Mementos of past heroes on display at Lindenhurst Knights of Columbus
Town of Babylon Historian Mary Cascone, left, and Patrick Corcoran of the Knights of Columbus next to the display case in the building that's now used by the Knights. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
More than a century of veteran history is now on display in Lindenhurst.
The Town of Babylon historian, working with the Knights of Columbus Council No. 794, has installed a display case full of memorabilia from the World War Veterans Club of Lindenhurst. The case is front and center in the Knights’ home — the 98-year-old former headquarters for the now-defunct veterans club, located at 185 N. Broadway.
“This is a representation of the building,” Town Historian Mary Cascone said. “It gives you that little capsule. It’s going to welcome you and give you that sense of why they first built this building.”
A group of 38 World War I veterans formed the World War Veterans Club in 1919, and in 1924 bought the land on North Broadway for $500, constructing the roughly 2,400-square-foot building in 1927, Cascone said.
The club reached its zenith in the 1950s with more than 200 members, she said, but with membership limited to veterans of the first two world wars, by the 1990s the group had dwindled as building expenses rose.
Cascone said she doesn't believe there are any members still alive.
In 1999, the club agreed to sell the building to Suffolk County for $50,000. It was sold again in 2003 to Babylon Town before reverting back to the county in 2019. The county then struck a rent-free, 19-year license agreement with the Knights of Columbus. The building was rehabbed and the Knights began using it in 2023.
The display case was installed earlier this month in the lobby. Inside is a mannequin wearing a club member’s uniform that Cascone and office assistant Gilda Gricka recreated from photos found among boxes of memorabilia in the building. Club members would wear such uniforms in local parades, Cascone said.
Also in the case are photographs and the group’s shield, which members created depicting a bald eagle atop a red, white and blue crest with the name of the club grasped in the bird’s beak.
Gricka said putting the display together was a little different from other displays done at the Old Town Hall Museum in Babylon Village.
“You see their names and you have their clothing, so you just feel like you’re right there with these people,” she said. “My dad was in World War II, so this hit close to home.”
Perhaps the oldest piece of memorabilia in the case is a helmet worn by founding member Joseph Spellerberg during his service in World War I from 1918 to 1919. Spellerberg was the club’s first treasurer and he was also mayor of Lindenhurst from 1955 to 1959, said Anna Jaeger, Lindenhurst Village historian.
“He was definitely a man-about-town at that time,” Jaeger said. “He was well-known and well-liked.”
The Lindenhurst Knights of Columbus chapter is a Catholic fraternal benefit society formed in 1903 that does volunteer work for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church as well as other community charity efforts.
Like the veteran club members before them, the Knights did much of the building rehab work themselves, said Council Grand Knight Patrick Corcoran. The Knights’ charitable work also mirrors that of the club’s, Corcoran said.
“For us to be able to carry on the legacy in the very similar mode of charity, unity and fraternity is a huge plus for the community,” he said.
Corcoran said the Knights hope to host a regular local history night at the building, where Cascone can show slides and talk about the club, the building and veterans in Lindenhurst. Corcoran said he also hopes local schools will bring students to the building to see the display case.
The World War Veterans building has long stood out in Lindenhurst, with its white stucco exterior and castle-like parapet on top, Cascone said. To pay for the building’s expenses, the club would often rent it out for parties, she said.
“People who are grandparents now might come here and say, ‘Oh, my first Communion party was held here,’” Cascone said. “Even though the members themselves are gone, all those people will still remember this. And if they don’t remember, we’re here to let them know what it was and that while this group is gone, their place in Lindenhurst history and our greater veterans’ history is here.”
More than a century of veteran history is now on display in Lindenhurst.
The Town of Babylon historian, working with the Knights of Columbus Council No. 794, has installed a display case full of memorabilia from the World War Veterans Club of Lindenhurst. The case is front and center in the Knights’ home — the 98-year-old former headquarters for the now-defunct veterans club, located at 185 N. Broadway.
“This is a representation of the building,” Town Historian Mary Cascone said. “It gives you that little capsule. It’s going to welcome you and give you that sense of why they first built this building.”
A group of 38 World War I veterans formed the World War Veterans Club in 1919, and in 1924 bought the land on North Broadway for $500, constructing the roughly 2,400-square-foot building in 1927, Cascone said.
The club reached its zenith in the 1950s with more than 200 members, she said, but with membership limited to veterans of the first two world wars, by the 1990s the group had dwindled as building expenses rose.
Cascone said she doesn't believe there are any members still alive.
Members of the World War Veterans Club of Lindenhurst in 1927. Credit: Courtesy of the Lindenhurst Historical Society
In 1999, the club agreed to sell the building to Suffolk County for $50,000. It was sold again in 2003 to Babylon Town before reverting back to the county in 2019. The county then struck a rent-free, 19-year license agreement with the Knights of Columbus. The building was rehabbed and the Knights began using it in 2023.
'This hits close to home'
The display case was installed earlier this month in the lobby. Inside is a mannequin wearing a club member’s uniform that Cascone and office assistant Gilda Gricka recreated from photos found among boxes of memorabilia in the building. Club members would wear such uniforms in local parades, Cascone said.
Also in the case are photographs and the group’s shield, which members created depicting a bald eagle atop a red, white and blue crest with the name of the club grasped in the bird’s beak.
The display case features World War Veterans Club memorabilia. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Gricka said putting the display together was a little different from other displays done at the Old Town Hall Museum in Babylon Village.
“You see their names and you have their clothing, so you just feel like you’re right there with these people,” she said. “My dad was in World War II, so this hit close to home.”
Perhaps the oldest piece of memorabilia in the case is a helmet worn by founding member Joseph Spellerberg during his service in World War I from 1918 to 1919. Spellerberg was the club’s first treasurer and he was also mayor of Lindenhurst from 1955 to 1959, said Anna Jaeger, Lindenhurst Village historian.
“He was definitely a man-about-town at that time,” Jaeger said. “He was well-known and well-liked.”
World War I veteran and former Mayor Joseph Spellerberg in 1959. Credit: Courtesy of the Lindenhurst Historical Society
Legacies of charitable work
The Lindenhurst Knights of Columbus chapter is a Catholic fraternal benefit society formed in 1903 that does volunteer work for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church as well as other community charity efforts.
Like the veteran club members before them, the Knights did much of the building rehab work themselves, said Council Grand Knight Patrick Corcoran. The Knights’ charitable work also mirrors that of the club’s, Corcoran said.
“For us to be able to carry on the legacy in the very similar mode of charity, unity and fraternity is a huge plus for the community,” he said.
Town of Babylon Historian Mary Cascone with the artifacts. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Corcoran said the Knights hope to host a regular local history night at the building, where Cascone can show slides and talk about the club, the building and veterans in Lindenhurst. Corcoran said he also hopes local schools will bring students to the building to see the display case.
The World War Veterans building has long stood out in Lindenhurst, with its white stucco exterior and castle-like parapet on top, Cascone said. To pay for the building’s expenses, the club would often rent it out for parties, she said.
“People who are grandparents now might come here and say, ‘Oh, my first Communion party was held here,’” Cascone said. “Even though the members themselves are gone, all those people will still remember this. And if they don’t remember, we’re here to let them know what it was and that while this group is gone, their place in Lindenhurst history and our greater veterans’ history is here.”
World War Veterans Club of Lindenhurst
Formed: 1919
Members: Veterans of World War I and World War II
Headquarters built: 1927
Former headquarters today: Headquarters of the Knights of Columbus Council 794
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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