Bethpage-Tribune_1971-01-14

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Island Trees Serving Bethpage - Plairiview — Island Trees — Plainedge — Seaford Old Bethpage
Vol. 5 No. II Thursday, January 14,1971 10c per copy
Old Landmark Razed In Island Trees-Bethpager Recalls Past
A BIT OF YESTERDAY - TODAY - L-R Frank Stokes
looks over document found in wine bottle at the old
school house site. District Superintendent Leo Miller
and District Clerk Dorothea Griffin record historic
event in the Island Trees.
L-R - Oscar Streisman and Frank Stokes reminisce
about "Bygone Days" in the little old school house.
by Merrie Chase
Island Trees'past came to life Tuesday morning
when the bulldozers of the Steller Bro. Contracting
Corp. knocked down six trees as they were clearing the
grounds on the old one-room school site.
Buried among the debris was an old wine bottle
encrusted with the earth and holding within it the
memories of another day ana another age.
. It had been handed down, word of mouth, through the
decades, and is part of the recorded history, that as
each of these trees were planted by the students of the
little school house on the annual Arbor Day ceremony,
a vessel containing the names of the children was
buried with each young sapling. Mr. Fred Neist,
maintenance Foreman of the Island Trees School
D i s t r i c t told t h e BETHPAGE TRIBUNE during. sm,
inteldgriew, #*e M l w i n g " -
"I was first informed about the
possibility of idles being under
the trees on the Hempstead
Turnpike where the original
school was in 1963 by Dr. Harold
Ferguson, then Sup't. of Schools,
and Mr. Henry Ruter, then a
member of the Board of
Education. This came about
when we were preparing a
statement for the State
Education Dept., of all the
property owned by the school
district, because we were
requesting permission to build
additional space. It was
requested then to watch the trees
in the event the area would be
developed, and the trees
demolished. I"
"I was again informed in 1966,
by Dr. Ferguson and Mr. Ruter
as the district was preparing to
sell the property that I was to see
that if the trees were taken down
that the district was to get the
papers if any were discovered.
"In August 1968 there was a
very large brush fire in the area
of the trees. Around 9 p.m.
several of my staff and I rushed
to the Turnpike to make sure the
trees were not pushed down, or if
they were we would look for the
papers.
"After that I kept a constant
watch on those treesand each
time there was any activity in or
around them I would check to see
if it would involve the trees. It
was not until the October 19,1970
S that activity started to pick up in
the area. On October 21, 1970 I
spoke to the foreman (for the
company putting in the cement
foundation) about the trees and
he informed me that the land­scaping
was not his job and that
this would come later. At this
time 1 informed, Mr. Miller, the
present Superintendent of
Schools, that work was started
and I was watching its progress.
On November 16, 1970 I spoke to
the foreman in charge of the
heavy equipment working there
and he informed me it would be
some time before he would get to
the trees.
On December 21, 1970, and
again on January 4, 1971 I was
informed by the foreman he
would call me when be was ready
to take the trees down. He sent
for me on the afternoon or
January 11, 1971 and I asked him
to hold until I could get a camera
and the people from the district to
record the event. He agreed to
hold until 8 a.m. January 12. Mr.
Murphy, Administrator Assistant
and 2 of my staff were there and
the foreman took special care to
remove the trees on my direction.
We did not find anything at that
time and left at 9:30 a.m. with the
understanding the foreman
would hold anything he found for
us and we would return. The
library board member stopped in
and spoke to the foreman and the
foreman told her he found a bottle
with papers in it and that he was
holding it for Mr. Neist of the
School district. She told him she
was from the library and it would
be ok for her to take it for Mr.
Neist and be not understanding
anything else gave it to her."
The six stately trees had lined
the path up to that old-but-forgotten
little school house. Old
timers who are still residents of
the then rural school district recall
with nostalgia the plantings each
Arbor Day-they were yesterdays
children. The bottle that was
discovered was placed there by
the class of 1906-07 and contained
the names of 31 students.
Ironically one of the signatures
was that of a most beloved
resident Mr. Frank Stokes, of 280
Harrison Avenue, Bethpage,
former School Board President
and trustee for over 30 years. The
Michael F. Stokes school is
named after him and this site
borders the property where all
the development for the Nassau
Mall is taking place.
-••;• :'1resterday this reporter invited
Mr. Stokes and another old timer
Oscar-.Streesman (who held the
position ot District Clerk from
1917- 1950) to tell us about the
"good old days." As they went
.. over each signature on the time-'
worn document they reminisced
.about the events of the early
1900's in this area known as
Island Trees. They recalled that
at the turn of the century Island
Trees was part of the Plainedge
School District No. 18 whose
property lines spanned both the
township of "Hempstead and
Oyster Bay. Since this created an
inequity in taxes because of the
difference in assessed valuation
a id an inbalance in represen­tation
on the three-man board,
according to Mr. Streesman, the
records show • residents
proceeded to take steps to create
a new. district within the Hemp­stead
Township. On September
20,1902 a resolution was passed to
buy the property on Hempstead
Turnpike and erect a school. Ten
bonds at $150, each were secured
from the Hicksville Bank on
January 25, 1904 and the one-room
school was opened.' The
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AS THE TREES CAME TUMBLING DOWN -
Bulldozer gets into position to start demolishing the old
trees - down they go, one by one.