Historical Society garners local support

The Phillips House Museum in Rockville Centre is a veritable wellspring of local history, which is vastly underutilized among residents — save for a devoted cadre of volunteers who are hard at work to draw attention to this fascinating resource.

To help advance its mission in a neighborly fashion, nearly 100 Rockville Centre residents gathered outside this historic Victorian-style house originally built by Captain Samuel F. Phillips in 1882, on Saturday night, to support the Rockville Centre Historical Society’s “A Night at the Museum” fundraiser.

The event was a delightful way to spend a couple of hours, as guests partook in light refreshments, mingled with neighbors and went on a tour of the museum itself. But what was perhaps most riveting were the many conversations about the history of the village, which the attendees shared among themselves.

People engaged in conversation, discussing some of Rockville Centre’s most noteworthy families, notorious ancestors, sea captains, baymen, trolleys, scandals, land acquisitions, marriages, dynasties and shipwrecks. Supporters shared genealogy research, discolored newspaper clippings, historic maps of the village, and family legends extending as far back as the 17th and 18th centuries.

Historical Society Trustee Debbie Fehringer, who has been an instrumental part in the museum’s efforts to digitize and upload its archives online, shared a few emphatic remarks, stressing to supporters the need for new volunteers, programs, events, exhibits and more.

“The museum is YOUR museum,” Fehringer said. “Please tell us how you want to use the museum. What you want the museum to do for you.”

Fehringer said she would be remised if she didn’t recognize a handful of museum volunteers who have served the community for more than two decades, including the late John Challice, Mary Jane Regan, Tom Hodge and Frank Seipp.

Seipp, now 92, has been an influential member of the Rockville Centre community for many years. Regarded by his colleagues as the “backbone of it all,” he has served as president of the Rockville Centre Historical Society and Phillips House Museum since 1994.

He is a United States Navy veteran, who served as a first-class hospital corpsman from 1952 to 1956, after which he went on to have a successful career as an auctioneer. Seipp has also been a faithful member of the Church of the Ascension in Rockville Centre for more than 50 years.

It is thanks to his efforts that the Phillips House has been the focus of at least five Eagle Scout service projects. Some of these projects included the construction of a gazebo, repairs to the stoic front porch, a lush new garden, and the cataloguing of more than 200 kitchen appliances in the museum’s inventory.

Museum volunteers have also worked with the Fashion Institute of Technology’s garment conservation students, who instructed them on how to preserve and care for delicate antique clothing items out on display.

Other programs and events that have been offered by the museum include concert recitals, art exhibitions, high tea parties, plays, pageants, holiday parties, anniversaries, and its annual Antiques Appraisal Day.

South Side students and parents will also be interested to know that the Phillips House Museum offers a $500 scholarship for high school seniors interested in pursuing a college degree related to history. Applicants are required to submit an essay on the importance of history education. For more information on this program, students can contact their school guidance counselor.

For more information about the Phillips House Museum and Rockville Centre Historical Society, call (516)-670-5737 or email RVCHistoricalSociety@Gmail.com. The Rockville Centre Historical Society is also available online at RVCHS.org, and via social media including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.