Friends Meeting House
Carries On Early Tradition
The Friends Meeting House on Quaker Meeting House Road
in Farmingdale, carries on the same traditions of its 17th century
founders amidst the same setting of rural tranquility. The
neighboring Bethpage State Park was a hill wooded area when
the heirs of Thomas Powell decided to have the lands of the
Bethpage Purchase surveyed by Samuel Willis in 1741 and set
aside land for the construction of a Meeting House and a school.
Meetings for worship had been held
in the home of Thomas Powell on Merritt
Road for almost 50 years before the
religious building was started. An
early British Quaker, Thomas Chalkley,
records in his Journal, printed by Benjamin
Franklin, attending Bethpage Meeting
at the home of Thomas Powell during
his travels to the colonies before 1700.
Thomas Powell made his decision to
move from the village of Huntington and
to make his " Bethpage" purchase
because he did not wish to pay taxes
to the English church. This new land
he called Bethpage, after " Bethphage"
in the Bible, which also lay on the
road between Jericho and Jerusalem,
( now Wantagh).
After the first meeting house of 1741
burned down, a second meeting house
was recorded by Onderdonk's history
of Long Island Quakers as built in 1810
on the opposite side of the road. This
structure with its old galleries went the
way of its predecessor and burned down
in the blizzard of 1888. The present
building was built in 1890and was located
where the baseball arena is now. This
building was moved to the south side
of the road adjoining the Friends
Cemetary when the State Park took over
the original site. When the State park
engineers moved the building they
changed the outside appearance from
victorian to colonial by removing wide,
full- length veranda which had steps at
each end and replacing this with a
rather severe and small Neo- Georgian
porch. The interior remains as it was
originally, with stained grooved paneling
on the walls and gray painted benches
for its congregation.
Meetings for Worship are held each
First Day at 11 ajn. with the Hicksite
tradition of silent meditation being
carried out. The Bethpage Friends
Meeting is affiliated with the New York
Yearly Meeting and works on many current
Friends projects. Among these are
rehabilitation for released prisoners in
New York, and securing northern
secondary educational opportunities for
gifted colored students in the south.
Members have joined with other churches
in the resettlement of Cuban refugees
on Long Island. The Quakers are con-tinously
active in seeking ways to resolve
conflict in areas in international
stress, community tensions, family
pressures, and in matters of individual
conscience.
The Friends World Institute, with
offices at East Norwich, is a new college
established to enable students to travel
and study world problems at the same
time and at present has classes in
Scandanavia and the Near East. The
American Friends Service Committee
has operated work camps throughout
the world since 1917. Thus the Bethpage
Friends Meeting is just as active
in the twentieth century as in the past
and visitors are welcome any Sunday.
Mrs. Andre Hubbard, 20 Merritt Road,
Farmingdale, is present Clerk of the
Meeting.
By Mrs. Andre Hubbard
I Am Proud Of Farmingdale
When I first came to Farmingdale nearly fifty years ago the
place was small and not very progressive. Certainly no one
could have predicted the tremendous charges that have occurred
in the last half centry. As I was associated with the school for
over twenty- five years my greatest interest has been in watching
its progress over the years. When I first came here the
school was small with less than four hundred pupils and there
seemed to be very little interest on the part of the people in
education or in improving conditions.
However, with the rapid growth of ™ ny men and women who are willing
population improvements became imperative.
Progressive and far seeing
Boards of Education met the challenge
and began the broad program that has
resulted in the present outstanding school
system with its nine large school buildings
and its educational opportunities
second to none in the country. But the
outstanding point is that the people in
spite of the sacrifice necessary to do
all of this, have consistently supported
the Boards of Education in their efforts
to give to the boys and girls of Farmingdale
the very best educational opportunities
possible and for this I am
proud of the people, of the school and
proud of Farmingdale.
Thomas Powell settled here that he
might have religious freedom and we
are grateful that the principles for
which he contended are ours to enjoy.
The people of our community have provided
ample opportunity to worship as
we please by erecting and maintaining
so many lovely churches. We are
grateful to them for what they have
done for us.
We are also proud that we have so
to give of their time and talent for the
yong people- the Boy Scouts, the girl
scouts, the Brownies, the Cub Scouts,
the Youth Council ^ and other organi
zations. When we stand and watch the
Memorial Day parade which seems to
be endless, we are very grateful that
so much is being done and this again
makes us proud of Farmingdale.
i
Great credit must be given to our
village officials who have done so much
for, our physical well being, our comfort
and safety. They have provided for us
great improvements in the streets, street
lighting, parking fields, an outstanding
Fire Department and other facilities.
All of these have made Farmingdale
an up to date village and a very pleasant
place in which to live. All of these
are ours to enjoy.
I am happy that I have been able to
participate in the great progress that
has been made and to associate with so
many who have done so much to make
Farmingdale a place of which we all
can be very, very proud.
Weldon E. Howitt
New Church Tells Own Story
The Farmingdale Baptist Church is located on Carmans Road
at Southern State Parkway. The Rev. Larry M. Walker is the
Pastor. The church is an independent fellowship affiliated with
the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association and the Southern
Baptist Convention.
It is a new church, having been constituted in 1961. The congregation
is yet relatively small in number and has enjoyed a
remarkable growth including the establishment of eight missions
and the constitution of three other strong churches on
Long Island out of its membership. A beautiful new building on
the 2 1/ 2 acre site of choice property is now under construction.
[ Continued <> n pttft$ 6£ J
Farmingdale Observer Supplement
The labels are as genuine as the antiques - Carol Craig,
Dumas of California and original prints by Vera - the
same as you would purchase atone of the leading department
stores in Garden City or Manhasset, but for under
their prices right here in Farmingdale,
The pink coat is fashioned by Dumas of California and
is Mi Hi Spun, a luxury fabric in their line of the Travel-a
i r e - i t is non- mussable - designed for the active woman.
It is made of 100% Virgin Australian wool, fully lined -
in silk. The long- sleeved dress - in pinks, greens and
melon; original Vera print of Ban- Lon - DuPont. It is
supple, silky Ban- Lon DuPont'nylon jersey0 Vera turns it
into collector's items. Adaptable packable fashions that
carry the happy Vera message into every corner of the
world. Without worry of wrinkling , or shape- keeping,
or dry cleaning. The long- sleeved dress is designed by
Carol Craig. It is drip dry, unmussable and packable.
The three pink dresses individually coordinate with
the pink coat for a total coordinated look are at Rose
Nielsen's on Main Street, Farmingdale.
ROSE
NIELSEN'S
DRESSES
HATS
PERSONAL SERVICE SUITS
294 MAIN ST. CH 9- 1520 FARMINGDALE
Thursday, March 16, 1967 5S
