Jim Belling: What was happening in RVC 100 years ago? (Part 2)

Ah, spring is finally here! And at the Rockville Centre Historical Society, we’re buzzing with excitement for a couple of spring events. Keep an eye out for details at the bottom.

Looking back a few columns, member Dan D’Antonio provided some fascinating stories about the events happening in the village 100 years ago. The feedback was fantastic, so Dan dug deeper and unearthed more intriguing news stories to share from the spring and early summer of 1925:

At the request of shop owners, the village board approved widening Village Avenue by four feet.

To prepare for the arrival of the first electric train, members of the Exchange Club painted the LIRR station. The train arrived on Wednesday, May 20, with over 1,000 people waving flags as it pulled into the station. Many village businesses closed their shops for over an hour and took part in the celebration.

The village board instructed the Police Department to stop the Long Island Lighting Company from erecting a power transmission line that the board felt was unnecessary.

The Sewer Commission was unable to devise a suitable plan to install sewers in the business district.

Saturday, May 23, was the auction date for 469 residential lots. They were to be known as Golf View Gardens, located on Oceanside Road (now Long Beach Road), across from the Rockville Centre Country Club.

Saint Marks Church invited Gai-i-wah-go-wah, a member of the Sioux tribe, to speak on the history of Native Americans.

The Board of Education approved $33,000 to purchase land at the corner of Hempstead and DeMott avenues for a new school. The board also celebrated the opening of the new high school on Hillside Avenue — the total cost for its construction was $690,248.76 (roughly $12,613,749 in today’s dollars). As part of the budget, the school board also approved the expenditure of $12,000 for an extension of Park Avenue, between Grand and Hillside avenues. This provided direct access to the new high school.

The Memorial/Decoration Day Parade started at the new high school. It went to Clinton Avenue, to College Place, to Village Avenue, to the north side of Observer Street (Sunrise Highway), east to Park Avenue and finished at Memorial Boulder.

More than 1,000 children in town received vaccinations against smallpox. Physicians believed that no children in the village contracted the disease due to the vaccination program. The state Health Department said that if even one case of smallpox was discovered, they would insist that all children get vaccinated, “to guarantee the health of the community as a whole.”

The village board scheduled a second meeting to decide whether it would approve red-and-green traffic lights or red-amber-and-green lights.

The board and the Police Department requested that storekeepers refrain from selling fireworks to children before July 1.

The June 18 issue of the News & Owl included an article on the controversial Scopes Trial, which ended with, “The crux of the argument appears to hang on the natural right of the human species to seek the truth.”

The new Village Hall opened on June 28 on the site of the old high school. It included a new police station that had a “modern jail,” which was housed in the rear of the building.

Before we dive into our spring happenings, a huge thank-you to everyone who supported our 2025 annual appeal! Your generosity is vital for the Historical Society, and especially for keeping the Phillips House running. We would be thrilled if everyone would consider joining us and lending your support at our upcoming fundraiser, too.

The Historical Society has two more events scheduled this spring. The first is happening this Thursday, April 24, at 7 p.m., at the Oceanside Library. The topic is the history of Rockville Centre and Oceanside. The event is sponsored by the Historical Society and the library.

The second event is our second annual fundraising cocktail party, “Night at the Museum.” It will take place on Saturday, May 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Phillips House Museum. A donation of $50 per person includes unlimited beer and wine, music, tours of the museum and light hors d’oeuvres. You can RSVP on our website, rvchs.org. We hope to see you at both!

Jim Belling is a member of the board of trustees of the Phillips House Museum and the Rockville Centre Historical Society.