By Liz McBreen
Smith is an amateur photographer who began taking pictures of railroads and racecars around the age of ten. When the Franklin Square resident began photographing these small stores, he had no intention of creating an exhibit. It was after noticing the disappearance of many small businesses, and then having difficulty filling a prescription at a large pharmaceutical chain store that Smith discussed the topic with his physician, Dr. James Krivo.
Dr. Krivo, who is also the leader of West Nassau Chapter of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, suggested that Smith capture these reliable, yet often underappreciated stores on film before they were all forced out of existence by larger pharmacy, hardware, dry cleaning and supermarket chains. What began as a project to document the loss of small businesses on Long Island for himself, has grown into 'Small Stores Past & Present: A Photographic Exhibit,' showing at the Elmont Public Library on Hempstead Turnpike through the month of January.
As Smith explained the captioned and dated photographs to his audience at the opening of the exhibit on Sunday, it became clear that he did not remain in one specific area on Long Island, "I began by photographing the places I knew from my childhood. I soon widened my focus to cover anything that evoked that era, whether I'd known it then or not. Eventually, I found myself trying desperately to document anything that seemed to be in danger of disappearing."
The exhibit of about 30 photographs includes stores in Smith's hometown such as Jayson Drugs, Jay Murray Shoes and Ronny's Hardware in Franklin Square, Morris Supermarket in Valley Stream, a Space Age style dry cleaner built in the 50's in Glen Cove, a hardware store in Williston Park and Frozen Cup in Bellerose. Smith mentioned the stores which, since the time of the photograph, are no longer in existence, and he stressed the need for residents to patronize the small businesses that remain in their communities so they will not meet the same fate.
Smith went on to voice his concern about pending plans to make one long uniform sign for several stores near the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square. This would include Jay Murray Shoes, where Smith buys his daughter Mary's shoes. The photographer says that these stores "do not have much parking in the front, so they rely on their unique signs to draw people in. They lose their originality if they look the same as all of the stores next to them."
The exhibit was co-sponsored by the West Nassau Chapter of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, known for its work on healthcare, environmental and social justice issues. Associate Director of the Coalition, Lisa Tyson said that the exhibit "illustrates the need to keep small businesses strong in the community" After Smith's presentation, Tyson praised the exhibit and thanked Smith for bringing this problem to the public's attention.
The residents who had come to see the exhibit also discussed concerns they have regarding business that is now in part handled by small neighborhood shops being taken over completely by corporations that will eventually form large monopolies. The exhibit is proof that this threat exists, and as Smith wrote in his introduction for the exhibit, "Do yourself, your neighbors and your community a favor and seek these [small] businesses out. Give them your patronage whenever possible. It'll make Long Island a little bit better place to live." Smith gave special thanks to his exhibit coordinator and friend, John Schaub, and his wife Peggy.
