Rockville Centre's own Facebook group

Facebook — Mark Zuckerberg’s billion dollar social-networking enterprise — now includes a group page called “What Happened to Rockville Centre,” allowing anyone affiliated with the village to reminisce about old times.

Two former village residents who attended South Side High School — Doug Marlowe and Richard Gottlieb — teamed up to start the page in early June. Gottlieb said he was inspired to get the page going after seeing that Oceanside had an Internet forum of its own. The forum he co-founded lets followers discuss anything related to Rockville Centre, and it has forged new friendships via social networking. “It’s a way for people to connect and it’s a place for people to get information about the old home town,” Gottlieb said. “I’ve been meeting people from California and all across the country.”

A Rhode Island resident for the last 29 years, Gottlieb lived in Rockville Centre until his early 20s. He said he was reluctant about the idea of social networking at first, but said that he eventually warmed up to it. He now admits to being a Facebook junkie, calling the popular website “the new generation of pen pals.”

With “What Happened to Rockville Centre” on the verge of 500 members as the Herald went to press on Tuesday, he and Marlowe’s effort has grown rapidly in its opening weeks. “I’ve been able to reconnect with many people and it’s been a positive experience,” said Marlowe, who is an instructional and technical designer residing in Florida. “Our page is almost like a nostalgia site,”he added, “the subjects discussed on it vary from favorite candy stores as a child to elementary school teachers.”

In addition to those who have lived or are still living in the village, former Rockville Centre teachers, merchants and employees can also visit the Facebook page and sign up to participate in the friendly discussions. Gottlieb said he expects membership to continue rising, and he would like to see improvements made to the forum in the coming months. He and Marlowe have discussed the possibility of uploading walking tour videos of Rockville Centre, along with other interactive features.

A village cookout is planned for group members in August, when they will be invited to mingle and enjoy food and refreshments. The details of the event are still being finalized, Gottlieb and Marlowe both said, and they hope it will give members an opportunity to meet each other face-to-face for the first time.

The two founders are also hoping the forum somehow revitalizes the village: they have expressed disappointment over how Rockville Centre has deteriorated from the once-beautiful and thriving community they still recall from the 1960s and 70s. “From what I’ve heard, it’s really changed a lot,” Gottlieb, a nutrition center manager, said. “It sounds like the aesthetic isn’t the same anymore.”

Marlowe offered a similar sentiment, which he said was confirmed two years ago when he last visited the village. “I returned there and it looked decayed,” Marlowe said. “On our web page, we discuss Rockville Centre during a different time. People need to remember that we’re here to remember the place for what it was, not to cure it.”

To join “What Happened to Rockville Centre,” visit www.facebook.com and request membership on the group page.

Comments about this story? TSteinert@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.