Local History

Catalogues and advertisements for Accentuate Music, a music publishing company once based in Plainview. Catalogues include listings for music books, instruments, computer programs, and instructional tapes.

Interviews, reviews, photos, write-ups and more on actors and actresses of note from Plainview. Includes names such as: John Savage, Joel Leffert, Brad Stoll, and Ellen Hulkower.

Educational plays, classroom guides, poetry, and stories by Esther Adler. Subjects include family, the Holocaust, and Judaism. Adler created experimental curriculum materials for the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York.

News clippings documenting the past activities, services, and fundraising endeavors of the Nassau County chapter of the AHRC. The AHRC is a foundation that seeks to provide support and opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Regarding the air quality in Plainview.

Articles and biographical information on Rebecca Alesia, who served as Oysterbay Town Councilwoman from February 2010 until her resignation in February of 2019.

Documentation of the push to mitigate smoking in Nassau County via the Alliance for Smoke-Free Air, headed by Plainview resident Claire Millman. Reports concerning smoking in restaurants, the home, schools, and the effects of secondhand smoke.

A document listing assessed and taxable values for the towns in Nassau County for the years 1996 and 1997. Valuations are included for property, highways, schools, county police, county sewage disposal, along with exemptions for veterans and ministers. Also included are the respected changes in valuation for each metric between 1996 and 1997.

News clippings documenting the activities, services, and fundraising endeavors of the ACDS, founded in 1966 and based in Plainview

A collection of several volumes of the Manetto Hill News, a paper published by the Manetto Hill Chapter of B’nai B’rith dating from the early 1980s. These volumes contain community postings, articles on news, faith, and daily life, as well as illustrations. Also included in this collection are articles reporting news relating to the organization. 

Documents regarding the Battle Row Campground in Old Bethpage and the controversy surrounding its development. Local names of note in this folder include Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Colby, New York State Assembly member Lewis J. Yevoli, and President of the Old Bethpage Civic Association Thomas Masterson.

Interviews and biographical information on Clifford Berry. Berry did essential work alongside and under the tutelage of John Atanasoff in the creation of the first electronic digital computer. Berry’s work on this project was so essential that Atanasoff insisted the invention take both their namesakes as the Atanasoff-Berry Computer. Berry worked for a short time in Plainview as Manager of Advanced Development for the Vacuum Electronics Corporation before his untimely death in 1963

Background information on the Bethel United Pentecostal Church. The church was founded by D. D. Davis, eventually moving to Plainview from its original location in Levittown in 1971. The church is now located in Old Westbury on Jericho Turnpike.

Documents tracing the history of Bethpage State Park, formerly the Yoakum estate. The park is famed for its “Black Course,” a golf course ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top 25 in the country. Articles in this collection originate from publications such as Long Island Monthly and Newsday.

A collection of bibliographies listing sources on the history of Long Island and local authors. This collection includes bibliographies of the Plainview-Old Bethpage local history collection (circa 1986), unpublished theses by local authors, an index of microfilmed newspapers housed at Hofstra University, and further Long Island historical bibliographies compiled by Stony Brook University and Kathryn G. Koubek.

Essays by local author Dr. Frank J. Cavaioli examining the Italian American experience, immigration reform, and the Ku Klux Klan on Long Island. Cavaioli was a Professor of History at Farmingdale State College and the president of the Long Island chapter of the American Italian Historical Association.

“Arnold W. Drucker was elected to the Nassau County Legislature in a November 2016 special election. He is currently serving his second full term as the representative for the 16th Legislative District, which includes the communities of Plainview, Old Bethpage, Jericho, Syosset, Woodbury, Hicksville, Old Westbury, and Roslyn Heights.”

Articles and letters regarding Lillian Dubsky, a Plainview resident and former teacher. Dubsky escaped Vienna in 1938 as the Nazi’s seized control of Austria. She produced a documentary titled “We Must Never Forget” featuring her recollections of the Nazis in Austria.

Articles and Essays by or regarding local author Robert Grossbach. Grossbach wrote original novels, novelizations of films, and screenplays. His novel Easy and Hard Ways Out was made into the film Best Defense starring Dudley Moore and Eddie Murphy

Letters and articles documenting the endeavors of Dr. Richard Kobek, a Social Studies teacher at John F. Kennedy High School. Koubek served as an intermediary and organizer between the high school and Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library in the creation of Community Studies Projects and activities. Subjects include the centennial celebration of Plainview, the development of neighborhood watch, and local community awareness programs.

Contains magazines featuring the work of local author and cartoonist Robert Leighton as well as press clippings. Titles include Rubber Teeth, and Chocolate Moose. Issues are from the late 1970s through the 1980’s and are themed to topics such as careers, food, crime, and movies.

Located on 1303 Round Swamp Road on the grounds of Old Bethpage Village Restoration, the museum opened in 2014 on the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Its impressive collection consists of World War II tanks, artillery, armored cars, and more. The museum boasts the ability to, “create a military armored column among vintage farm houses and country roads, accurately replicating the sights and sounds of American forces during World War II.” 

Located at 1535 Old Country Road, the Nassau County Sanatorium opened on April 19, 1920. The sanatorium began primarily serving those with tuberculosis and allied diseases of the chest. With its many expansions, the addition of a “preventorium” for children in 1927, an infirmary, school rooms, an occupational therapy department, dental facilities, and more, the Sanatorium became one of the finest hospitals in the U.S. for the treatment of tuberculosis. As cases of tuberculosis grew more scarce in the late 1950’s, the hospital changed its name and broadened its scope to chronic pulmonary diseases. The property where the Nassau County Sanatorium/Nassau Hospital for Pulmonary Diseases once stood was bought by Charles Wang, former owner of the New York Islanders.

Articles and essays by local author and cultural anthropologist Jud Newborn. Newborn wrote Shattering of the German Night: The Story of the White Rose, an account of five german students who engaged in anti-Nazi activity within Nazi Germany.

Letters and articles written by or regarding Rhoda Nichter. Nichter founded the Group Against Smoking Pollution (GASP), a non-profit educational organization formed to raise awareness of the adverse effects of smoking. Nichter also wrote the books How to Stop Smoking Once and for All and Yes, I Do Mind if you Smoke!

Prose pieces by local author Toby Rosenstrauch. Rosenstrauch’s writing has been featured in publications such as The New York Times and Lilith.

Documents regarding Arthur Samansky. Samansky, an Old Bethpage resident, was a business and financial writer for the World Journal Tribune before becoming a special assistant in the public information sector of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. While working for the Federal Reserve Bank, Samansky published several books and booklets including The Culpeper Switch, By the Way, and Security Gap.

Editions of Scrutinize, a young adult’s magazine produced by the Nassau Library System, dating from the early 1970s. Plainview-Old Bethpage residents featured include Lynn Goldenberg, Raymond Lambiase, Lauren Kettler, Mindy Green, and Jeff Matros. Includes poetry, short prose, and reviews.

Articles and literature by or regarding Charles Wayne. Wayne was an author, presenter, and attorney from Plainview. Wayne led courses for children and young adults providing instruction in mathematics and cryptography.

Prose pieces by local author and business teacher, Marjorie Wolfe. Wolfe’s work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Discovery, Newsday, and the Plainview Pennysaver. Wolfe humorously tackles topics including parenting, taxes, and office work.