On the occasion of Valley Stream’s Centennial festivities, I’d like to take one of several opportunities this year to reflect back on our past 100 years. I haven’t been around for all 100, but I have a pretty good idea of how things have changed — and also stayed the same.
Both my maternal and paternal grandparents settled in Valley Stream before it was incorporated in 1925. The area, then known as Foster’s Meadow, was largely farmland. All of my family photos showed wide-open spaces, with one thoroughfare, a plank road called Merrick Road, connecting Brooklyn to the vast open spaces to the east.
One of my grandfathers was an optician, the only such professional available in the area. His patients could be accommodated conveniently without having to travel into New York City, because in those simple times he worked from home. In fact, private homes were frequent gathering places; people commonly held church services in their homes, along with other social get-togethers.
My father kept goats, and tinkered with anything mechanical, right on East Avenue. He and my mom were very active in the formation of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. In fact, our entire family was involved in every aspect of church life. Services were held in that beautiful structure on Seventh Street in south Valley Stream. Gone by that time, for the most part, were church services in private homes’ parlors. A change not necessarily for better or worse — just different.
Today, when I meet people around the village, we all frequently talk about “the good ol’ days.” That’s a peculiar expression to me. Are my good ol’ days also your good ol’ days? Do my parents, grandparents, and now my children and grandchildren share the same good ol’ days? Of course not. We each hark back to our fondest and favorite memories. It makes us feel young. When I get together with lifelong friends, we seldom talk about what was lousy when we were young. We share all the great times.
Three of my brothers were born in the 1940s, two in the 1950s, and I grew up in the ’60s. Each of us claims our childhood was the best.
How many times have you heard anyone older than you explain how things were better when they were young? Obviously this has been going on for generations.
Our childhoods and formative years were most certainly all very different, but how can we say what was better or worse? It’s easy to cherry-pick and select only the good from your childhood, but that should be balanced with what wasn’t so good.
I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t want to go back to any world wars or times of deadly diseases. I certainly wouldn’t want to give up my internet searches for my old World Book Encyclopedias. Remember those, with the “yearbook” updates?
Social media is always reminding us of how we survived lead paint, no car seats, playgrounds on blacktop, and BB guns. Sure, you can make an argument that times were easier, simpler, with kids playing outside. But how comfortable would you be today if your kids didn’t have smartphones?
In my 40 years of teaching, nearly every student claimed that their class year was the best ever. And, often sarcastically, others claimed that theirs was the worst, or toughest, or coolest. Of course, some people who grew up in Valley Stream claim wonderful, lifelong memories, while others couldn’t wait to leave town as soon as they could.
So when people tell me that Valley Stream isn’t how they remember it, or not as good as it used to be, I can’t help but protest. Of course it’s not the same. It’s ever-changing, growing, evolving and developing. What hasn’t changed in 100 years?
For better or worse, we must accept that change is a part of life.
Some people tell me they want to go back to the “Happy Days,” the 1950s era of the Fonz and Richie Cunningham. But if we actually could choose, what era would we really go back to? It’s a silly thought. My parents grew up in Valley Stream surrounded by celery farms. The Roaring ’20s sound fun, but never mind — I’ll stick with where we are, what we’ve learned and how far we’ve come. No use living in the past. Remember it, dream about it, share your love for it, but live for today!
To quote C.S. Lewis: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” Let’s make today the good ol’ days for the next generation.
Ed Fare is the mayor of Valley Stream.
