Long Island in the 1950s

Houses on Butternut Lane in Levittown are pictured on Aug. 20, 1957.

Harry W. Garing, left, president of the Kiwanis Club in Bellmore, collects a late charge from Dr. Donald Jeremiah at a meeting at the India House in Bellmore on Aug. 27, 1957.

Children play behind a row of houses in the Bennington Park community of Freeport in August 1951.

A house on East Sunrise Highway in Bennington Park, Freeport, is pictured August 1951.

The Collins kids of Uniondale, Michael, 5, and Harry Jr., 6, look at a bag of money their mother, Maxine Collins, holds to illustrate the $165 prize she won in Newsday's Cashword contest on January 14, 1958.

Author Herman Wouk, right, talks to Mike Lipsky, 17, editor of the "Fire Island Weekly" newspaper on Aug. 18, 1957 on Fire Island.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Robert Briscoe, center, arrives at Idlewild Airport in Queens and shakes hands with Sean Keating of the Irish Society of America, left, and Abe Stark, a representative of the New York City mayor, on March 14, 1957.

After a newspaper strike, customers buy the day's editions from a stationery store stand on Main Street in Hempstead on Dec. 8, 1953.

Ptl.Ciro Zino of the Long Island State Parkway Police looks over a list of regulations and towing rates with tow truck drivers on the Wantagh Parkway on Sept. 4, 1952.

The eastbound lanes of the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview see heavy traffic on May 5, 1957 as drivers leave the city and head to the beaches on Long Island.

Ernie Varricchio climbs a ladder while Pat Mayo, center, and Joyce James hold a banner announcing the 300th anniversary of the village of Oyster Bay on May 19, 1953. The three are members of a teen club helping to set up banners across West Main Street.

On May 17, 1950, Jack Mullen, circulation manager of Newsday, hands a bundle of newspapers to helicopter pilot Jack Keating, as part of a publicity stunt for the paper and the helicopter company. The paper was flown from Garden City to Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, just a few minutes away.

Bess and Harry Truman are seen at the summer home of their daughter Margaret Daniel on Round Hill Lane in Sands Point on July 11, 1958.

Judy Adelman of Roslyn, left, and Lorraine Shalhoub of Brooklyn stand with actor Tab Hunter on the rear platform of the Long Island Rail Road train in Long Beach on June 24, 1958. The women had been selected for bit parts in the movie "That Kind of Woman" starring Hunter and actress Sophia Loren.

Actress Sophia Loren and and actor Tab Hunter, at right, wave to the crowd in Long Beach during filming of the movie, "That Kind of Woman," on June 24, 1958. Six New Yorkers who were chosen as extras in the film surround Loren and Hunter, including, from left, John Moriarty of Jackson Heights, Susan Mendelson of Hewlett Harbor, whose face is obscured, Bob Elson of Manhattan, Judy Edelman of Roslyn, Lorraine Shalhoub of Brooklyn and Bob Hofman of Merrick.

Aerial view of empty hangars at Roosevelt Field in Garden City on the day it officially closed to flying, June 11, 1951.

On Aug. 8, 1950, Daphne Hall of Levittown stops to read the plaque commemorating Charles Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight from Roosevelt Field to Le Bourget Field in France. The plaque sits on Post Avenue near the entrance to Roosevelt Raceway.

Demolition of the old hangars at Roosevelt Field in Garden City on March 26, 1956.

Roosevelt Field Inc. president Herbert I. Silverson, along with "Ice Capades" stars Helga Rosma and Cathy Machado, at the groundbreaking for an ice skating rink on the property in Garden City on Sept. 11, 1957.

Joel Levy, 13, circulation manager of Ocean Beach for the Fire Island Weekly, counts papers to carrier Mike Konecky, at right, as publisher Jay Garfield, center, watches at Ocean Beach on Aug. 18, 1957.

Congregants visit the old Manetto Hill Methodist Church, renamed as the Plainview Methodist Church, on Oct. 18, 1953. The church had been closed since 1935 but was recently refurbished and rededicated for the building's 100th anniversary. In 1963, the church was moved and became part of the Old Bethpage Village Restoration.

Michael Walsh, 7, of Patchogue, admires a bell in front of the Patchogue Fire House on Lake Street on June 24, 1958. The bell was manufactured in 1889 and had been used at the original Patchogue Fire House on North Ocean Avenue until 1905.

During the filming of the 1957 Jimmy Stewart film, "The Spirit of St. Louis," navigators and stunt pilots were on hand at Zahn's Airport in Amityville to recreate flying scenes for the Charles Lindbergh biopic. Here, navigator Marvin Harness and stunt pilot Paul Mantz look at a filming schedule on Aug. 2, 1955, while radio operator William H. Boone sits in the cockpit of a De Haviland "Moth" airplane used in the movie. Lindbergh himself visited the movie set before filming began.

On Feb. 17, 1950, two Long Island Rail Road trains collided head-on 200 yards west of the Banks Avenue crossing in Rockville Centre, killing about 30 people and injuring about 100. Here, a crushed car of one of the trains lies along the tracks the day after it was moved by a crane.

A group of youths from Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck is treated to a ride on one of the Coast Guard's amphibious vehicles on the Great South Bay in East Moriches on Aug. 14, 1957. The original caption read: "...And from the looks of it, the Coast Guard has just made a few more firm friends."

Members of Roslyn Rescue Hook and Ladder are pictured aboard the company's new fire truck on Dec. 7, 1953. Edmund Krukowski sits in the driver's seat while chief engineer Stephan Nassani and company president Richard Haughwout check out the equipment at the rear of the truck.

A truck offloads potatoes onto a conveyor belt and into a storage space at Philbrick Starch Co. on Raynor Avenue in Riverhead in this March 3, 1959 photo. A year earlier, Philbrick Starch, based in Maine, opened the $200,000 plant, which played a part in a federal subsidization of low-grade potatoes for about 430 Suffolk County farmers. Potatoes were washed and ground, and starch and protein water were then separated from the pulp, which was dehydrated for cattle feed. The plant was New York State's first starch factory, but was shut by the county health department when waste materials threatened to contaminate the water system.

Children climb the fence to get to a section of the abandoned Vanderbilt Motor Parkway in Garden City on Oct. 15, 1958. The parkway ran through backyards and neighbors used the macadam of the road to create a basketball court. This section of the road was south of Tranverse Road, between Pell Terrace and Russell Roads in Garden City.

A portion of the deserted Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, looking west from the rear entrance of Roosevelt Raceway, on Aug. 16, 1950.

Sue Gregory, a public information specialist with the 2243rd WAF (Women in the Air Force) Squadron, hangs a poster at Newsday's Garden City office encouraging blood donations for the armed forces on Oct. 2, 1951.

On Oct. 26, 1952, flowers are placed on Teddy Roosevelt's grave as part of as part of an annual pilgrimage made by a Brooklyn-based Fleet Reserve unit on the eve of the former president's birthday. Ethel Roosevelt Derby, Teddy's daughter, and Captain T. B. Haley of Sands Point watch as James F. Reynolds, senior grand deacon of the Grand Masons Lodge of New York, leaves his tribute.

On Oct. 23, 1952, fourth-grade students Paul Crawley and Gordon Oster, both of Oyster Bay, lay a wreath on Theodore Roosevelt's grave as part of a celebration of Roosevelt's upcoming birthday on Oct. 27.

Two baymen from Greenport mend dredges in this photo taken Jan. 6, 1955. That winter a fungus was threatening the scallop population and harvesters had been opting to dredge baby scallops, or "bugs," prematurely, according to the state Conservation Department. A ban on collecting young scallops was lifted soon afterward.

Construction clerk Thomas Gross, left, and William Floyd School District board members John Rosato, Louis Lang and Carl Abell survey the foundation of a new elementary school in Shirley that had been halted due to a steel strike, in this photo taken on Oct. 16, 1959. The 8-month-long strike was ended in January 1960, and Nathaniel Woodhull Elementary School opened later that year.

Postal clerk Stephen Jackson is surrounded by Christmas packages to be sorted and shipped at the parcel post building on Mill Road in Hempstead on Dec. 14, 1959.

Frank Dickerson, of Huntington, feeds a baby as part of his first year in the Kings Park State Hospital nursing program on Nov. 16, 1955. That year, the first year program had more men than women enrolled.

Main Street in Bay Shore is pictured on April 17, 1959, just before a national Civil Defense drill.

Holiday shoppers jam the streets of Hempstead on Nov. 28, 1953.

Edward and Gloria Koza and their children peer out of their station wagon on Nov. 10, 1955, as they prepare to take a 200-pound bronze bell from Jamaica, Queens, to the Church of the Little Flower (now known as St. Therese of Lisieux Church) in Montauk. The bell had served atop an LIRR steam engine train for 25 years and was donated to the church once the train was retired.

Crowds mill about Roosevelt Raceway on Sept. 6, 1958, during the Mineola Fair. The fair hosted by the Agricultural Society of Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk drew about 125,000 attendees in its first weekend and featured 250 exhibits, chariot races, rodeo and Wild West shows, and circus acts.

Capt. Sylvester Lucas mans the wheel of the North Haven on Aug. 12, 1959, as the new vessel of South Ferry Inc. begins service to Shelter Island. The new 94-ton vessel was to be named Capella, but locals objected. According to a March 24, 1959 Newsday article, "In Latin, capella means "she-goat." In English, it's a remote star. Since the boat bears no resemblance to sheep or a star, villagers consider the name inappropriate."

In August of 1955, Lanny Towl, 10, of Garden City crosses the finish line of a Junior Motor Sport Club of Long Island go kart race held in the parking lot across from the Motor Vehicle building in Mineola.

Patrolmen Paul Arato and Edward Donahue of the Huntington Police Department check out the department's new four-wheel-drive Jeep on Feb. 21, 1957. It was for use on beach patrol and also snow duty.

Painters correct an error on the South Farmingdale Water District sign atop their water tower in 1953. Allegedly, the sign had mistakenly said "Walter" instead of "Water."

Patrolman Ciro Zinno of the Long Island State Parkway Police reviews a new list of regulations and rates with a group of tow truck operators on the Wantagh Parkway in 1952.

Jean Martin of Garden City practices her ironing technique while Delores Canale of Union City, N.J. and Grace White of Hempstead watch on May 7, 1953. The three students at Adelphi College (now Adelphi University) in Garden City, were enrolled in a home economics course designed for women.

Children sit in a jam-packed schoolroom at the Plainview School on Feb. 5, 1951. The school, originally built for 20 students in 1898, was severely overcrowded with 173 pupils while the district worked on plans to build a new, larger building.

Joseph M. O'Donnel, of Centereach, motions to a father and his sons in a canoe as they approach the dock at Camp Baiting Hollow on Aug. 15, 1959. O'Donnel was assistant Scout executive of the Suffolk County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In the canoe are 11-year-old twins Rusty and Micky Harlan and their father Ray, of Huntington Station.

Scoutmaster Kalman Heller of Bellport stands by on July 6, 1959 as Brian Gallagher of Huntington and Harold Thompson of Patchogue get ready to set their duffels down in their tent at Camp Baiting Hollow.

Beachgoers enjoy the new Overlook pavillion at Cedar Beach in the Town of Babylon on July 7, 1959.

Lollie Privett of Center Moriches, director of Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck in East Moriches, drives a group of children back from swimming on Aug. 6, 1957. The camp was founded in 1941 by the Rotary Club of the Moriches, and to this day provides a summer camp experience for special needs children.

Aerial view of the Sperry plant in Lake Success at 4:20 p.m. on Jan. 25, 1954.

Kids cool off in the water along Sunrise Highway in Wantagh on July 23, 1952 as motorists drive by.

Pilot Jim Ryan, of Smithtown, tests a Rotocycle for the Navy on Sept. 19, 1957, at Gyrodyne Co. of America in St. James.

Mrs. Dorothy Strauber of Lynbrook uses earphones to listen to her ham radio receiver on March 22, 1954. She was a member of the Young Ladies Radio League of Long Island, and operated out of station K2HEA.

In this 1957 photo, Sidney Resnick pours coffee for special guests William Levitt and his son James while her children, Sandee and Carole, sit beside them in the living room of their home on Flamingo Road in Levittown.

Garden City police tested a Foto Patrol device which automatically took a picture of a speeding car's license plate while recording the time and date of the incident in this 1958 photo.

Assembly workers of Republic Aviation Corp. in Farmingdale sit outside the plant after being laid off on Sept. 17, 1954.

Actors Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman work on a scene for their movie "From the Terrace" on Dec. 1, 1959 in East Norwich. Folly Farm, where the scene was shot, substituted for Wilmington, Del. in the film, which was released in 1960.

Chief Lud Wolf watches as First Lt. Charles Rago of Rescue Company polishes the newest truck acquired by the Levittown Fire Department on Aug. 23, 1959.

Carmen Valenti, 12, a student at Freeport's Columbus Avenue School, looks over a book in the rear of the Freeport Memorial Library's bookmobile on Dec. 10, 1952.

The kitchen of a home on Redwood Path in Seaford as seen on Feb. 22, 1958.

Two members of the Coast Guard repair a generator in the engine room of the Orient Point Lighthouse on Feb. 2, 1958. Edward Pottgeiser, left, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Bernard McDonald of upstate Ogdensburg were two of the three men stationed at the lighthouse.

Two workers assemble toy guns at the Renwal Manufacturing Co. in Carle Place on March 7, 1951. Joan Hall of Merrick is in the foreground.

New homeowners in Levittown reported that there were lots of odds and ends to take care of after moving in. In this Dec. 18,1950 photo, Bill Drugan takes care of the outside of the window and his wife Dorothy cleans the inside.

Three-year-olds Tommy Kuhn, of Mineola, and Peggy Heine, of Williston Park, are seen cheering the marchers at the parade held on Oct. 20, 1951, to honor the 25th anniversary of the Village of Williston Park.

In this 1959 photo, dock hands are seen pulling in the stern rope of the Norwegian tanker, "Fosna," the first diesel ship to come into Port Jefferson Harbor.

A baby buggy barricade is set up at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Marshall Street in West Hempstead on June 6, 1955. Another barricade was set up at the corner of Virginia and Alabama avenues. The protesters were calling for stop signs at the intersections to reduce traffic accidents in the area.

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In this 1956 photo, George Grimaldi, one of the owners of the Massapequa Zoo, welcomes Emma the Emu to the zoo family.

Kathleen Henry, 15, of West Hempstead, rubs her feet after a long walk in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Hempstead on March 22, 1953. She was a majorette for the Smedley Butler Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Air traffic control operators George VanWyen and Alfred Werner work the busy tower at MacArthur Airport in Islip on Nov. 17, 1956.

Teenagers clap their hands to rock and roll music at the National Food Store Lot in Plainedge in 1958.

Winners of the 1952 King and Queens of the Babies contest held at Stewart Manor Country Club give and receive a kiss.

Grocery shoppers check out at the Massapequa Market in 1956.

'Fire Island Queen'

Fire Island Ferries' "Fire Island Queen" docks at Maple Avenue in Bay Shore with a Memorial Day holiday crowd on May 30, 1951.

The United Nations Security Council meets at Lake Success in buildings originally used by the Sperry gyroscope company. (1950)

A teacher leads a lesson on the first day of integrated classes in Westbury elementary schools on Monday, Sep. 1, 1952.

Lucky little Annette Baima, 6, of Brooklyn, is visited by singing star Perry Como who made the rounds of the St. Francis Hospital in Port Washington on June 19, 1955.

Workmen remove crushed cars and install new track at the scene of an LIRR accident that killed 32 commuters and injured 208. (Feb. 18, 1950)

Aerial view of Levittown, the low-cost housing development built by Levitt & Sons (1950)

Night view of Levittown, the new housing development on Long Island (1951)

One of the last flights from Roosevelt Field is made as the Air Ambulance takes off on its final flight. (June 11, 1951)

Empty hangars at Roosevelt Field (June 11, 1951)

Heavy traffic in Levittown (Sept. 28, 1951)

Dwight Eisenhower, 1952

Republican presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower greets supporters in Hicksville during a presidential campaign swing in 1952. New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, who twice failed to win the presidency, shares the seat, while Nassau GOP boss J. Russell Sprague sits in front.

Jones Beach in 1952

Cars lined up in a traffic jam in Roosevelt on the Southern State Parkway in 1952

Christine Jorgensen in 1953, after sex reassignment surgery changed her from George Jorgensen Jr. She was an object of fascination and ridicule until she moved from Massapequa to California in 1967. She died at 62 in 1989.

Robert Moses in front of a map of Long Island in 1954

Martha Prime, 9, of Huntington, gets a polio vaccine. (April 27, 1954)

Mid island Council of Girl Scouts gives a horsemanship exhibition at the Long Island Industrial Exposition at Roosevelt Raceway. Single file, the 16 girls ride down the track in front of the grandstand. Miss Dorothy Scanlon of Bethpage was in charge of the girls. (Oct. 13, 1954)

Long Islanders line up in Westbury, waiting for their names to be taken so that they can receive the polio vaccine. (Oct. 15, 1954)

William C. DeKoning Sr., head of Long Island's operating engineer's union, begins an 18-month prison term, ending his control over construction. (1954)

Eyes downcast, hands clenched at this sides, Eugene Landry fights back his feelings as fellow graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are sworn in as Naval Reserve ensigns. Landry was denied a commission as his mother was a former Communist. (1955)

Demolition of the old hangars at Roosevelt Field - Two workmen at the sagging roof of hangar 11, the first of four in a row to be torn down to make way for industrial growth. (March 26, 1956)

A replica of Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" warms up in front of Hangar 4 at Mitchel Field. Moments later, it took off for Roosevelt Field. (Feb. 18, 1957)

Children from the Village Green School in Huntington line the corridors with their heads down during a civil defense alert. (April 6,1958)

In the 1950s and '60s, evangelist Oral Roberts made many appearances on Long Island. Here he lays on hands for a man with hearing problems during an appearance at the Island Garden in West Hempstead. He tells followers he is not a doctor, but he believes prayer will help cure their ills. (March 25, 1958)

In the 1950s and '60s, evangelist Oral Roberts made many appearances on Long Island. Here Roberts and his wife, Evelyn, leave the Island Garden in West Hempstead after their last prayer meeting. (March 30, 1958)

In Levittown, mothers with baby carriages walking and blocking traffic in protest of the speedway. (June 11, 1959)

Foam covers the B-26 airplane, which crashed into a home on Barbara Drive in East Meadow on Nov. 2, 1955. Both the pilot and navigator were killed, but there were no ground casualties.