1974-12-12

              Shop Farmingdale For Christmas
A Prize Winning Weekly Serving The Greater Farmingdale Area Since 1920 15G
An Official Newspaper far the Village of Farmingdale
VOL. 56 NOV Second Class Postage Paid
In Farmingdale, N. Y. 11735 Thursday, December 12, 1974 Copyright 1974 by
island— Wide Publication, Inc. price 1 Si - $ 5 per year
Public Says " NO" To Library
New Building Bonds
Defeated 1447- 429
POSTHUMOUS AWARD for heroism is presented to Mr. and Mrs. Frederic DeFeis by Murray Tuck,
past president of Advancement for Commerce and Industry Inc., and I- ee Daniels Tuck, executive
director. William B. Mahoney, principal of Deer Park High School, looks on. Damon DeFeis, a 19
year old musician, sacrificed his life attempting to evacuate patrons from Gulliver's, a Portchester
nite club.
Posthumous Heroism Award
On November 20, 1974 at the
regular luncheon meeting of the
Advancement for Commerce and
Industry, Inc. Mr. and Mrs.
Frederic De Feis were honored
with a plaque and medal which
was awarded to their son F.
Damon De Feis posthumously.
Nineteen year old Damon De
Feis' heroism was recognized by
Murray Tuck, a past president of
ACI and a member of the
National Association of Mutual
Insurance agents.
Tuck nominated Damon De
Feis to be the recipient of the
N. A. M. I. A.' s National Alert
Youth Award. The Alert Youth
Award is national recognition by
the National Association of
Mutual Insurance Agents for
youth heroism.
The waitress of a Portchester
Niie Club came over and told
Damon that there was some
smoke and fire around, and asked
him to make an announcement.
Damon made the first an­nouncement,
and then helped the
crowd evacuate. The fire was
believed to have started at about
1 a. m. in the basement of a store
adjoining the club. It spread
quickly to " The Pit," the below
ground dance floor of Gulliver's.
The club has a main exit, two fire
doors and kitchen door, all at
ground level. There was only one
major exit. No one in the band
knew of any other exits.
The group, formerly called Salt
and Pepper because it had black
arid white members, was formed
about a year ago and consumed
I Continued on page 13]
Rotary Honors Hakey Knapp
Halsey B. Knapp made
Honorary Life member of the
Rotary club of Farmingdale at
Ladies Nite held in the Steak Pub
Restaurant at Walt Whitman
Centre in Huntington Station.
Over a hundred Rotarians, with
wives and friends gathered on the
evening of 14th November to help
celebrate the induction of long
time member and past officer of
Rotary International as
Honorary Life Member of local
club.
The entertaining program
consisted of the lifelong ex­periences
and accomplishments
of the retired director of the State
University of New York
Agricultural and Technical
College at Farmingdale.
The guest of honor was helped
in his reminiscences of his long
lifetime by other members of the
Farmingdale club, including
president Willis B. Carman Jr.,
" Judge" Willis B. Carman, close
friend and associate, David
Allee, and Charles M. Schmidt
PDG.
The program committee was
chaired by Joseph Malloy of
Hydro- Systems Corjp. and Dr.
Alex Matera acted as master of
ceremonies. Halsey was
presented a gold life membership
card commemorating this event,
and a pair of mounted Congress
Shoes, his " baby shoes" given
him on his induction as District
Governor of District 29 in 1932.
I Continued on page 13]
The vote was light by comparison to a regular school
library election, but the voters were most emphatic in
defeating the library proposal to sell $ 2,100,000 in bonds
to build a new Farmingdale Public Library. The
proposition was defeated 1447 to 429 on Tuesday.
The proposal, if approved,
would have provided the funds
through a 30 year bond issue to
level the Main Street School and
construct a modern central
library facility on the site. The
present Main Street branch
building would have then been
sold and the lease on the South
Farmingdale branch would riot
be renewed when the present
lease expires in 1976.
The bond issue would have
added an additional 14 cents to
the school tax rate in the Town of
Oyster Bay and 19 cents to the
Babylon rate. Library officials
estimated the cost to the tax­payers
at $ 7 per year.
However, the majority of the
public interviewed by the Post on
the proposal, felt that the idea
was good, but the timing was
wrong. The consensus of opinion
was that inflation and growing
tax rates for schools, town and
county were already biting too
deeply into the household budget.
The library trustees are now
faced with the problem of which
alternative to pursue. Among
those open at present are to make
a second attempt for a central
library, renew the lease at South
Farmingdale or purchase the
South Farmingdale branch
building from Sid Farber.
Youth Killed
By LIRR Train
A 19 year old Farmingdale
college student, listed in critical
condition at Mid- Island Hospital
following a Monday evening
accident in which he was struck
by a train at the Farmingdale
LIRR station, died at 10 am
Tuesday.
Thomas Penn of
Street, a senior at
College, was struck
tersection of Front
Secatogue Ave. by a
train, after disembarking from
the 6: 18 train'to Ronkonkoma,
which was loading passengers on
the eastbound side of the station.
Police said he walked around the
rear of the train, attempted to
cross the tracks and was hit by a
westbound locomotive.
A spokesman for the Long
Island Railroad said that the
engineer on the westbound
locomotive saw three youths
cross the tracks and sounded his
horn. Penn then emerged from
behind the stopped train and was
struck. The engineer attempted
I Continued on page 13]
588 Main
C. W. Post
at the in-
Street and
westbound
AT A DINNER In his honor Halsey B. Knapp f 1] is
gold life membership card in the Farmingdale
President, Willis b. Carina*. Jr.
presented with a
Rotary Club, by