Weldon E Howitt High School - Hi Life Yearbook (Farmingdale, NY)

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Business J 265

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Most students take it for granted that the clothes, food, and supplies they want to buy will be readily available. But the large number and variety of both small and big busi- nesses in and around Farm- ingdale is the result of a long, gradual growth from the rural community of old Hard- scrabble. The many stores and offices in our area are unique be- cause of the rich heritage be- hind them. When one looks at old pictures of Farmingdale, one can truly appreciate the magnitude of modernization that has occured. Progress has been fast, and the busi- nessman of Farmingdale is largely responsible. Machinery was first in- troduced though factories that once occupied the land. The railroad came through, deliv- ering and shipping goods manufactured or raised in Farmingdale. The population skyrocketed, with eager city dwellers looking for fresh air and a chance to go into busi- ness for themselves. The result is the Farm- ingdale we see today, dotted with neighborhood stores, small shopping centers, and a large mall. The businessman is the heart of the town, and it continues to grow and en- courage progress. V

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f Our Town hm Buemi v! As we look down the streets of Farmingdale view- ing all of our modern stores, theaters, parks and hangouts”, it is hard to believe that Indians once inhabited this land. Although the origin of the name Hardscrabble is un- known, we do know that Ambrose George, a real es- tate man from Buffalo, changed it to Farmingdale in 1838. In the 1830’s George moved to Long Is- land, acquired several acres and named this area Farmingdale. Farmingdale became an incorporated village, one square mile in area, in 1904. Previously the town had been governed by the town of Oyster Bay. August 24, 1904 marks the date of the first Village Board meet- ing. These meetings were pertinent, as the decisions derived, directly affected the people of Farmingdale. Town Minutes: August 30, 1904 Street Commissioner or- dered to post signs at Vil- lage limits prohibiting au- tomobiles and motorcycles from driving faster than 8 m.p.h. December 1, 1904 Board approved sample of street lights and decided to order one dozen lights for $75.00. December 9, 1908 The regular meeting of the Village Board was cancelled due to the fact that none of the members were present. Farming was foremost among the industries of the nineteenth century. Many farmers belonged to the Farmingdale Farmers Club. These meetings were struc- turally run under the guid- ance of the club officers. This provided the farmers of the community an op- portunity to exchange farm- XKW VOItIt. from l(r -rnl -'.U'lifeil Survi-v» sKccomI» . - Ib 1 IKK Its .COMSTOCK tl.lXK. .V» Vr»7-» sirtTi. NK% ' VOMK — —- IIIT:». -— r unori n Ut. .b,Hrr r MIXGDALE TOWN OF OYSTER BAY queens c o. Moris to tJt e inc t l. C oA ing techniques with one an- other. Raising cattle was also a very prominent in- dustry due to the abun- dance of fertile grazing land. Towards the end of the 19th century many small in- dustries began to expand and prosper. The brick works, bottle works, picture frame works, as well as the pickle works were among the many. The twentieth century brought with it a new line of business — the florist. Sev- eral of these florists in- cluding Dinda’s, Manker’s and Schwartz Florists are still supplying Farmingdale and the surrounding area with beautiful floral arange- ments. As the number of private businesses increased, large scale industries also grew. Republic Aviation Corpo- ration provided the U.S. Air Force with a variety of plan- es and air equipment and supplied a large portion of the community with jobs. During the late 1950’s and the early 1960’s a large section of East Farmingdale abandoned the farming in- dustry and became industri- alized. Today this area is still referred to as the indus- trial section and provides many factory jobs for the people of Farmingdale. This is a special year for our town. As we celebrate our Seventy-fifth Anniver- sary this year, there will be concerts, public lectures and most importantly our fifth annual Hardscrabble Fair for all to participate in! 266