FREEPORT - DESCRIPTION
CAPSULE CAPTIONS
Bids for much needed Sewer Plant Expansion received October
1st by Sewer Commission ranged from $719, 000. 00 to $873, 000. 00
... Radory Construction awarded re paving and resurfacing road pro-ject
in West Central area at their low bid figure of $114, 723. 50...
New Flood Light Truck for Fire Department authorized by Village
Board, in addition to new pumper previously approved. .. Housing
and Home Finance Agency of Public Housing Administration awarded
a certificate of recognition congratulating Village on Workable Pro-gram
submitted for Senior Citizens Housing. .. Village Counsel Ken-neth
E. Vought commended by civics on recodification of Village
Ordinances. .. Substation for Northwest area now needed in order to
supply adequate voltage for electric consumers. . .Gamewell Com-pany
only bidder atOctober 19th meeting for additions, repairs and
modernization to Fire Alarm System at bid of $84. 890. 00. .. South
Bergen Place, between Sunrise Highway and West Merrick Road,
will get 8 inch water main authorized at estimated cost of $15,000. ..
Freeport Bicycle Safety Committee, "Mr. Nathan Zablow, Chairman,
was chosen, under the CitationAward°Program sponsored by the Na-tional
Safety Counsel, for an award in the field of traffic safety in
1958. ..The Freeport School System, Freeport Police Department,
P. T.A. Units, Boy Scouts, Freeport Rod Snappers and the 4, 500
cyclists in the Village of Freeport, all contributed to our award win-ning
safety program. .. In this nation-wide competition, only sixteen
.such citations were j;iven. . .Acting Chief of Police, Capt. Edward S.
Dixon, has assigned Ptl. Joseph Romeika to lecture on narcotics,
showing the actual effects of those that start with marijuana and grad-uate
into the "Killer Drug", heroin. . .Ptl. Romeika has been trained
by the New YorkCity Police Academy and has made many narcotics
arrests... Considerable comment being made that all over-head
girders have been installedat every grade -crossing. . . Proof positive
that grade elimination is progressing as scheduled. . .South Grove
Street resurfacing nearing completion from Front Street to Sunrise
Highway. .. Milburn Pond Park dedicated by County Executive A.
Holly Patterson and South Brookside Avenue widened and repaved
between Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road at no cost to Village. ..
Additional contract in amount of $33, 000. let for landscaping and
erection of service building at Milburn Park. .. Ornamental mercury
lighting soon to make appearance in front of new High School.
The
Friendly Village
WILLIAM f. GLACKEN. MAYOR
TRUSTEES
THEODORE M. LANG
ARTHUR R. MULL.ER
ROBERT S. MCLELLAN
GEORGE H. FAIRBERG
FREEPORT MEMORIAL LIBRARY .
FREEPORT °RK
Your
Home Town
ROBERT L. DOXSEE.
CLERK
LEONARD D. B. SMITH.
TREASURE*
KENNETH E. VOUGHT.
COUNSIL.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE VILLAGE OF FREEPORT
Vol. 9-11 November, 1959
The repaving of SouthGrove Street from Sunrise Highway to Front
Street makes a mile and twotenths more of road improvement in the
Village of Freeport.
PRESENTING YOUR COMMISSIONERS
When it comes to knowing Long
Island, Manhattan born Gustav J.
Berkel, Member of the Sewer Com-mission,
bows to no man. For when
Gus came to the Island in 1917 sell-ing
an ice cream line he covered his
territory, town by town, on a bike.
Pedalling through Freeport he took a
special liking for the place and by
1923, the L. I. R. R. had replaced the
bicycle as Gus1 mode of transporta-tion
and he and_ the former Jeannie
E. Rein moved into 216 Pine Street
and they are there yet.
Gus spent his whole business life
in the ice cream business and when
he retired in 1957 he had gone along
way from be ing a salesman on a bike*
Gus was the Sales Promotion and
Merchandising Representative of the
Pioneer Ice Cream division of the
Borden Company. His retirement
gave him, as he puts it, "the time
to give freely to the various aspects
of civic administration, in particular the challenging problems of the
Sewer Commission."
Time is something Gus has always given. He served on the Draft
Board for District #4 in World War II; he was a member of the Park
Commission from 1936 to 1938 and Chairman from 1938 to 1941. He
was a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals from 1941 to 1943 and
has served as a member of the Sewer Commission since 1954. Always
ready to take on extra duties, Gus has served on many special com-missions
appointed by the Mayor. He has also found time to be a mem-ber
of the Grand Jurors Association of Nassau County; Life member
of the Elks and member of the Southwest Civic Association.
Gus is proud of the progress the Sewer Commissionhas made with
90% of the Village now connected and by I960 the entire Village will
be 100% connected to the modern sewer system. Gus is also proud of
the four children he and Jeannie have raised in the 49 years of their
marriage, not to mention their 19 grandchildren. Gus and Jeannie
still keepthat 8-room house on Pine Street which may seem like a lot
of house for two people but it often seems much too small when the
children and grandchildren all come to visit.
Gustav J. Berkel,
Member, Sewer Commission
KNOW YOUR DEPARTMENT HEADS
Some people might think of Free-portas
a reasonably small communi-ty
but to Edwin C. McKeeman, Super-intendent
of Sewerage operations, it
seems awfully big whenyou consider
that he is responsible for over 100
miles of sewer lines--the equivalent
of a pipeline running from the Village
clear to Philadelphia. Ed and his 15
employees supervise this vast oper-ation
in which 3-1/2 million gallons
daily flow into the treatment station
south of the Freeport'Stadium.
So basic is modern, sanitary sew-age
operation to the health and well
being of the Village that Ed has stu-died
this subject, and advancements
in techniques at Union College, Cor-nell
University, New York Universi-ty,
as well as at the State Lab in Al-bany.
He has also kept in constant
touch with sewage administrators in
surr ounding state s and communitie s.
Freeport born and educated--as
is his wife the former Lillian Streeseman--Ed started his Village
career working on the die sel engines in the power house back in 1925.
He advanced to the point where, in 1943, he was manager of the Sani-tation
Department. In 1952 when the Sewage Division was made a
separate department Ed became the head of this new organization.
Ed has been a mernbe.r .of Hose Company #4 since 1922. He was
Chief of the Freeport Fire Department iii 1935.- A. charter member
of the New York Sewage 8t Industrial Waste Association, he also served
as President of the State Sewer Association, an organization of over
600 members. He is a member of the N. J. Sewage Waste Association
anda member of the Federation ofSewage and Industrial Waste Asso-ciation,
an international organization.
Noting that Freeport had a main pumping station and 3 sub-stations
for auxiliary duty, Ed points out that an $800, 000 improvement pro-gram
is to be started shortly to increase the capacity of the plant to
care for an eventual population of 37, 000. Ed feels this will keep the
Village comfortably ahead of sewage requirements to meet anticipated
increases in population.
The McKeemans have one child--Jean, who attends Junior High--
and they live at 123 New York Avenue.
* * * * *
. Edwin C. McKeeman,
Supt. Sewer Department
