Post Office Does $ 3,125,000 ess The first Post Office was e s tablished
in Farmingdale on
July 31, 1845, with John Mon-fort
as Postmaster. The patrons
would drop in once or twice a
week, ask for their mail, whereupon
the Postmaster would step
into the back room, look through
a small stack of mail and hand
them whatever may have been
there for them.
The Post Office grew slowly
but steadily and in 1945 ( 100
years later) had 18 employees,
with Frank J. Talbot as Postmaster.
Talbot retired in 1956,
and was succeeded by the present
Postmaster, Leo J. Morgan.
The last ten years have seen
the greatest growth. Revenue
rose from $ 245,000 in 1956 to
the present figure of $ 3,125,000
at the end of 1966. Employees
have increased from 36 in 1956
to the 150 at the present time.
The Post Office vehicle fleet
has also increased to five government
trucks, five rental vehicles
and 14 mailsters. In that
same period, Farmingdale rose
to the number one spot in the
number of business firms in
the Post Office area, outranking
every other community in Nassau
and Suffolk counties.
The present Post Office, located
at Main and Prospects
Sts., was completed in 1962.
It has 12,000 square feet compared
to the 3,990 square feet
at its' previous location. In
transferring to the present location,
services were expanded.
The outer lobby is kept open 24
hours a day for lock- box patrons.
In the past four years,
mail is no longer transported
by the Long Island Rail Road.
Instead, large trucks move the
mail, delivering from newly e s tablished
sectional centers directly
to individual post offices.
The use of sectional centers
on Long Island, such as at Hicks-ville,
has eliminated the need
of moving mail into Penn Term,
New York or the Long Island
Term at Long Island City for
re- distribution to Long Island
post offices.
As the industrial areas expanded,
with many New York
City firms relocating here in
Farmingdale, two deliveries a
day were established to provide
more adequate mail service for
this area.
Postmasters who have served
since 1845 and the date of appointment
and Presidential administration
shows that:
John Monfort, was appointed
by President James K. Polk, July
31, 1845; George Van Cott, by
Zacha. y Taylor, October 2,1849;
Abraham Weeks, by Abraham
Lincoln, April 2, 1861; E^ lias
Mathews, by Abraham Lincoln,
March 18, 1863; Charles S.
Powell, by Andrew Johnson, September
4, 1866; Treadwell Walters,
by Ulysses S. Grant, August
20, 1869; Allen C. Powell, by
James A. Garfield, June 3, 1880;
John H. Duryea, by Chester A.
Arthur, April 30, 1883; Wellington
Powell, by Grover Cleveland,
November 9, 1885; John
H. Duryea, by Benjamin Harrison,
April 12, 1889; Joseph
H. Doud, by Grover Cleveland,
November 6, 1893; John Allen,
by William McKinley, November
5, 1897.
When Nassau County was created
on January 1, 1899 the list
shows that William H. Allen,
was appointed by PresidentTheo-dore
Roosevelt, October 28,1905;
Charles A. Post, by William H.
Taft, August 5, 1911; John A.
Hendrickson, by Woodrow Wilson,
July 25, 1915; John E.
Duryea, by Calvin Coolidge, February
29, 1924; Elsworth Allen,
by Herbert C. Hoover, January
18, 1932; Frank J. Talbot, by
Franklin D. Roosevelt, January
22, 1935 and Leo J. Morgan,
was appointed by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, on June
29, 1956.
Leo Morgan
Sunrise Federal Past Reflects Farmingdale History
On June 19, 1934, a committee
consisting of Halsey B.
Knapp, Weldon E. Howitt, Daniel
S. Wood, Sr., Rudolph H. Weber,
Dr. W. E. Follett, Daniel
S. Wood, Jr. and Fred G. Murray
met at the Bethpage Park Club
House to organize a federal savings
and loan association.
The following were elected officers
of the Association:
Rudolph H. Weber - President
Daniel S. Wood, Jr. - Vice-
President.
Fred G. Murray - Secretary
and Treasurer.
The directors elected were
those named above and Charles
O. Schmidt and Norman F. Sullivan.
The Association was started
with a capital pledge of $ 50,000.00
The purpose of the association
is to encourage savings and to
enable people to purchase and
own their own homes.
Application was made at once
to die Federal Government for
a charter and mis was granted
in 1934. Also at the same time
the association became a member
of the Federal Savings and
Loan Insurance Corporation,
Washington, D. C. to insure the
deposits made in the association.
The first meetings of the Board
of Directors were held in the
office of Norman F. Sullivan at
169 Main Street. Then a building
at the corner of Washington
Street and Conklin Street was
purchased from A. E. Voorhees.
This building was enlarged and
occupied by the association until
February 13, 1952 when it
was completely destroyed by a
gas explosion. In tills explosion
Fred G. Murray and Mrs. Marion
Papernik, a teller, lost their
lives and all of the other employees
were injured and hospitalized.
Following the explosion the
First National Bank of Farmingdale
courteously offered space
in the bank to the association
to conduct its business. This
offer was accepted and business
was conducted at that place
until temporary quarters were
prepared in the store at 202
Main Street. The association
conducted its business at this
site until the new building at 312
Conklin Street was completed.
The association began business
in the new building on December
1, 1952.
The name of the association
when first organized was The
Bethpage Federal Savings and
Loan Association. This name
was changed to the Farmingdale
Federal Savings and Loan Association
in 1947. The name
was again changed to the Sunrise
Federal Savings and Loan
Association in 1960.
An office of the association
was opened on Old Country Road
in Plainview on February 28,
1959 with Howard R. Geberth,
Jr. as manager. On December
1, 1962 a second office was
opened on Deer Park Avenue in
North Babylon with Robert C.
Davidson as manager.
The first manager of the association
was Fred G. Murray
who served from the organization
of the association until his
death in February, 1952. He
was succeeded by Charles M.
Cook who was in charge until
he was succeeded by C. William
Kemmlein on October 20,
1958, who is now a director
and President.
The first president was
Rudolph H. Weber and he was
succeeded by Arthur F. White
when Mr. Weber moved to
Florida.
The present directors and officers
are:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Arthur F. White
Weldon E. Howitt
Charles O. Schmidt
Sebastian A. Albrecht
W. E. Follett
Halsey B. Knapp
William T. Schwendler
Willis B. Carman, Jr.
C. William Kemmlein
Edmond A. Ocker
Norman F. Sullivan
John O. Wagner, Jr.
OFFICERS
C. William Kemmlein
President
George Truppner
Vice President
Wallace Bethell
Asst. Vice Pres. and
Treasurer
Jeanne M. Buck
Secretary
Howard R. Geberth, Jr.
Asst. Vice Pres. Plain-view
Office
Robert Davidson
Asst. Vice Pres. No.
Babylon Office
Although the assets of Sunrise
Federal are presently over 44
million, the purpose of die Association
has always remained
the same, that is, to encourage
thrift and at the same time enable
people to purchase and own
their own home.
We feel that in continuing our
policy of thrift and home ownership,
we have contributed to the
healthy growth of Farmingdale
from a small village to a
thriving community of homeowners.
We do not feel that our goals
have been accomplished, but
rather, what has been accomplished
is a beginning. The future
of Farmingdale and the future
of Sunrise Federal is not only
bright but practically limitless.
. Weldon E. Howitt
I!
Why not join the Farmingdale-
Bethpage Historical
Society. Call
MY 4- 6367 for information
on how.
SUNRISE
FEDERAL
SAVINGS
' tis March, but the temperature was., 680 l a s t Saturday.
The Sunrise Saver Of Today Is The
Sunrise Homeowner Of Tomorrow
SAVE A LITTLE EACH WEEK
UNTL
NET
RESULTS
IN
SAVINGS
ENABLE YOU TO PURCHASE
YOUR OWN HOME
FOR
EARNINGS
DERIVED IN SUCH A MANNER
EQUAL A
REAL
ACOMPLISHMENT
Let's Start A Sunrise Savings
Account
SUNRISE FEDERAL SAVINGS
& LOAN ASSOCIATION
PLAINVIEW
1074 Old Country Rd
For Your Savings and Mortgage Needs.
FARMINGDALE
312 Conklin St.
( main office)
NORTH BABYLON
Sunset City Shopping Ctr„
Farmingdale Observer Supplement Thursday, March 16, 1967 3S
