The Way It Was by Carol Versicchio Griffin
Posted Thursday, April 28, 2011 08:50 AM

Carol gave permission to post her recently published article about a gathering of people who many of us knew in our school days.  Here it is:

“The Way It Was” Memories of Sea Cliff

By Carol Griffin

 

A large turnout of Sea Cliff residents shared their memories of old Sea Cliff on March 26 at the Sea Cliff Library.  Thanks to the ideas of Library Director Arlene Nevins Sea Cliff Library is sponsoring several new programs that interest the residents. Arlene asked none other than John Canning to lead what turned out to be a very enjoyable afternoon with enthusiastic Sea Cliffians reminiscing about their precious Sea Cliff memories.

 

John introduced the discussion by reading a story published in a Long Island magazine in 1973 by his father Tom Canning who wrote about life in Sea Cliff. The article was developed from a series of interviews of longtime village residents such as the Raff brothers, who owned a stationary store, and a liquor store on Sea Cliff Avenue and John McCrate a real estate broker in the village. John Canning himself said he remembers Field Days held at Clifton Park when he was at Sea Cliff School and also playing Little League games there. Summers, he remembers going to Sea Cliff Beach by way of the “old Bathway Steps” after the Pavilion burned down and there was only a hot dog stand at the beach.

 

Sea Cliff sage Charles Bell talked about growing up on Sea Cliff Avenue across from the Battershall Hotel where Memorial Park is now. He said he and his siblings could hear the dance music into the night as the lay in bed, and later he remembers after the hotel closed, the kids using the big dance floor as a roller rink.

 

Dean Scheu told the crowd about Charlie Hicks, who lived on 20th Avenue and believed himself to an Indian.  Charlie attended Sea Cliff High School and received a diploma for good attendance. Dean said Whitting’s Funeral Home then located in the heart of the Village, buried Charlie’s father Hen Hicks for free when he passed away. Charlie always hung around the fire house and cleaned the trucks. In many ways Charlie was taken care of by the Village and the fire department.  For several years he was employed by Sea Cliff, DPW.  Everyone remembers Charlie marching each year in the Memorial Day parade where he wore a very authentic looking Native American costume. When he died, he was buried in a firemen’s uniform and many residents chipped in to provide him with a plot and headstone. Dean also mentioned “Butch” the St. Bernard who belonged to a butcher in Glen Cove and would often ride the train between Glen Cove and Sea Cliff.

 

Someone else remembers skiing at North Shore Country Club when it snowed. Cynthia Johnson, the daughter of longtime village trustee Ralph Pontifix, said she lived in one of the new houses on Woodridge Lane and at that time, it was simply called “the development.”

 

Dean Scheu was full of Sea Cliff memories. He said he remembers a big fire in 1940 behind the old village hall. He also remembers 16 year olds recruited as volunteer firemen, when there was a shortage of men during WWII. The young firemen could leave Sea Cliff High School when the whistle went off. He remembers Schmitt’s Drug store, where the architect’s office is now, and getting his first haircut from Bart, Joe’s father, when the barber shop was across the street. He said there was a time when you couldn’t buy alcoholic drinks in Sea Cliff. If you wanted to buy one, you had to go to the Colony on Sea Cliff and Glen Cove Avenue, which is in Glen Cove.

 

Another village sage Jean Thackery Davis said her mother worked in the Children’s Library with Miss Rohrbach and they had to move every book once a year to clean the bookcases.

 

Phyllis Margraf Scznesnak said one time she went Christmas Caroling to Miss Rohrbach’s house and to the group’s surprise; she slammed the door on the singers.

 

Dean remembered hearing about the steamer truck at the old firehouse. When there was a fire, the horses in the livery stable nearby had to be taken over to the firehouse to drive the steamer. According to stories passed down, the fireman to get there first to drive the steamer got $5.

 

The back of Charles Bell’s house was on 12th Avenue where the trolley from Sea Cliff to Glen Cove began. He said the trolley company gave him free rides to Glen Cove. His father, Dr. Albert Bell, delivered many of Sea Cliff’s babies and he was known as one of the people involved in starting Glen Cove Hospital in1927. He also said there was a great German bakery owned by Carl Strickel that was next door, now occupied by “Dreams East”, where he and his brothers got free lady fingers. Joking, he said his family appeared to be “the biggest moochers in Sea Cliff”. Bell also mentioned that Al Young and Ward Bell re-established the Sea Cliff Yacht Club in Tilley’s Pavilion after WWI.. At that time it  only cost $3 dollars to join the club he said.

 

Dean told everyone back in the day, a cable car ride was only 3 cents. The proofreader of this article, checking on the facts said the cable car ride was actually 5 cents according to Charles Ransom’s Gaslight and Gingerbread.

 

Someone else noted, when kids misbehaved outside their homes, it was not unusual for someone else’s parent to give the kid a smack!

 

Audrey Maas Rydzewski said her family moved to Sea Cliff in 1935. She remembers being in the Aquacade at the Pavilion each summer. Her father Ed loved the Dodgers she said and he took local kids into Ebbit’s Field every baseball season. Her father even got a Christmas card from Jackie Robinson one year she added.

 

The Pavilion was where all the teenagers hung out during the summer, rain or shine. Some learned to smoke thinking no one could tell what they were doing as three or four of them crowded into their rented lockers as the smoke drifted up through the open ceiling!

 

Audrey and others remembered going to the Sea Cliff Youth Center, where the Sea Cliff Day Care Center is now housed. The Fraley’s who directed the center involved the kids in variety shows, showed movies and just gave local teenagers a safe place to “hang out” on the weekends. She said she graduated from Sea Cliff High School in the Class of “53 and remembers Dean Scheu’s father being the President of the Board of Education.

 

Jean Davis remembers air raid drills in Sea Cliff during WWII and volunteer Sea Cliff air raid wardens posted on the top of the firehouse roof watching for airplanes. She also remembers ration stamps being used to buy certain food such as meat and other products during the war. In conclusion she also  mentioned that Sea Cliff had “Young Men’s Club” that held their meetings in the old youth center building.   

 

Audrey Rydzewski said in 10th grade she and other members of her class were in a documentary made by the government on Sea Cliff life that was to be sent to Germany to show the devastated people there how to build a town. The movie can now actually be seen on U-tube.

 

Someone else remembers when the White Russians first immigrated to Sea Cliff around 1936 and eventually built Our Lady of Kazan Russian Orthodox Church.

 

Charles Bell remembered the lions on the side of the steps of the original library and how on Halloween somehow they often landed on top of the roof. He also spoke about Otto Kaufman’s two stores on Sea Cliff Avenue, a deli that he ran, and a hardware store run by his son. He also remembers Otto, Jr. winning all the schoolyard fights at Sea Cliff School.

 

After WWI someone mentioned the WPA creating jobs and installing the curbs along Prospect Avenue and the James F. Brengel American Legion Post distributing flour, rice and other food during the depression from local stores. The American Legion also paid residents who collected and donated newspapers.

 

Lee Zipperian Janelli shared the fact that some of her ancestors are buried in Sea Cliff Cemetery.

 

Dean Scheu talked about the Pavilion fire early one morning in the 1960’s and how the beach sand remained black for a long time afterward. Others talked about the old Sea Cliff Summer Theater that burned down in 1956, and how teenagers watched the shows through the side windows by sitting on a split rail fence outside.

 

Bell said what is now the Sea Cliff Village Hall was the Methodist Church, where the village offices are now was part of where the Sunday School met and the library was the interior of the church. He recalled that as generous resident donated the Cedar of Lebanon that still stands outside the building.

 

Someone else remembered how teenagers went from St. Luke’s to St. Boniface and the Methodist Church went to the neighboring churches  for various social activities in addition to their own church

 

When the sharing finally wound down and everyone enjoyed refreshments donated by Friends of the Library. As a part of documenting Sea Cliff’s most interesting history, library Director Arlene Nevins wisely had the gathering photographed and video taped. The meeting was a wonderful tool to keeping the Village’s history alive for future generations. At the end of the day, everyone had an enjoyable time both sharing and hearing about old time Sea Cliff and said they look forward to the next gathering, which Arlene already has in the works.