Korvette's

 

E.J. Korvette department stores, commonly referred to as Korvette’s, were the brainchild of a WWII veteran named Eugene Ferkauf, who first entered the retail business back in 1948. At the time, due to various fair trade laws, department stores were required to offer goods at the manufactured suggested retail price.

Ferkauf decided to challenge these laws, and as a result, was able to sell products at a significant discount. The store's name intrigued many. Many believed it stood for Korean War veterans, but Ferkauf had a simpler explanation: E stood for Eugene, J for his Brooklyn friend Joe Zwillenberg, and Korvette for the World War II sub-chasing ship known as a corvette.

Sales increased steadily into the 1950s, encouraging the company to open a flagship 90,000 square foot store in Westbury in 1954. The impressive department store carried everything from furniture, housewares and clothing, to sporting goods, electronics and one of the most extensive collections of discounted music available.

More locations followed, in places such as West Islip, Hempstead and Lake Grove. Ferkauf sold his share in the store in 1966 for more than $20 million. By 1966, Korvette's had begun to decline and chose to merge with Spartan Industries, a soft goods retailer. Eugene Ferkauf was eased out of the company leadership, and Spartan managers attempted to revive the company.

From 1971 to 1979, Korvette's was owned by Arlen Realty and Development Corporation, a land development company that used Korvette's 50 stores as a source of cash flow. During this period, New York area Korvette's stores advertised heavily on local television, using game show host Bill Cullen as a spokesman.

In 1979, Korvette's was purchased by the Agache-Willot Group of France,[11] which initially closed Korvette's least profitable stores and began selling off merchandise, fixtures, equipment, and real estate. In 1980, they declared bankruptcy and on December 24, 1980, they closed all[11] of their remaining 17 stores

 

 

Sources:

“E. J. Korvette.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Dec. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._J._Korvette

Eugene Ferkauf. 7 June 2012. obits.lehighvalleylive.com/obituaries/etpa/obituary.aspx?n=eugene-ferkauf&pid=157963616

70sKid. “Korvette's.” Long Island 70s Kid, 27 July 2019, www.longisland70skid.com/korvettes

Bausch Picture Frame and Moulding Manufacturing Company

One of Farmingdale’s earliest industries was the lumber company started by Mr. La Vine. Mr. La Vine started this company in the latter half of the nineteenth century and it was located on the east side of Main Street, on the corner of Rose and Richard Streets. The building was across from the Main Street School.  In the 1880s, Robert Bausch bought this lumber business. Robert Bausch turned it into a family business and employed his seven sons. When Bausch opened the factory, he wrote on the building “Bausch and Sons, Dealers in Lumber and mason’s materials and ladders, manufacturers of picture frames and mouldings.” This variety of offerings required a large amount of space, so the factory was located in an open field and surrounded by piles of lumber and materials.

Eventually, Adolph Bausch bought the business from his father and kept it as a family business employing some of his brothers. He also employed many Farmingdale residents. When Adolph took over the business, he expanded it by opening a window sash factory and then a factory that made the ornate gilded picture frames that were popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By 1909, the business employed 100 people and had an annual payroll of $36,000. At some point the company changed names to Bausch Picture Frame and Moulding Manufacturing Company. In 1910, the company moved to a newly constructed brick building on Eastern Parkway where he continued to manufacture picture frames and molding. This building was said to be extremely close to the train station for shipping purposes, and located at 361 Eastern Parkway.

In 1917, Lawrence Sperry bought the Bausch property near the Main Street School.  By the 1950s, the Bausch factory on Eastern Parkway was housing another company, therefore the company eventually dissolved and Farmingdale lost its largest manufacturer from the nineteenth century.

 

Sources:

Farmingdale Junior Honor Society. Farmingdale’s Story: Farms to Flight. The Society, 1956

Hanc, John. “Tracing the trail of a house's history.” Newsday, 15 July 2004, www.newsday.com/classifieds/real-estate/tracing-the-trail-of-a-house-s-history-1.733876.

“Many Proofs of Progress at Hicksville and Farmingdale.” 3 Sep 1911, Page 23 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.Com. Brooklyn Public Library, http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/53899087

  

Cathedral of the Incarnation

 After Garden City founder Alexander T. Stewart died in 1876, his widow, Cornelia Clinch Stewart, decided to build a cathedral in his memory. The more than 200-foot-tall brown sandstone edifice, completed eight years later and consecrated in 1885, was then the tallest building on Long Island. When he passed away in 1876, Stewart was considered one of the three richest men in the United States, alongside Cornelius Vanderbilt and William B. Astor.

The Cathedral of the Incarnation was designed to emulate the Gothic style of architecture found throughout many European churches. In buildings of this style, the eye is always pointed upward to heaven. The grandeur and height of the building is further intensified by the profusion of light bursting through the stained glass.

The cathedral's ornately decorated spire rises to a height of over 200 feet, topping the impressive building made from imposing blocks of brown sandstone. The interior decor features opulent ceiling vaulting which has been recently gilded. It even features gargoyles on the exterior. The tower bells originally were cast for the 1876 U.S. Centennial in Philadelphia and brought to Garden City by train.

The cathedral's organ was built by Casavant Frères Limitée, and was installed in the building in 1986. With 103 ranks located in both the chancel and gallery of the Cathedral, it is the largest pipe organ on Long Island.  Priests who want to take a shortcut can climb another set of winding iron stairs from the clergy vestry to the upper sanctuary by a hidden passageway.

The Cathedral of the Incarnation has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

Source:

“History.” The Cathedral of the Incarnation, www.incarnationgc.org/about/history/. 

Merritt, Jim. “Cathedral Tour Inspires Awe in Garden City.” Newsday, Newsday, 17 Nov. 2016, www.newsday.com/lifestyle/long-island-events/cathedral-of-the-incarnation-tours-inspire-awe-in-garden-city-1.12625225. 

Ruth Nichols & the Long Island Aviation Country Club

 Ruth Nichols, a member of the Junior League gained notoriety in 1928 by making the first non-stop flight from New York to Miami. That same year, she planned to create the first flying country club with Fairchild Aviation. It became known as the Long Island Aviation Country Club and ran until 1948.

She was appointed to be Sales Manager for Fairchild Aviation in 1928.  Her job was to promote the idea of aviation to the people. Her plan was to make contact with other women to get them interested in aviation and the desire to purchase a plane. This made her the first woman executive of an aircraft company in the country. 

In 1930, she broke the transcontinental speed records in both directions. In 1931, she made the women's altitude record by reaching 28,743 feet. That same year, she beat Amelia Earhart's speed record. Earhart had reached 181 miles per hour. She reached 210. She hoped to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean, but those hopes were dashed when she crashed twice.  She became the first woman to pilot a twin-engine jet in 1955, and set new speed and altitude records in 1958 by flying a jet aircraft at more than 1,000 miles per hour at 51,000 feet

The club was formed with a group of mostly affluent flyers based on Long Island. Instead of a country club with a golf course, the club had a field for airplanes. Members of the club including the flying elite of Long Island. Their 1940 club membership book listed; Col. Charles Lindbergh, Sherman Fairchild, L.R. Grumman, and several DuPonts. Charles Lindbergh taught his wife how to fly at the Long Island Aviation Country Club.

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, private flying was restricted for security concerns. After the war, the country club resumed activities, but eventually succumbed to other forces. It had fewer members, and demand for housing for young veterans was high. In March 1950, as mass-produced homes closed in, the country club was sold to Levitt & Sons for $175,000.

 

Source:

"Flying Country Club is Planned at Farmingdale." Nassau Daily Review. February 15, 1928

“Ruth Nichols.” Ruth Nichols | Pioneers of Flight, pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/ruth-nichols.

"Ruth Nichols: Her Career of Thrills." Nassau Daily Review. June 15, 1931

Striegel, Lawrence. “Hicksville Hosted Swanky Aviation Club before Suburbs Prevailed.” Newsday, Newsday, 15 Mar. 2021, www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/hicksville-long-island-aviation-country-club-1.50177503.

“Vanderbilt Cup Races.” Vanderbilt Cup Races - Blog - Then & Now: The Long Island Aviation Country Club on the Motor Parkway, www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/saturday_march_6_2010_then_and_now_the_long_island_aviation_club_on_the_mot.

“Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia.  Encyclopedia.com. 16 Apr. 2021.” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 5 May 2021, www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/nichols-ruth-1901-1960.

Chin Chin Ranch

 One of the better known stars of the 1930s was Fred Stone, an actor whose comedic talents as well as singing and dancing activities earned him national and international renown. Stone had the distinction to be the first actor to play The Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz," which opened in 1902. He appeared in many well-known plays of that era, including "Tip Top," "Chin Chin" and "The Red Mill." Many of his plays ran for several hundred performances and he became one of America's most sought-after stage performers.

In 1912 he bought a house on what is today Clocks Boulevard in Massapequa and purchased a parcel of property northwest of his house, where he built two cottages, a stable, a riding track and polo field.

His friends included many well-known entertainers, who were happy to join him. At various times in the years before, during and after World War I, he played host to Wild Bill Hickok, Annie Oakley, Douglas Fairbanks, Leo Carillo, Tom Mix, Rex Beach, Irene and Vernon Castle and Will Rogers.

The ranch that Stone built was formally opened in 1915 as Chin Chin Ranch, named after the play in which he was performing at the time. It was, in fact, while he was in the Massapequas that Will Rogers suffered an injury that made him a star. He was swimming in Narraskatuck Creek one day and dove off the dock behind Stone's house. It was low tide and Rogers landed on his head, paralyzing his right side. To compensate, he learned to twirl a rope with his left hand and came to rely more on his storytelling abilities than his rope tricks. His knack for a well-turned phrase and for engaging his audiences soon brought him significant fame and fortune.

As for Stone, he sold Chin Chin Ranch in 1925 and divided his time between his house in Forest Hills and a home he purchased in Hollywood, where he expanded his fame through several movie appearances.

 

Sources:

Kirchmann, George. “A Rolling Stone.” Massapequa, NY Patch, Patch, 30 Nov. 2010, patch.com/new-york/massapequa/a-rolling-stone.

Bayard Cutting Arboretum

 Bayard Cutting Arboretum is a state park located in Great River, on the south shore of Long Island. The park consists of 691 acres and an arboretum, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1886. Olmsted created the design for William Bayard Cutting, who owned the land and a mansion on the property. Cutting and Olmsted wanted to focus on the landscape’s natural beauty, rather than changing the property for their own desires. Cutting also consulted with Charles Sprague Sargent, who was the director of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. Charles Sprague Sargent advised Cutting to develop a wide-ranging conifer collection, which he also advised to be placed north of the carriage house. Cutting also was assisted in the development of his property by Ernest Wilson. Wilson was sponsored by Harvard University to bring tree specimens to the United States from China, and some of these tree specimens were used in the creation of the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Many of the original trees and plants on the grounds came from nurseries in England at the start of the 1900s. Over time, the Cutting family continued adding trees, which originated from Europe, Spain, Greece, Japan, China and Africa.

Cutting’s mansion was located in the heart of the grounds and was designed by Charles C. Haight. The mansion was named “Westbrook” and was modeled after Tudor-style English county houses. The mansion consists of 60-rooms and features large pieces of oak furniture, stained glass windows and imported fireplaces for the luxury of the Cutting family. Many of their heirlooms are still present in the home now, as part of a museum. The home was situated in the perfect location so that the family could view the Connetquot River from the back of the home across the open lawn.

After the early passing of William Bayard Cutting, the home was given to his widow, Olivia, as part of his estate. In 1936, Olivia Cutting and her daughter decided to make an extremely generous donation of the 200 acres of the property to the Long Island State Park Commission with the stipulation that they may both keep full use of the property as long as either is still living. They decided to gift both their home and property to the people of Long Island “to provide an oasis of beauty and quiet for the pleasure, rest, and refreshment of those who delight in outdoor beauty; and to bring about a greater appreciation and understanding of the value and important of informal planting”.

Alterations were made to the grounds for additional parking, bathrooms and a tearoom for the main house. Then, the park was officially opened to the public in 1954. To commit to the Cutting family’s desires for the grounds, patrons were not allowed to picnic, bathe in the waters, horseback ride, or create or use playgrounds. The sole purpose of the grounds was for the admiration of nature. Eventually, Bayard Cutting Arboretum was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as a “historic district”.

Sources:

Bayard cutting Arboretum State Park. (2021, March 23). Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Cutting_Arboretum_State_Park#cite_note-nrhpinv_ny-3

Biography of the Bayard cutting family. (2021, March 17). Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://bayardcuttingarboretum.com/about-bayard-cutting-arboretum/bayard-cutting-biography/

Westbrook, Suffolk County, New York. (2020, June 12). Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westbrook,_Suffolk_County,_New_York

 

Hal Fullerton

Harry Barry “Hal” Fullerton was born in Ohio on August 15, 1857.  Between 1877-1886, Fullerton worked in a variety of industrial and commercial businesses; from an oil company in western Pennsylvania to a cotton seed oil mill in Texas. In 1887, he began work for Seeger & Guernsey, a company that specialized in the trade of agricultural machinery. It was around this time he became interested in photography. From 1892-1893, he spent time working in Mexico City.

He met Edith Loring Jones and they began a five-year courtship. In 1894, Fullerton began working in New York. Due to an illness, he was advised to take up bicycling. He joined a Brooklyn-based bicycling club called the Whirling Dervishes in 1895. At the time, he also joined the Brooklyn Academy of Photography. He was its President from 1897-1899. 

In 1898, he began working for the Long Island Railroad. He and Edith married in 1898. In 1902, the couple bought a home in Huntington. They named their homestead Mira Flores. 

Since the 1870s, the Long Island Railroad sponsored illustrated promotional publications. In 1898, Unique Long Island was issued. This 96 page booklet contained 165 halftone reproductions of images taken by Fullerton. The railroad issued this publication annually for the next six years with Fullerton as the editor and designer. In his job as Special Agent for the railroad, he was encouraged to advance the interests of Long Island. One of his more well known was his promotion of Charles “Mile a Minute” Murphy’s notorious ride in1899. 

He continued to contribute to Unique Long Island and also began submitting photos with stories written by his wife for Country Life magazine. They even collaborated on a book about vegetable gardening.  In 1905, Ralph Peters was elected president of the Long Island Railroad. He quickly created an Agricultural Department and named Hal as its head. His mission was to create a farm out of nothing in Wading River. It did so well that he created another farm in Medford. He published the results of the success, which became a well regarded book. Public interest in the farms was great enough that a leaflet was created to update them on the progress of these two farms. This leaflet was published every two weeks until the end of 1909. In 1909, the Fullteron family left Mira Flores and settled into the farm at Medford. 

During World War I, Hal was key in creating Camp Upton and Camp Mills for the soldiers. In 1921, the Fullertons purchased a twenty-acre plot of land in East Setauket named Lorelope. Hal retired from the Long Island Railroad in1927. Hal died on January 11, 1935. 

Source:

Sachs, Charles L.  The Blessed Isle: Hal B. Fullerton and His Image of Long Island 1897-1927. Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1991