LIS 203

by

Remembering a World War II Veteran Through His Work

Authored by Emily Leo

A watercolor painting depicting a scene from life in Franklin Square during the 20th Century. A temporary carnival held in or near Franklin Square in the early 1950s. Indiviglia, Salvatore J. 1952. Carnival. Watercolor on paper. Franklin Square Public Library, New York. (The Franklin Square Historical Society owns the copyright to this painting and has loaned it to the Franklin Square Public Library to display. Photo taken with permission from the Franklin Square Public Library by Emily Leo on September 15th, 2020).

World War II veterans are an ever-shrinking population. While most living veterans are well into their 90s, many of their stories have not been told. Salvatore J. Indiviglia was 99 when he passed on May 28, 2018. According to an article from the Pew Research Center, “The [Department of Veteran’s Affairs] projections show that between Sept. 30, 2019 and Sept. 30, 2020, 245 WWII veterans are expected to be lost each day” (Schaeffer 2020). Thus, it is more crucial than ever to record as many of their stories and experiences as possible before they are lost for good. However, sometimes their stories live on through the work they have done throughout their lives. I was able to find his story through the paintings he has left behind and the organizations he was a part of. Salvatore J. Indiviglia was a resident of Franklin Square, New York for 68 years, a veteran of World War II, and a prolific artist whose work is displayed in numerous places, most notably, in the Franklin Square Public Library (Newsday 2018).

Continue reading →
by

Teaching the ABCs of Race and Identity in Schools

Authored by Angelica Zamudio

Dr. Waller at her installation ceremony, where family, friends, former and current colleagues, plus the wider BC community, celebrated the beginning of her leadership at The Berkeley Carroll School as the first Black, female Head of School, and one that deeply understands progressive education.

C for Class. D for Difference. R for Race. An ABC of Equality is a children’s book addressing social justice concepts via the alphabet. Increasingly, grownups are exploring subjects related to equality with their children. Why? Because our world is changing. By 2060, no single racial majority will exist (Kotler, Haider, and Levine 2019, 6). Talking about race is thus imperative, and the earlier the better.

Continue reading →
by

Citizens Bank of Monroe: A Town of Monroe Staple for Over Fifty Years.

Authored By Mike Maggin

23 Lake Street in Monroe NY once housed the Citizens Bank of Monroe in Monroe NY. This was a staple of the town of Monroe for more than 70 years. Now it is an abandoned property but when this photo was taken in 1965 the Citizens Bank of Monroe was celebrating its 50th anniversary.

In 1915, the United States had 7,598 National Banks and 18,227 State Banks (FDIC.Gov 2014). One of the banks that opened that year was the Citizens Bank of Monroe located in Monroe NY. Though the building is no longer in use the bank is still talked about and remembered for its great customer service, it’s giant vault, and the ability to survive the run on banks in the 1930s. Many banks did not survive the banking panics that began in October of 1930 and lasted until Roosevelts national banking holiday in 1933 (Bordo and Landon-Lane 2010, 487). During this time over 8,000 commercial banks were part of the Federal Reserve System, but nearly 16,000 were not members, including the Citizens Bank of Monroe (Richardson 2013).

Continue reading →
by

Aviation at Farmingdale State College: Bringing the World a Little Closer

Authored by Michael J. Krasnoff

Farmingdale State University of New York

Taken of an unnamed student at Farmingdale State University’s Engineering Technology program. This photo does more than portray a student and a plane, it is a living document of Farmingdale State University as a pioneer in creating a post-World War II college level aviation program that was previously only offered in vocational schools.

World War II played a major role in the evolution of the workforce. “The war left an altered economy that demanded a workforce whose education and training needed to be more technical in nature” (Cavaioli 2012, 139).

Continue reading →

by

A Home for Us: The Lesbian Herstory Archives Moves to Brooklyn

Authored by Elana Weber

Taken in 1993, this photograph shows the Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) coordinators, or Archivettes, in front of LHA's new Brooklyn location.

Gwenwald, Morgan, Group of LHA Coordinators, June 1993, photograph, 8” x 10” (20.23 x 25.4 cm), Lesbian Herstory Archive, Brooklyn, New York, www.lesbianherstoryarchive.com. Courtesy of Morgan Gwenwald.

In 1986, Marge McDonald passed away. A midwestern lesbian, McDonald left her journals, books, and photos to the Lesbian Herstory Archive (LHA) (“Friends in Ohio” 1988, 2). Unfortunately, her family began auctioning off her belongings. LHA contacted the auctioneer, who would allow representatives a single day to come in to salvage what they could of the 6,000 belongings (“Friends in Ohio” 1988, 2). With the eyes of McDonald’s family and the community of Nelsonville, Ohio on them, two local lesbians worked until the 5:00PM cutoff to pack as many of McDonald’s items as they could into a pick-up truck bound for New York City (“Friends in Ohio” 1988, 2). Today, those rescued belongings form the “Marge McDonald Special Collection.” McDonald wasn’t famous. She was an ordinary woman.

Continue reading →

by

Letter of Grief: A Soldier’s Story in the Philippine War.

Authored by Monika Leubner

Scanned image of letter

This is a letter from Lieutenant Gibson to Ella Allard about the death of her son Clayton Allard which talks about how he died and when. From the Allard Papers in Melvil Dewey Library at Jefferson Community College.

A mother’s worse nightmare: “It is my painful duty to inform you of the death of your son” (Lawerance 1902, 1). Unfortunately Ella Allard had to read this from Lieutenant Gibson in a letter about her son, Clayton Allard. On June 4th, 1898, Clayton Allard enthusiastically enlisted into the army at Sacket’s Harbor, New York. During the time that Allard enlisted, the United States was seven months away from ending its war with Spain. In December of 1898, President McKinley issued an order to extend the role of the United States to the Philippines. In a testimony by future President William Howard Taft, “A government ought to be established under American guidance which and under which the Philippines shall gradually improve their knowledge of what is individual liberty” (Graff 1969, 52). Taft’s testimony explained why the U.S. wanted to take over the Philippines.   Continue reading →

Campus Community School’s Piece of History

Authored by Nancie Joseph

Historic Marker placed outside of Campus Community School stating the history of the building. Photo by Jennifer Boland

Introduction

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” the famous words of Neil Armstrong the day he walked on the moon. “Forty-six years ago, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, he had a little piece of Delaware with him” (Bittle 2015). His space suit was made in the building that is now Campus Community School at 350 Pear Street in Dover, Delaware. This is the story of a building where space suits were once made, which is now filled with laughter and learning. Continue reading →

by

The Development of Borough Park

Authored by Laura Dellova

Part of Ward 30, Section 17; Map bounded by 12th Ave., 49th St., 9th Ave.; Including 37th St., 10th Ave., 39th St.

Part of Ward 30, Section 17; Map bounded by 12th Ave., 49th St., 9th Ave.; Including 37th St., 10th Ave., 39th St.

It has been intriguing to rectify the maps through New York Public Library’s Map Warper Program. As I went forth on this project I immediately chose to work with a map from Brooklyn. This map—made in 1905 in the area we now know as Borough Park—shows an address that is very close to my heart. In 1925 my great-grandparents bought a house on 43rd between 12th and Fort Hamilton Avenue. It is the house where my grandmother spent her childhood years and years later the same house is where my parents lived when they first got married.

This is an important piece of my family history and I wanted to look into the development of this neighborhood. This map was made as a result of the areas suburbanization, transforming the once fertile farmland. In 1905 the twentieth assembly district known as Borough Park, the population was in total of 81,365 inhabitants.[1] 76,214 of those were citizens and the remaining 5,151 were foreigners, telling me that this was a neighborhood that catered more to those who were already citizens. This number was important in my understanding of the history and the social as well as physical growth of Borough Park as a community. Continue reading →