauti­ful
park. To-date the Central Park
Historical Society has been working
with the Farmingdale-Bethpage His­torical
Society by researching the
park history and compiling a photo
essay on the up gradingof the
Black Course where the Open will
be played. You can play a roll in this
event if you would share informa-.
tion, in the way of, pictures, stories
and your recollections on the park.
With your help we could pull to­gether
some of the missing links.
To highlight a part of Mr. Cata-lano's
presentation:
1,368 acres of land was pur­chased
in 1912 by Benjamin
Yoakum, a railroad executive. On
this.property he founded Lenox Hills
Golf Club. Mr. Catalano took us
through the years of design and
development of the Golf Club. Upon
Mr. Yoakum's death in 1929, the
Long Island Park Commission took
over the lease operating the Lenox
Hills Country Club as a public facility
from 1932-1934. In 1932 Jessie
Merritt, the Nassau County Historian
and direct descendent of Thomas
Powell, proposed naming the prop­erties
Bethpage Park.
In 1933, Governor Lehman
called a special legislative session in
an effort to help relieve unemploy­ment
this time Robert Moses pro­posed
to establish the Bethpage
Park Authority with the power to is­sue
bonds for acquisition, improve­ment
and operation of Bethpage
State Park. Resulting in, the con­struction
of the new clubhouse as a
work relief project. The clubhouse
and three of the four 18 hole golf
courses were open to the public on
August 10, 1935.
Over the years the public coun­try
club continued to grow in design
to become a magnificent golf
course. In 1975 the Bethpage Park
Authority became a State Park. Un­fortunately
due to financial set
backs and funding the park suffered
greatly and deterioration set in.
Fortunately in 1995 Governor
Pataki and Commissioner Castro
made a commitment to return
Bethpage State Park to its rightful
position among the worlds finest
golf complexes! And we will wel­come
the US Open in 2002!
Mr. Catalano proudly made our
members aware of the charm of the
park, a park for all ages, all season,
all pleasures, and the beauty of the
y seasonal changes enhance its
splendor! Spring, summer and fall
the park is available for picnicking,
children's playgrounds, ball fields,
trails for walking, biking and horse­back
riding, free polo matches on
Sunday afternoons, clay tennis
courts, and of course, golf. During a
mile winter the park continues to
provide the above pleasures, but if
it snows!, the park has the best
sleigh riding down those wonderful
hills formed by the great glaciers
and all those trails are great for
cross country skiing. Truly a wonder
for all seasons!
Mr. Catalano also arranged a
slide presentation showing the past
deterioration of the Black Course
and on to the reconstruction which
has begun to regain its status as
one of the very best!
The entire program was re­corded
by George Hoban on our
newly purchased video camcorder!
We realize we must capture these
informative presentations for our ar­chives.
We thank George for his in­put
and purchasing our camcorder.
Some little known facts about a
well know golf course supplied by
Mr. Catalano:
Cumulative rounds of golf since
1932 - 14,050,042
Most rounds in a year - 1966 -
344,800
Fewest rounds in a year - 1943 -
16,457
Currently, average approximately
300,000 rounds of golf per year
Golf reservation system
FEBRUARY MEETING - Febru­ary
25, 1998, at 8:00 PM, Beth­page
Library theater on the main
floor, Powell Ave., Bethpage, for
more information call Lenny
Mulqueen at 935-2674 or Ann Al-bertson
933-1795. We are very for-
Gift Of Life
Legislator Ed Mangano and Assemblyman Marc Herbst joined with the
Bethpage Rotary Club President Bryant Kaplan in honoring Dan Carroll
for his work with the Gift of Life Program. Dan's dedication and
personal commitment to this program has exceeded the club's
expectations. Dan has personally visited the children in their homes at
his own expense and has identified children in need. Dan is a strong
advocate and a diligent fundraiser for this program, because every
Five Thousand Dollars raised saves a life. Dan's fellow Rotarians,
family and friends enjoyed a heart warming celebration of Dan's efforts
and achievements. If you are interested in contributing to this program
write the Bethpage Rotary at PO Box 301, Bethpage NY 11714.
tunate to have Lois Lovisolo, mem­ber
of our society, with her willing­ness
to share her expertise about
the internet. Lois is reference librar­ian
at the Bethpage Library. She wil
demonstrate and explain how we
can utilize the computer resources
available at our library for genea­logical,
historical, and general in­formation
and usage. A wonderful
opportunity to explore the world of
the internet! Join us and bring a
friend! All are welcomed!
MARCH MEETING - March 25,
1998, 8:00, Bethpage Library. Mr.
Robert Shapiro from WLUX, easy
listening radio, 540 on you AM dial,
will be our guest. Mr. Shapiro will
speak on the history of radio and
about WLUX. WLUX music is
genuinely a daily trip back in time.
What better way to remember and
relive our past as we do with music
of times we lived and the events
that took place. Only to be inter­rupted
and brought up-to-date with
the present day happenings with
their reporting the news and
weather every 30 minutes. Mark
you calendar for this interesting
program.
ARCHIVES - During the holiday
season George Hoban has been
working alone to set up the newly
purchased computer and scanner.
We are grateful to North­rop/
Grumman for their generous
donation of the scanner. George
has had the opportunity to beauti-
(Cont. on pg. 4)