Editorial
The School Board meeting on Monday lasted a
long time, due mainly to the long public- participation
period. It had to be that way because of the
many questions asked by taxpayers about the
charges published and mailed by a group who call
themselves DEBT ( District Educational Body for
Taxpayers).
After the allegations were explained, by the
administration and board members it became
evident that the writer of the anonymous sheet
didn't take the time to check the facts.
No one in the audience claimed knowledge of
those behind the DEBT publication. One taxpayer,
Hillard P. Boss, said he even went to the only publication
identity he could find, a Box 33 at the
post office, but couldn't get a reply to the published
allegation, to which he sought an answer.
Naturally, this brought down the house.
Speculation has been running high on who the
author is and who might belong to the group.
You see, board meetings could be fun as well as
intriguing.
The post office holds certain information as
' classified' and cannot divulge records on this
score. Under the category of Bulk Mail, under
which the mailing is made, the name and address
of the company is not classified by the post office.
A post office official told us that the bulk permit
was granted to a Raymond Parcels of 89 Sunset
Ave., Farmingdale.
* * *
This Monday, March 11 marks the Farmingdale
appearance of Betty Moul. Who is Betty Moul?
A career secretary, employed by Senator Jacob
K. Javits, she has made many trips to southeast
Asia, including India, Thailand and Asia, to carry
out the work of a humanitarian, the late Dr. Thomas
Dooley.
All of her trips were made at her own expense
and on her own time. As a result of her visits to
Asia, she has appeared on a score of major television
and radio shows. She has written syndicated
articles which appeared in over 400 newspapers
and has addressed church and civic groups
by the score in New York State and New Jersey. In
January of this year the New York Daily News ran
a feature story on her.
If civic, church, service clubs as well as veterans
groups want to spend a free, yet worthwhile
evening, plan to attend her presentation at the
Albany Ave School, North Massapequa, at 8: 30
p. m. on Monday, March 11.
Her appearance is being sponsored by the
Vietnam Assistance Committee of Farmingdale.
Doves, as well as hawk, should be equally interested
in what she has to report.
Notebook
FRIDAY, MARCH 8
10 a. m. - 12: 30 p. m. Farming-dale
Baseball League, Ladies
Auxiliary, Bowling Luncheon,
County Line Bowling Alley
SATURDAY, MARCH 9
9 a. m. Farmingdale Youth Council
recreation center fitness
finals, Farmingdale High
School.
SUNDAY, MARCH 10
3 p. m. Installation of officers
Sons of Italy, Farmingdale
MONDAY, MARCH 11
8: 30 p. m. Betty Moul, noted lecturer
on Vietnam, color slides,
Vietnam Assistance Committee
of Farmingdale, Albany
Avenue School.
TUESDAY, MARCH 12
8: 30 p. m. Farmingdale Youth
Council meeting, Budget vote,
Farmingdale Village Hall.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13
8: 30 p. m. Farmingdale Committee
for Exceptional Children,
Faculty Room, Parkway
Oaks.
Published every Thursday by
THE OBSERVER. INC.
MYrtle 4- b. 1b7
I- rank J. K! esh - Caroline B. Klesh
Editors and Publishers
Vol. 5 No. 29
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III* view of I he Observer 9* » MH
Letters To
The Editor
To the Editor:
I am happy to see that the public
is being informed of the danger
from the extreme right- wing.
These people, many of them considered
to be upstanding citizens
constantly threaten to force us to
conform to their standards by imposing
censorship in schools and
l i b r a r i e s , circulating hate-literature,
and a t t e m p t i n g to
smear those who do not agree with
them. Congratulations to Mr.
Boss and Mr. Gerston for their
column " As We See It" and to the
Observer for having the courage
to print it in face of the opposition
that will inevitably follow.
Joseph Uva
Dear Editor,
Congratulations on the column
" As We See It", in the February
29th issue of the OBSERVER.
We cannot be reminded too often
of the menace of ' Birchism'.
The old statement, " Eternal
vigilance is the price of peace,'*
applies here in full force.
Helen W. Meyer
Dear Editor:
Congratulations on your article
by Hillard Boss. What the citizens
of Farmingdale don't realize
is that there is a very real
danger of a Birch takeover. I
agree with Mr. Boss in his urging
that the Farmingdale voters
evamine the issues of the coming
elections and the candidates as
well. Too many of us tend to
vote without really knowing the
deeper issues. Now is not too
early to begin learning about the
Birch minority which has such
big plans for our town.
s/ A. Sakellariou
Dear Sir:
Congratulations are in order
to a local newspaper that isti uly
" The Independent Voice of Farmingdale."
Your new column ' As We See
It' chronicles a horrendous e-vent
that could occur in Farmingdale
if our community is not
made aware of the extreme elements
that a re seething and bubbling
in the witches cauldron of
radicalism.
I am proud to be a subscriber
to a newspaper that is alert to
the cancer that could grow in
Farmingdale if the John BirchSo-ciety
is allowed to spread their
diseased philosophies to our
schools and library.
George Fain
118- b Louis Street
No. Mnssapequa, N. Y.
Dear Editor;
You are to be heartily commended
on your new column
" As We See It" by Messrs.
Boss and Gerston.
It is vitally necessary that the
community be alerted to the dangers
of " Birchism" - especially
in the light of the coming School
Board Flections.
Keep up the good work!.
Mrs. Joan Bergman
Co- Chairman
Farmingdale Cultural Arts
Program
Page 4
Dear Caroline and Frank:
I found your new column ' As
We See It,' by Boss and Gerston
most " illuminating". However,
in the interestof honesty, wouldn't
the column be better named, ' As
We Distort It* or ' View From
The Left?'
Since your authors* intentions
are apparently simply to attack
me and the John Birch Society, I
am almost surprised that you did
not extend an invitation to me to
write an opposing column; ' View
From the Right.' It seems that
this would only have been fair,
especially in view of the fact that
stories ofwhichlwas the subject
won the OBSERVER a N. Y. State
journalism award. At any rate,
here is my ' reactionary' reply.
It is becoming ever more obvious
that the ' liberals' are not
interested in truth, but rather in
side- stepping issues and ' Bireh-baitinK.'
This is readily con-
!***** 0*** 0* 0^^
People, Places
& Politics
iBy Caroline Bunting Klesh 1* 0*^ 0* 0
LE ROY BUR NELL of 36 Cinque Drive is the new Democrat
Zone Leader in Farmingdale. Farmingdale, which lost six election
districts in reapportionment several years ago to the South
Bethpage Zone, got the E. D's back this week. FRED LINDNER
former leader of the Farmingdale- Bethpage Zone is the leader
of the South Bethpage Zone. Both zones are in the Eighth Assembly
District.
We called former member and president of the School District
22, Board of Education FLORENCE DEHAAN to check out a rumor
that she might be running for the library board. At the moment
' I'm not saying yes, nor am I saying no,* was the answer. By the
way, the DeHaans will be grandparents for the third time, any day
now. Their daughter Donna is expecting.
* * *
Could be that Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller is not too happy
with the Nassau County GOP. First they instructed their legislators
not to go along with him on the garbage crisis with Lindsay and
now they are making deals with the Conservatives.
The State University of New York at Farmingdale has much to
be proud of with the announcement that it was one of 35 Long Island
groups and individuals to receive a Freedoms Foundation George
Washington Honor Medal. The citation was given to the Aggies' in the
" college campus category." - An outstanding accomplishment in
helping to achieve a better understanding of the American Way of
Life.
* * *
AL WEIS, the New York Mets new infielder obtained from the
Chicago White Sox with Tommie Agee in the Tommy Davis, Jack
Fisher, Billy Wynne deal is married to Barbara, daughter of
MARY MOTTA, former member and president of the Plainedge
Board of Education. WEIS captained the baseball and basketball
teams at Farmingdale High School. Another F. H. S. alumnus Jack
Lamabe, a former Met, but briefly, last year, wound up with the
St. Louis Cardinals as they headed for the National League title
and later the World Series winners.
* * *
" Let's eliminate the motor fuel tax on volunteer fire companies
and departments," says State Senator Henry M. Curran. Senator
Curran this week renewed his efforts to amend the existing law
which exempts municipally owned fire trucks but which taxes
volunteer fire department vehicles.
" Some communities prefer and need to depend on the invaluable
service of volunteer fire departments. Whether the vehicle is owned
by a municipal subdivision or is contracted is of no consequence. . . .
it is still rendering the same service. . . . fighting fires. The tax
on fuel ignores this fact where volunteer fire companies are involved."
Whether or not the fire trucks are owned and operated by a
municipality or a volunteer fire department Senator Curran's bill
removes the tax from motor fuel used in these vehicles.
firmed by the fact that when another
newspaper was seeking authors
for a proposed liberal and
conservative column, Boss and
Gerston graciously offered to
write the liberal column on the
condition that a " Bircher" did
notwrite the conservative column.
Yet, when I attempted to keep
obscene material in the library
inaccessible to minors, these
two comrades were the first and
loudest to scream ' censorship'!
They organized the " clergymen's"
meeting at which I was
" condemned." When the audience
demanded that I be given the opportunity
to speak and it was
granted, they attempted to lead
a mass exodus from the auditorium
which, much to their r e gret,
failed. That fiasco and the
subsequent library budget defeat
inflicted such wounds to their
cause that they are still smarting,
but not smartly.
It is also interesting to note
that, with the advent of a new column
in your paper, no background
information is given on the authors.
Permit me, therefore, to
provide some background on
them.
Mr. Boss, who is a history teacher
in a neighboring district, insists
that this nation is a Demo-cracry
rather than a Constitutional
Republic. He has been an
active anti- anti- Communist opposing
all who expose Communism.
He has refused to publicly
debate with " Birches" but has
signed a N. Y. Times ad calling
for negotiation with the NLF,
which is the political front for the,
terrorist Viet Cong. He is co-chairman,
with Mr. Gerston„ of
the Action Committee of the
Friends of the Farmingdale Library.
When I found him with his
comrades, including Mr. Dow and
Mr. Tilford, meeting secretly behind
locked doors in the library
( when the library was closed to
all other community organizations)
Mr. BOSS said to me.
' Your ... is open,' in a futile attempt
to confound and provoke
me. Hence, according to The Library
Journal ( which never even
interviewed me) I am " immune
to both embarassment and reason."
Mr. Gerston is alsoan interesting
character. We were congenial
opponents prior to my e-lection
to the Library Board. He
then withdrew his daughter from
my wife's Brownie troop. However,
I don't know if that was due
to my election or because my wife
opened the meetings with the
Pledge of Allegiance, justlike the
John Birch Society does. The
Gerstons were leaders of the
shouting spree at the packed, nationally
televised Library Board
meeting which The OBSERVER
accurately described as a " Kangaroo
Court." He is campaign
committeeman for Mr. Paul Til-ford
who is seeking election ( not
" re- election" as he stated in his
announcement) to the Library
Board. Mr. Tilford was president
of the Friends of the Library and
was chosen by the Trustees to fill
the vacancy created by the resignation
of an elected member.
The frantic efforts of the " liberals"
to destroy the JBS, in
accordance with orders from
Moscow, are most amusing to
us who are engaged in the battle
to keep America, " one nation
under God, with Liberty and Justice
for ALL." I am firmly convinced
that, if given enough rope,
the " Liberals" will hang themselves,
so keep those columns
coming, fifth or not.
Yours, for the Freedom
to Read,
Carl Gorton
P. S. Although I wouldn't wish
Boss and Gerston on another
community, ( in wliat remains of
the free world) I am delighted to
see that their friends will not
move here, but 1 wonder if the
real reason might not be the taxes.
Farmingdale OBSERVER, Thursday, March 7, 1968
