Until a week ago residents giving directions to areas of Floral Park via Jericho Turnpike south to Tulip or Carnation Avenues would say "bear left" or "bear right" at the Masonic Temple. This was second nature to us all. Now the landmark building has a new sign saying Centennial Hall. Many people were asking me if the village purchased the temple and would a new sign be installed. After reviewing over 30 possible names, Floral Park Centennial Hall was chosen as the name and a sign was ordered. A light box was also installed to cover the opening left when the Masonic light box cover was removed and since returned to the Masons. The Centennial Hall sign and new Tulip Centennial light box were in place before the "First Day, First Light" event.

With good comes bad. Unfortunately, the sign at Heritage Park was removed, thus defacing the lovely park the Heritage Park Committee maintains. The police department will make every effort to find the culprits and the sign. The sign was located at the perimeter of the park, at the corner of Floral Boulevard and Verbena Avenue. Last year security lighting was added to Heritage Park as a deterrent. If anyone has any information about this incident, call Police Commissioner Reid at 326-6400. Information will be kept confidential.

Throughout the year park signs, streets signs, benches, fences, flower boxes and other public articles are removed, destroyed or marred. When this happens, it is rather demoralizing since we all have a vested interest in maintaining the things that have a purpose in our daily lives. The village has over 30 small parks and a dozen public facilities that the Public Works Department maintains. Whenever there is damage to public property, similar to our graffiti program, repair or replacement is accomplished as soon as possible. This approach has reduced the number and frequency of incidents.

Volunteers started to gather at Centennial Hall before noon on New Year's Day to prepare for the festivities. One person asked me, "Do you think many people will come?" I said, "The weather is good so maybe we'll have a crowd." Our estimates, based on the number of printed programs we handed out, are that more than 1,000 people attended the open house called First Day, First Light.

In my remarks I mentioned that President George Washington conceived the idea of an "open house" in a place many could attend and that he was a grandmaster of masons. During the day I was pleased to greet the master of Floral Park Lodge David Brown and his wife and other Lodge members who were among the visitors at the event. The following are highlights of the day's activities from my perspective:

Decorations: the decorations in the main room consisted of colorful tablecloths and balloons, which served as backdrops for centerpieces representing the 12 months of the year. Dot Carson actually made a little wedding cake for the June table and for July, Jan and Kevin Greene glued to a pedestal an Uncle Sam waving his finger and U.S. flags. A valentine heart, shamrocks, a nutcracker, bunnies, a turkey and schoolbook gave us a reminder of things to come in 2005.

Refreshments: eat a donut on New Year's Day and you will have good luck all year. The colonial Dutch tradition of donuts and pretzels was respected. The hostesses served munchkins galore, cookies and pretzels. They mixed and served gallons of non-alcoholic punch, soft drinks and bottled water.

Jesters: thanks to Elsa Martinez, we were able to get two wonderfully talented and entertaining stilt walkers, Joanna and Michael. They dressed as jesters and went to every floor - juggling, joking and standing tall.

Historical Display: at mezzanine level, the former powder room was used to display photos of the Masonic Temple construction, a map of old Floral Park and more. Village Historian Walter Gosden, dressed in early 1900 period costume, was on hand to answer questions about Floral Park history. A souvenir postcard, designed by Walter, was distributed by the Historical Society. Walter graciously cleaned and polished the 1925 light fixture that electrician George Gustafsson removed from the building in November. George re-wired the fixture for the lighting ceremony, which took place at 5 p.m.

Art Show: the Floral Park Art League show, on the second floor, was so popular the artists ran out of exhibitor lists. President Teresa Musalino said participants were very pleased to hear so many nice compliments. I had the pleasure of being among the exhibitors. I first took oil painting lessons at the Floral Park Recreation Center. Simone Boissard still teaches painting there and I recommend the classes. If you are an artist or have the potential to be one, it's a good idea to join the Floral Park Art League. Meetings are on the first Monday of the month at Floral Park Memorial High School. They offer demonstrations, display information and much more.

Magician: Bob Colligan's magic show was a super attraction. The hearth room on the second floor was filled to capacity. The kids loved it.

Hearth Room: a portrait of John Lewis Childs was hung over the fireplace. It looked as though it had always been there. A music box played Beethoven and Bach for atmosphere.

Organ/Piano Music: Alexa Ventimiglia, Council for Cultural Affairs president, sang a few numbers with James Ilardi at piano. James also played the organ in the Lodge Room while the talented Gigi Lichtenstein played the piano. It was delightful to hear the pipe organ played while viewing the artwork.

Choirs: Our Lady of Victory Choir, the United Methodist Bell Choir and the United Methodist Choir performed beautifully. Everyone appreciated the selection of melodies and their gifted voices and musical talents. I noticed how proud Pastor Sikes appeared as he watched and listened. Later in the day, he delivered the invocation, which was so fitting and meaningful for the occasion. A thank you to Grace Hinckley, a former resident now living in Roslyn, who donated a grand piano to the village. It was such a great asset to have it for New Year's Day. It was delivered and tuned but needs some fixing, so if anyone knows anything about pianos, call me.

Air Flight Fails: early on Saturday, Vincent Gagliano offered to do a demonstration flight of a very, very light weight balsa and paper plane. The plane (powered by the use of a rubber band) would go in a circle above the people in the middle of the main room and return to him. Everyone he said would see and enjoy the demo flight. I was game for the idea. At 4 p.m. Vincent set up the demo but unfortunately the flight, while it took off, only went about 30 feet before a crash landing. I promised to have Vincent do the demo again at the recreation center. I thank the audience for the patient wait.

Red Noses: if you notice a lot of boys and girls with bright red noses, ask if they were around Patches the Clown. Young artists were invited by the clown to color in pictures of Centennial Hall in exchange for foam rubber clown noses. Thank you Nancy Kraft for the idea.

Dancers: the last of the entertainment were JJ's Studio dancers, under the direction of Jan Greene, wife of Trustee Kevin Greene. Talk about physical fitness! Those ladies were fantastic, enthusiastic, talented and just so much fun to watch.

Bell Ringer Helpers: a bell ringer was assigned to each floor. They greeted people and assisted them by giving directions, answering questions and operating the handicap lift. Trustee Tom Tweedy, as bell ringer for the program, introduced the acts. When it was time for the formal ceremonies, they all directed the guests to the main room.

Unveiling: late in the afternoon the formal ceremonies began. Deputy Mayor Phil Guarnieri and Trustees Kevin Greene, Gerry Bambrick and Tom Tweedy unveiled the new plaque announcing the acquisition of the building by the village, mounted near the entrance of the building. After my brief remarks and the unveiling, the audience began to exit the building for the lighting of the restored bronze portico light fixture and the new Centennial Tulip light box. Everyone was given a silver bell with a note attached saying, "First Day, First Light. Old and new will shine so bright when we ring the bells tonight."

The Floral Park Fire Department floodlights were focused on the building. Superintendent Ken Tymecki and the Public Works crews, who were responsible for the lighting ceremony, extinguished all the lights in Centennial Hall. Hundreds of residents gathered in front of the building. Upon Trustee Kevin Greene's signal, the floodlights were turned off. Bell ringer Trustee Tom Tweedy began to ring his old English bell and everyone followed his lead and began to ring their silver bells. The light from the fixture and the light box began to shine bright. Happy New Year to everyone!

Thank You I want to thank everyone who visited Centennial Hall on New Year's Day. A special thank you to the many committee members, volunteers, employees, organizations and businesses who contributed in countless ways to make the day such an overwhelming success. Thank you to the American Legion for the use of their portable handicap ramp.