Bethpage-Tribune_2010-11-26

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Seaford, Island Trees,
Vhduvieir and Old Bethpage
I 'or Over 40 Years
Volume 48 Number 43 Broadway., Bethpage, NY 11714 Nov. 2010 <$l«)68i^40 21 FAX(51^)68i.9554 Eittaa:Nuz2u<iaoicom 50 Ceilts
WE SADLY SAY GOODBYE TO
BETHPAGE TRIBUNE FOUNDER, FLORENCE CULLEM-KRISTIAN
SHE WILL SURELY BE MISSED, BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN
Bethpage Tribune founder Florence M.
Culiem-Kristian—^journalist, activist, impresa-rio
and matriarch— died in Clearwater, FL on
September 13, 2010. She was 88.
A resident of Florida since 1992, Florence
(nee Hinkel) spent her youth in metropolitan
New York. She raised her six children and
loved and lost two husbands in Levittown.
She also spent several years in California and
Indiana. Wherever Florence lived, she pursued
the interests she loved, enriching whatever
comer of the world she called home.
Artistic always, she was known for her indi-vidualistic
fashion and her love of Big Band
dancing. Professionally, newspaper columns
were her major medium. A columnist for half
a century for weekly papers including the
Queens County Times, the Levittown Tribune
and the Safety Harbor Tropical Breeze in
Florida, she was a pioneer female publisher
who founded the Bethpage Tribune in 1966.
Her fellow publishers honored her by naming
her president of the Nassau County Press
Association twice. She sold the paper in 1979
but contributed to other local publications
before moving to Florida.
Too much the doer to merely record
events, Florence starred in them as well. She
combined a commitment to local activism
with a flair for showmanship. A champion of
education for all, she served eight years on the
Island Trees School Board on Long Island,
including three as president, the first
woman to hold that post. Among many
other affiliations, she was a perennial offi-cer
of the Levittown Chamber of
Commerce; a public relations official for
Hope for Youth, a nonprofit organization
for troubled teens; and a counselor for
many years to women displaced by sudden
widowhood or divorce.
Florence the impresario showed her
touch by organizing charitable events like
"A Night on the Town" in Safety Harbor,
and on Long Island with Bethpage's cele-bration
of the Bicentennial of American
Independence. She also launched the "I
have Levittown Pride" campaign for the
Levittown Chamber of Commerce and pro-duced
early versions of the Levittown
Home Improvement Show.
The list of Florence's activities is a
long one, but the themes were always the
same. She found ways to demonstrate her
Judeo-Christian faith, to make it clear that
she saw America as truly the beautiful, and
to insist that people helping people on the
local level was what ultimately moves the
world.
Beyond the resume and always inter-twined
with it was Florence's genuine love
of people and her knack for connecting
with them. She was ever appreciative of
men (and vice-versa) without conceding
any advantage of brains, management
skills, or the chutzpah she proudly claimed
as part of her mother's Jewish heritage.
Women found her a soul mate who knew
well what comes with the turf: the worries
about children, the agony of helping loved
ones overcome addictions, the balancing
act between the mom job and the one that
actually pays cash, the searing pain of sur-viving
and yes thriving after widowhood.
This last she did twice—first with her high
school sweetheart, the courtly James F.
Cullem, lost at the age of 47; then with her
boisterous but adoring second husband,
Stanley F. Kristian. Young people loved
her because she was flin, easy to talk to
and cool. Everyone loved her laugh. Few
could match her wit.
And through all of this and always
Florence was the matriarch, mother and
(Continued on page 6)
There are some people whose shoes can never be filled.
There are some people who have left their mark on the world and
have made it a better place simply because they were a part of it.
And there are some people who have touched lives without ever
really knowing it. Florence Culiem-Kristian was that person.
Florence Culiem-Kristian , founded this newspaper back in
1966. She was a pioneer in the newspaper industry and a trail-blazer
as a woman business owner. She was smart, feisty and
steadfast in her beliefs of the importance of local newspapers. Yet
in spite of all her many accomplishments, what made Florence so
special was her kind, caring and considerate heart.
I had the honor of meeting Florence many years ago. When I
took over as editor and publisher, I knew Florence was the person
I needed to speak to. Our first meeting was wonderful. Florence
explained how she began publishing the Tribune and how impor-tant
it had been to her. She told me it was "her baby" and that
although she knew when the time had come (years before my
involvement) to move on, it was so difficult to let go. Florence
had such a passion in delivering a weekly newspaper to the com-munity
and that zest and passion never faltered. We spoke often
by phone and in letters for many, many years and Florence was a
true inspiration and mentor for me. I so enjoyed her tales of
Bethpage and the experiences she had during the early years of
publishing. The most important thing she taught me was to never
lose sight of how important it is to reflect the community the
Tribune served and above all she felt strongly that in order to
publish a good newspaper you had to be part of that community,
as she always was.
So many things have changed since Florence Culiem-Kristian
published the Tribune. Technology has made such a huge differ-ence
in how we publish the paper each week and the Tribune
certainly looks different than it did decades ago. Sadly, I fear that
it seems as though newspapers in general, may be going the way
of the dinosaur. And while it is true that many things have
changed the fundamentals Florence taught us have stayed the
same. The Tribune sincerely tries to reflect this wonderful com-munity
and we have never lost sight of our role as a weekly
newspaper. We reflect the best of this community because this
newspaper was founded by the best of the best...Florence. A
woman who paved the way for local newspapers, paved the way
for women in business and above all did so with grace, determi-nation
and integrity. She was an inspiration and a true community
leader, whose shoes can never be filled. She left her mark on the
world and made a difference in so many lives. It was my honor,
to be able to call her my friend and above all it has been my
privilege to borrow her baby..her Bethpage Tribune for so many
years.The name of our founder, Florence Culiem-Kristian has
graced the masthead of this newspaper for decades and it will
remain there, each and every week, as a reminder of a wonderful
woman who gave so much to the community of Bethpage. It will
serve as a reminder of a woman of spirit and pride who beat the
odds and fulfilled her dream of starting a weekly newspaper. And
it has for years and will continue to remind the Tribune of our
mission and the fact that this newspaper will forever be
"Florence's baby," God bless you Florence, you will never be
forgotten. We love ypu forever, - Linda Mangano