Two women played key roles in local history

Alice Ryan, left, is a founding member of the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Regina Mascia guided the construction of the present West Hempstead Public Library.

Courtesy Ryan family/Rossana Weitekamp

A gathering at the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ Installation Dinner in the early 1970s. Standing, from left, were William Ryan, Rich and Chickie O’Toole, Arthur Weinstein, Carol and George Sheer and Harold Peterson. Seated, from left, were Alice Ryan, Alberta and John Vuini, David Weinstein and Linda Peterson.

Courtesy Ryan family

Regina Mascia in the West Hempstead Public Library last week.

Rossana Weitekamp

Alice Ryan and her husband William prior to the first Memorial Day parade the ambulance corps participated in during the early 1970s.

Courtesy Alice Ryan

Mascia with Regis Philbin, who she contracted to speak at a fundraiser for the Nassau County Library Association in 1989.

Courtesy Regina Mascia

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The Malverne/West Hempstead Herald continues its coverage of women in our communities who have helped shape local history. This week: a close look at the women who helped build the West Hempstead Public Library and the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

Regina Mascia, West Hempstead Public Library

It is impossible to discuss the history and growth of one of West Hempstead’s crown jewels — the public library — without including resident Regina Mascia.

In her nearly 40 years of working with the library, Mascia, 55, has seen it evolve from humble beginnings in the Mutual Engraving building on Hempstead Avenue, in the 1970s, to the Chestnut Street School, in 1982, and ultimately to its current location, 500 Hempstead Ave.

Mascia started working at the library soon after her family moved to West Hempstead from Ridgewood, Queens, when she was 14. She was hired by the library when she was a high school junior, and was soon promoted to clerk. “They told me if I worked there every Saturday, they would promote me,” she recalled, adding that she worked for less than minimum wage because she wanted the job that much.

When the library moved to the Chestnut Street school, Mascia was still working as a clerk while going to Queens College and getting her masters degree. In 1990 she ran for the library board — a volunteer position — and won by more than 400 votes. She remained on the board for nine years.

With nearly 20 years of experience already, Mascia found herself in the right place at the right time when, in 1999, the library’s director, Adele Eckstein, wanted to retire, but the facility faced a huge undertaking: building a new, stand-alone library. Since she already knew the facility well, Mascia was ultimately chosen for the position.

In 2001, the first vote to fund a new building was defeated. The proposal was approved in 2003, but it wasn’t until 2005 that construction began.

Over the years, in an effort to broaden her expertise, Mascia got involved in numerous library-related organizations, and ultimately she became president of the CSEA union for librarians and was head of Young Adult Services for the Nassau County Library Association. In 1989, she organized a fundraising dinner that featured then local television personality Regis Philbin.