Letter: Gregory Museum: Half A Century Of Hicksville History

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Letter: Gregory Museum: Half A Century Of Hicksville History

Friday, 25 January 2013 00:00

One of those priceless little jewels that endow Long Island with its oftentimes overlooked cultural, historical and scientific heritage amid the ubiquitous subdivisions, shopping malls and automotive arteriosclerosis, the Hicksville Gregory Museum remains hidden in plain sight.

This unintended camouflage conceals a science and history museum housed in Hicksville’s 1895 Heitz Place Courthouse with scientific collections from all over the world, illustrating the community’s metamorphosis from 19th Century railroad town to the heart of suburbia’s commuter culture. Permanent exhibits alone consist of Long Island’s largest assemblage of rocks, minerals, exquisite crystals and rare ores; extensive paleontological specimens including dinosaur eggs and bones; ornate seashells from tropical waters; and hundreds of Lepidoptera specimens representing all the major families and genera of butterflies and moths.

For the student of history, there’s the William Clare History Room, featuring vintage maps and photographs, miscellaneous artifacts and ephemera and memorabilia evocative of Hicksville’s earlier days.

The year 2013 marks 50 years since the Hicksville Gregory Museum was established in the residence of Hicksville educator, Dr. Gardiner E. Gregory, the brainchild of a civic-minded, if eccentric polymath whose home on Cottage Boulevard served as a museum until – with a grassroots endeavor of dedicated parents, educators, civic organizations and the local business community – the abandoned 1895 courthouse on Heitz Place was restored and made the institution’s permanent home.

Today, the museum remains not merely the repository of significant artifacts but an educational and community resource welcoming school children, scouts and the general public. The board of the Hicksville Gregory Museum is planning events throughout the year of 2013 to mark the museum’s anniversary. Starting off on Sunday, Jan. 27, The Hicksville Historical Society’s annual social program at the museum will feature the museum’s 50 years of service. Stay tuned for future events throughout the year!

Paul Manton

Docent/Staff Entomologist

Hicksville Gregory Museum

News

Alleged 'Johns' Made Public

Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00

Across Nassau County, residents are reacting with mixed emotions to the Nassau County District Attorney’s recent arrests of more than 100 men for soliciting prostitutes, including three from Hicksville, four from Levittown, eight from Wantagh and East Meadow, and one from Bethpage. The DA’s office not only arrested the men, but made public their names and photographs.

But for as shocking as these very public revelations may be, some local residents seem nonplussed by the whole incident.

Health benefits in more ways than one

West East All Natural Bistro and Wine Bar is a fresh and virginal startup that provides hope for change in a landscape that has become stagnant and saturated with the same, tired, fast food, assembly-line approach, and artificially hospitable corporate eateries.

A few years ago Raquel Jadeja and her husband, Jay were just regular customers of Danny Wu’s establishment. Wu is the original owner of The West East All Natural Bistro. The Jadejas many years of restaurant experience led them to become Wu’s unofficial consultants. Their friendship, which was a symbiotic progression, culminated when Jay became a co-owner and head chef in October of 2012.

Sports

Hicksville Runners Score In Belmont Run

Thursday, 13 June 2013 00:00

Award winners Jill Loveland and Anne Broderick led a large contingent of runners from Hicksville who successfully completed the 2nd annual Belmont Stakes Blue Ribbon 5K Run for Prostate Cancer on June 2.

Loveland was the first woman in the 25-29 age group to cross the finish line with a time of 23 minutes, 19 seconds. Broderick scored in 26:15 to earn the first place award in the women’s 45-49 age group.