Bethpage-Tribune_1969-03-13

              (Ssland BetKpage Public Library
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Serving Bethpage - Plainview - Island Trees - Plainedge - Seatord
Vol. 3 No. 20
Thursday, March 13, 1969
From
The Publisher's Desk
10< per cepy
* * M b ^ * i * * *
A goal of one physician in general practice for
every 100 families instead of the present ratio of
one GP for every 500 families may be realized
in a bill just passed in the State Legislature.
State Senator William T. Conklin (R.-Brooklyn),
author of the measure to stop the decline in the
number of family physicians, said today he will
personally appeal to Governor Rockefeller to
sign the bill into law.
"Never in my experience in the Legislature
have I considered a law more necessary to fill
a pressing social need," he said. -
I am appalled by a study of the deterioration
of medical services which threatens the present
and future well-being of every family in this
States;. JK we can get more ddctors interested in
entering: ; family medical; practice we can surely
saye'iiyes^' he asserted:
Thelkll', co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Con­stance
E. Cook (R^-Ithaca), orders each medical
school in the State to set up a curriculum in family
medicine and designate it as a 'specialty.'
Primarily, medical school faculties will seek
to encourage students to enter general practice.
The accent today, it is pointed out, appears to
be on medical specialization and research rather
than general practice. This is reflected by the
less than 15 percent of medical school graduates
who do become family physicians.
"The most recent government statistics revealed
that of the 300,000 practicing physicians in the
nation, there is a minority of doctors who are in'
family practice. There are about 94 doctors for
every 100,000 Americans. As for general prac­titioners
there are only about one for every 500
families, figuring four persons to an average
family — that means one family doctor for every
2,000 people. That is bad enough except for the
fact that even this gap is expanding. By 1970,
unless we do something about it, family doctors
will be ^harder to find than the cure of cancer,"
Senator Conklin said.
The Brooklyn Senator, who heads the Joint
Legislative Committee on Menatl and Physical
Handicap, and has been responsible for other
legislation that, has advanced medical science,
stressed the public's stake in the general medical
practice bill.
"The lack, of family physicians has touched all
of u s , " he said. "Those of us who have waited in
a doctor's office interminably to be treated, or
who have tried vainly to get a doctor to come
to the house when there i* an illness in the family,
know the problem," he said.
"I appeal to the public to support this bill
in the interest of all and I will ask the Governor
to help take a step in the direction of better
medical services for all by signing this bill into
law."
The Bethpage Tribune*- also supports giving
opportunity to young men and women who wish
to enter the field of "Family Medicine." Many
young dedicated students are turned away because
(Continued on Page 3)
"Siggy" Celebrates so rears
At Famous Beau Sejour
"Siggy" Kohlhagen famous for his pastry delights at the Beau Sejour is
shown celebrating his 25th Anniversay in 1964. Ed Wilson, owner of the land­mark
restaurant is shown admiring all the goodies with "Siggy". Today the
same wonderful pastries are still available. We wish "Siggy" Good Health -
Good Life — and Happiness.
Bethpage Bailiwick
By Muriel Taylor
We sat in the outdoor patio
in Bethpage on a cloudless, cold
bright Winter's day. The trees,
many of them leafless, casttheir
varied dark shadows against the
backdrop of the blue sky and the
snow on the ground shone in the
light of the sun. We spoke about
the past, about famous person­alities
and discriminating tastes.
The Maitre d'Hotel of the Beau
Sejour, Siegfried Kohlhagen, and
I were talking away a lovely af­ternoon.
Quietly and interest­ingly,
in tflr charming at­mosphere
of the internationally-known
restaurant. This historic
landmark, once a Long Island
mansion and reputed to have been
built before 1859, was converted
into a restaurant in 1908 by the
uncle of its present owners, Paul
and Edward Wilson. Monsieur
Bernard Pouchan, its founder,
"sought to recreate the charm
and cuisine of the picturesque
inns located in the environs of
Paris "
Mr. Kohlhagen, or "Siggy"
as he is known to patrons of the
"Beau," will be honored at a
Gourmet Nite on March 19th to
celebrate his 30th Year at Beau
Sejour. (Incidentally, that date
is also his son Mark's 15thbirth-day.)
He began his long asso­ciation
with the restaurant in
1939 as a bus-boy, and has seen
many changes take place there.
He remembers when it was a
"farm-type" restaurant with
cows and chickens on the prem­ises.
He recalls meeting visitors
such as Vincent Astor, Wally
Simpson (the Dutchess of Wind­sor)
Harry S. Truman, Maurice
Chevalier, Ralph Bellamy, Sir
Cedric Hardwicke and countless
other famous personalities.
Siggy, himself, has gained
fame at the "Beau" — he has
appeared on TV and been the
subject of many magazine in­terviews.
Just the other day, he
received a gift and model of the
Lurar, Module from Grumman
Executive William T. Schwend-ler
as a tribute to his 30th An­niversary
Celebration.
Siggy was kind enough to take
me on a tour through the e-normous
kitchen and showed me a
two-story ice-box filled with
delicacies. As a reward for not
pouncing on any of the delicious-looking
trays, I was offered a
piece of one of his creative
pastries—Birthday Cake (choco­late
layer with liqueur)-- which
I did not refuse. Some of my
notes taken after I digested this
heady dessert are understand­ably
somewhat undecipherable.
I know that we did speak about
the restaurant's tremendous wine
cellar which is stocked with a
very large selection of fine vin­tage
wines.
While his list of well-known
friends and acquaintances has
grown over the years and he is
justly proud of his success at
the "Beau" Siggy also delights
in talking about his family: his
wife, twp married daughters, son,
and two granddaughters. Though
. now a grandfather and in his early
sixties, he still works long hours
at the restaurant and enjoys the
time spent mere. Toward the end
of our conversation, Siggy and I
came to the conclusion that a book
could be written about his life
and events at the "Beau" during
the past three decades.
[Continued on Page 2)