Back to the (Educational) Past

I'm baaack, for those interested in learning more about Massapequa's history.

I took some time to revise the blogs I wrote over the past several months and to organize them into a booklet about Massapequa's historical markers. The publication should be available sometime in May. I'll highlight it as part of my efforts at shameless self-promotion for the Historical Society.

My focus for the next several blogs will be on the Massapequa School System. The Historical Society's Officers and Trustees have resolved to gather as much information as possible about the history of Massapequa's schools for presentation in several formats - slide shows, articles, blogs, book(s). To kick off this effort, we sponsored a meeting yesterday April 29 at the Central Avenue Library, inviting community members to come out and talk with us about their experiences, as students, teachers, administrators and/or parents. We were extremely gratified that over fifty people showed up. The room was small, so it was standing room only indeed. We've scheduled a second meeting for May 27 at 2:30 at the Bar Harbour Library, where there are larger meeting rooms.

Wilma Diehl, former Guidance Counselor and Assistant Superintendent, was the featured speaker and emphasized that we're interested in personal experiences to show the "human" side of Massapequa's education system. Mention was made, for example, of Artie Rohr, a Principal who shot off his right hand while hunting and subsequently used the stump to emphasize ideas and information when teaching. Everyone was very polite about that topic, but other sources have indicated Mr. Rohr may have used the stump on unruly students! It was also noted that Mrs. Lockhart, who would occasionally act as a substitute teacher and who was raised on a farm, taught the students how to kill a chicken!

The Library and Historical Society will be cooperating very closely on this project. At yesterday's meeting, representatives distributed information packets and invited attendees to record their memories, writing them on sheets that were provided and returning them to the Library, or emailing their stories to the Society's website (MassapequaHistoricalSociety.org). Readers can also add comments at the end of this blog. Anybody who would prefer to discuss their experiences can leave a message on the Society's website, or call us at 799-2023 if you want to talk with a Society Trustee about your experiences. Our aim is to gather as much information as possible and share it with as many people as possible. 

In my next blog, I'll highlight some hard facts about the school system, which can provide a valuable context for personal experiences.