USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 71
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume III > Part 71
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Today Mr. Holmes operates the Holmes Company in Hempstead, maintaining at 264 Fulton Avenue one of the finest show rooms in the nation for the display of musical instruments such as pianos, radio and television sets. He is also a leading participant in civic and recreational projects.
Mr. Holmes was the son of John A. and Marie (Halvorsen) Holmes, both now deceased. His father, a machinist, was for many years with the Henry R. Worthington Pump and Machinery Company in Brooklyn and Harrison, New Jersey. Harry S. Holmes went to school in Brooklyn and at an early age he was apprenticed to the Bradbury Piano Com- pany in Brooklyn, a firm then owned by Freeborn G. Smith. The boy remained with the Bradbury firm, serving his apprenticeship and meantime be- coming a skillful piano tuner and mechanic. The next few years he was a mechanic and tuner for various other piano companies in the New York metropoli- tan district. The period of travel as a concert piano tuner followed. For the next fifteen years he fol- lowed the piano business as a technician. Then he entered the retail selling phase of the business, in which he remained briefly.
For several years thereafter he was a wholesale
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representative for the Hallett and Davis Company of Boston, after which he joined the American Piano Company on Fifth Avenue-in the old Knabe Build- ing, New York. He was the first supervisor of the presentation of the Ampico reproducing piano to the trade in the United States, promoting the "compari- son recitals" which proved to be so successful. The programs included the use of the reproducing instru- ments as accompaniments for "live" instrumentalists and vocalists. The work of promoting the electrically- operated reproducing pianos took him into virtually every town and hamlet in the United States that had more than one thousand population. Altogether he spent five years "on the road" in this phase of his career.
In 1920 Mr. Holmes joined the Kohler and Camp- bell Industries in New York, promoting the Welte- Mignon reproducing mechanism in much the same way he had promoted the Ampico. Then he served Kohler-Campbell as a direct sales representative in the eastern territory, specializing in pianos whole- sale. In 1936 Mr. Holmes joined the staff of the Ham- mond Instrument Company and organized its pro- motion department for the presentation of the new Hammond organ.
Two years later he established his own business in Hempstead. His first location was a corner of the Georges Furniture Store. In 1940 he moved the Holmes Company to Jackson and Franklin streets, where he remained until after the end of World War II. By this time the business had outgrown this location. But no store large enough to house the company was available on Fulton Avenue, where he was determined to move his merchandise. He then conceived the idea of taking over an old build- ing which had been a print shop and an abandoned garage in the rear of 264 Fulton Avenue. Remodel- ing this structure, Mr. Holmes converted it into an extraordinary display room for his musical instru- ments and the merchandise which are the main fea- tures of the business today. In the remodeled struc- ture are also his repair department and offices. Mr. Holmes is a member of the Rotary Club of Hemp- stead; the Sandalphon Lodge, No. 836, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; the Damascus Commandery, Knights Templar; the Shalimar Grotto at Floral Park; Hemp- stead Lodge, No. 1485, Benevolent and Protective Or- der of Elks, and the Hempstead Country Club, of which he is chairman of the membership committee, a director and assistant treasurer. He worships at the Church of the Incarnation, Garden City.
Mr. Holmes married Anna Loretta Kenny of Brooklyn on June 20, 1916. Mrs. Holmes is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Kenny. She and Mr. Holmes have a daughter, Eleanor Dorothy, now the wife of John A. Raitano and the mother of a daughter, Janet Laraine.
WALTER M. ORMSBY-No cloistered scholar, but an active participant both in the cause of progress in education, and in the civic affairs of his community, is Walter M. Ormsby, who since 1936 has ably filled the position of district supervisor of schools in the second supervisory district of Long Island's Suffolk County. Years of useful experience as an active teach- er eminently fitted Mr. Ormsby for the tasks and duties of his supervisory role.
The son of a prosperous farmer, the late Walter Gillett Ormsby, and of his wife the former Bertha Clair, who is now also deceased, Walter M. Ormsby was born at Alfred's Station in upstate New York,
on October 26, 1905. His father before him was also a native of Alfred's Station, and, with his wife, is buried there. The young Walter M. Ormsby at- tended the Alfred High School, from which he gradu- ated in 1922, and went on to Alfred University, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Science with the class of 1926. In the year of his graduation he began teaching mathematics in the summer school of Alfred University.
In 1926 also began Walter M. Ormsby's associa- tion with the schools and school system of Suffolk County, when he came to Long Island as a teacher of mathematics at the Patchogue High School. Here he remained until 1929, and during a part of that time, from 1927 to the end of his stay at the Patchogue High School, he served also as vice principal of that school. In 1929 he accepted a call to the position of principal of the Bellport Union Free School in the town of Bellport, Suffolk County, where he re- mained until 1932. Meanwhile he had been pursuing his studies toward a Master's degree at the Teachers' College, a part of Columbia University in the city of New York, and from this institution he received his degree of Master of Arts in 1930.
In 1932 Mr. Ormsby was appointed principal of the high school at Bridge Hampton, a post which he held until June, 1934. In the latter year he went to Bayport to accept the principalship of the high school there, and there he served until June, 1936. It was in 1936 that Mr. Ormsby received the ap- pointment to the post of district superintendent of schools in Suffolk County's second supervisory dis- trict, thus becoming one of the key men in one of the most progressive and up-to-date school systems in the country, serving the educational needs of a group of prosperous and thoroughly American communities, whose historic roots go back in some cases more than three centuries, despite which they always remain in step with the advancing times, with their ideals un- changed and their purposes fixed on the unfolding future. The supervisory post which he accepted in 1936, Mr. Ormsby-who completed the course re- quirements for his Doctor of Education degree in graduate study at New York University in New York City from 1938 to 1942-has continued to fill with notable ability and success to the present time.
Mr. Ormsby is a member of the National Educa- tion Association and also belongs to the New York State Teachers Association and to the American As- sociation of School Administrators, as well as to the New York State Association of District Superinten- dents of Schools, of which latter organization he was elected president for the term of 1947-1948. He takes an active part, too, in local civic affairs, particu- larly as a member of the Patchogue Rotary Club, in which he held the office of president in 1941-1942. He is a member of the Domino Yacht Club of Patch- ogue and has sat on its board of governors, and he is a member of the board of directors and was president of the Suffolk County Council of Local Agencies, 1944-46. His religious affiliation continues to be with the Second Alfred Seventh Day Baptist Church at Alfred Station, New York. For recreation Mr. Ormsby alternates between the placid pleasures of gardening and the more strenuous exercise of golf.
At Bay Shore, Suffolk County, New York, Walter M. Ormsby was married on June 24, 1931, to Dorothy Rose Coombs, of that village, who is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George H. Coombs. Mrs. Ormsby is a registered nurse, a graduate of St. Luke's Hospital in New York City. Of this marriage there were
Firma S. Child TA,
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three children: I. Richard Kent, who was born at the Southside Hospital in Bay Shore on March 16, 1937. 2. Lynne Clair, born at Bay Shore on February 20, 1940. 3. Bruce Gillette, who was born on March 23, 1935, and died on February 4, 1936.
ALEXANDER W. PFEIFLE-The juvenile gar- ments manufactured by Rollic, Inc., at Patchogue, are well-known and widely distributed throughout the United States. This concern, established by Alexander W. Pfeifle in partnership with George I. Robinson, is now owned entirely by Mr. Pfeifle. Aside from his preoccupation with the manufacture of garments for young people, Mr. Pfeifle takes an active interest in public affairs in Patchogue and North Patchogue, including the school system and the fire department, in which he has long given service as an official and executive.
Mr. Pfeifle was born in Ozone Park on May 2, 1901, the son of the late Louis and Ann Jane (Con- nolly) Pfeifle. His father, born in Germany, was a chef. The mother was a native of Ireland and came to the United States when she was two years old, making her home in Brooklyn. Alexander Pfeifle was educated in grade school at Ozone Park and the Manual Training High School in Brooklyn.
After some years in the employ of others, years which he used to good effect in learning the garment business, Mr. Pfeifle formed a partnership with Mr. Robinson and began the manufacture of apparel for junior citizens as Robinson and Company. In 1932 the partners transferred the business to Patchogue, their first location in that community being at Roe Court. Six years later the plant was established at its present site on East Main Street. The building then located on that site was remodeled and converted to clothing manufacture purposes. It is a modern structure, of brick and cement, and is fire-proof. It covers about twenty-five thousand square feet, and a total of one hundred and thirty-five persons are em- ployed in the various operations. In 1944 Mr. Robin- son retired and in June, 1946, the name of the business was changed to Rollic, Inc., of which Mr. Pfeifle is president.
Mr. Pfeifle is a member of the board of education of the village of Patchogue and is fire commissioner and chief of the Fire Department of North Patchogue. He is a trustee of the town of Brookhaven. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Patchogue. He and his family are communicants of the St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, Patchogue. His recrea- tions are golf and photography.
Mr. Pfeifle married Carrie Romono, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Romono, of Ozone Park, in that community on August 2, 1933. They are the parents of four children: Louis, born May 25, 1934; Agnes, born January 19, 1936; Richard, born July 25, 1937, and Kenneth, born April 1, 1946.
BYRON RUSHMORE-Side by side with the Long Island of populous suburbs and extensive gen- tlemen's estates, there is the older Long Island where rich farms, intensively cultivated, have yielded bounteous harvests for more than three hundred years. This is Byron Rushmore's Long Island, and in serving it he has built up a substantial and lucrative business.
Byron Rushmore's father, the late Stephen T. Rush- more, a native Long Islander born at Wheatley, de- voted his life to the cultivation of a farm at Roslyn. He married Adelaide Halstead of De Ruyter, New
York, who is now also deceased. Of this marriage Byron Rushmore was born at Roslyn on November I, 1887. He attended public school in his native village and the Friends' Academy at Locust Valley, and sub- sequently the Bryant and Stratton Business School in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. Brought up to farming, he devoted himself to that occupation until February, 1910, when he joined in forming the partnership of Griffin and Rushmore, dealing in coal, grain and agricultural supplies. This business con- tinues in successful operation today, with office and yards located at 2 Heitz Place, Hicksville, and em- ploys seven people.
Mr. Rushmore has long had an interest in the Bank of Hicksville, and serves on the board of directors of that institution. He is a Republican in political faith. He belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons at Hicksville, and to the Consistory, and is also affili- ated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On January 14, 1928, Byron Rushmore was mar- ried to Marie F. Masek of Hicksville, a daughter of John and Anna (Sowa) Masek.
FRANK S. CHILD, M. D .- Widely known as a leading physician and surgeon of Port Jefferson, and of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, Dr. Frank S. Child has made many valuable contributions to- ward maintaining the health and well-being of his community.
Dr. Child was born January 3, 1882, at Leonards- ville, New York, son of Frank S. and Lizzie Lilly Child. After finishing elementary school, he entered the University School, at Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1903 he received the degree of Bachelor of Philos- ophy at Hamilton College, and two years later com- pleted his studies for the degree of Master of Philos- ophy at the same institution. In 1909 he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine at Columbia Uni- versity. During the period in which he was working for his medical degree, he was a resident student at the Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled in New York. The year following his graduation from medical school, he served his internship at the Gouverneur Hospital in New York.
For two years after finishing his duties as an in- tern, Dr. Child held the position of resident physi- cian at the Municipal Sanitorium at Otisville. He had private practice in Port Jefferson in 1912 and was resident Surgeon at St. Charles Hospital. In 1924 he was appointed attending orthopaedic surgeon at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson and since then has become chief of the surgical staff of that hospi- tal. In 1928 he was appointed consulting orthopae- dic surgeon for the Southside Hospital. Two years later, after demonstrating his ability as an ortho- paedic specialist of note, he was made chief surgeon of the John Mather Memorial Hospital at Port Jef- ferson, and is now the chief of the surgical staff of that hospital. While he has been at this hospital he has done much to make it one of the most important and respected institutions in the region.
Dr. Child plays an active role in many phases of community life. Professionally, he holds member- ships in the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons in which he is a fellow, the Associated Physicians of Long Island, the Suf- folk County Medical Society of which he is a former president. Alumni Association of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled, the Suffolk County Public Health and Tuberculosis Association of which he is
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president, and is president of the Port Jefferson Library. During the first World War, Dr. Child served as a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. He belongs to the Port Jefferson Rotary club and was its first president. He is a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, and the Columbia Univer- sity Club. His favorite recreation is photography.
On October 22, 1914 Dr. Frank S. Child married Helen Horton Bayles, of Port Jefferson, daughter of Hamilton F. Bayles and Rosalia Horton, both old Long Island families, and they became the parents of the following children: I. Frank S. III, was grad- uated from the Hotchkiss School at Lakeville, Con- necticut, and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Hamilton College, and is now on the editorial staff of "The Huntington Times." He married Frances Antrim of Stony Brook, New York. 2. Helen Laur- aine, who was graduated from the Emma Willard School at Troy, New York, and is now a dancing teacher.
ALBERT MUNRO BROWN-Widely known as a photography dealer and sales representative of Babylon, Albert Munro Brown has made significant contributions toward the business growth and devel- opment of this region of Long Island.
Mr. Brown was born March 9, 1907, at Ozone Park, son of Albert Edward and Ella (Pickup) Brown. He was graduated from the Babylon High School, and completed his education at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.
For a number of years Mr. Brown was associated with the New York Telephone Company as a mem- ber of the maintenance section, receiving experience both in the office and out on the road. In 1934 he entered the firm of Pickup and Brown. The enter- prise engages in the sale of photography supplies and optical equipment. It was founded in 1900 in New York City by Harry C. Pickup, now retired. The firm includes as its officers, besides Albert Munro Brown, who acts as secretary and sales representative:
Harry C. Pickup, president; and F. Chester Brown, . and Loan Association of Babylon. He holds member- a brother of Albert Munro Brown, treasurer.
In 1938 Pickup and Brown, Inc., opened a branch at 63 Deer Park Avenue in Babylon, where they have become a highly successful and prosperous or- ganization, due in no small measure to the excellent and efficient service rendered by Albert Munro Brown, who has through his boundless energy and initiative boosted sales to their present high level.
Mr. Brown is active in the community of Babylon. He is past international counsellor and district gov- ernor of the International Association of Lions Clubs and is a past president of the Babylon Lions Club. He has always been actively interested in the Boy Scouts of America, and has been associated in scout work since 1919. In religious affiliation he is a Methodist.
In August, 1938, at Oradell, New Jersey, Albert Munro Brown married Mary Storrs French, daughter of William Hollister, born in Napa, California, and Mary Emma (Golden) French, the latter of Utica, New York. Mrs. Brown was born in Brooklyn. Albert Munro and Mary Storrs (French) Brown be- came the parents of one child, Nancy French Brown, born October 22, 1941, at Bay Shore, New York. Mrs. Brown is also active in civic affairs in Babylon and was elected to the board of education of the village of Babylon in 1947 for a three year term. She is a graduate of Russell Sage College in Troy, New York, cum laude in home economics and
taught for nine years in Oradell Junior High School, in Oradell, New Jersey. She is also active in Meth- odist Church, in Women's Society for Christian Service.
MARTIN M. WEINSTEIN-Associated with his brother, Harry Weinstein, in the Harwein Feed and Fuel Company, and early in his career noted for other business enterprises in which he engaged, Martin M. Weinstein has contributed significantly toward the growth and development of Babylon, and other communities in this region of New York State.
Mr. Weinstein was born May 4, 1896, in New York City, son of Abraham and Yetta (James) Weinstein. His father engaged in feed enterprises.
Martin M. Weinstein received his education in the public schools of Brooklyn. He began working at the early age of fourteen years as a distributor for a Brooklyn wholesale confectioner. In the meantime the family moved to Lindenhurst, and in 1914 he estab- lished himself in the wholesale stationery business there. He worked industriously, and the business was successful for three years, and in 1917 he was able to gather together enough funds to set up a taxicab service. This enterprise was also very successful and prospered for four years. In 1921 Mr. Weinstein became associated with his brother, Harry Weinstein, in the Harwein Feed and Fuel Company in Babylon. Harry Weinstein had bought the feed enterprise from the Nitrate Agency Company, which firm had in turn purchased the feed business from their father, Abraham Weinstein, the year before. Martin M. Weinstein became head of the Babylon plant and offices. The company also has branches at Hunting- ton Station and at Bellmore. The three brothers, Harry, Martin and Ralph Weinstein are co-partners. Throughout the past twenty-five years Martin Wein- stein has demonstrated unusual business acumen and managerial skill, and has aided in no small measure the tremendous success of the concern.
Mr. Weinstein is active in community affairs. He is a director of the Suffolk County Federal Savings ships in the prominent fraternal orders of the com- munity. He belongs to the Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and is affiliated with Sunrise Lodge No. 1069 at Freeport, holds the thirty-second degree of An- cient Accepted Scottish Rite, is a member of Kismet Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine in Brooklyn, and is associated with the Order of Eastern Star. He belongs to the Freeport Lodge No. 1253 of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of B'nai B'rith of Bay Shore. He is active in his affiliation with the Zionist Organization of America. Mr. Weinstein adheres to the Jewish faith, and was founder and acts as president of the Congregation Beth Sholem of Babylon. In politics he is a staunch Republican, and follows party activi- ties with keen interest. For recreation and relaxation he enjoys fishing and bowling.
On April 22, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, Martin M. Weinstein married Frances Osder, daughter of Joseph Osder. She is a member of the Garden City Chapter of Order of Eastern Star. Mr. and Mrs. Weinstein became the parents of the following chil- dren: I. Leonard Robert, who was born February 13, 1918, was graduated from the Babylon public and high schools, received the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration at the Bryant and Stratton Business College at Providence, Rhode Island, gradu- ated from New York University in New York City,
Walter A. Commerdinger fr.
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in March, 1941, enlisted as a yeoman third-class in the United States Naval Reserve, was promoted to the rank of ensign, then to that of lieutenant, junior grade, finally reaching the position of lieutenant, senior grade, was honorably discharged from the serv- ice, and is now a certified public accountant. In May, 1942, at Great Neck, Leonard Robert Weinstein married Pearl Doniger, daughter of Jacob Doniger, and they became the parents of one child, Peter Adam Weinstein, who was born May 17, 1943. 2. Ed- ward Boris, who was born January 12, 1927, was graduated from the public and high schools of Baby- lon, and is now a student at Georgia Tech.
HARRY WEINSTEIN-Through a score of ac- tivities, Jewish and non-sectarian, Harry Weinstein, of Babylon, has established himself in the eyes of his fellow citizens in Suffolk County as a man whose life is devoted to improvement, progress and the public welfare. Founder and co-partner of the Har- wein Feed and Fuel Company, with headquarters in Babylon and branches in Huntington Station and Bellmore, Mr. Weinstein has not only guided this con- cern to its present success, but has also taken leader- ship in World War II home front causes, hospital work, veterans' welfare, Zionist promotion and relig- ious activities. He is associated in his business with his brothers, Martin and Ralph Weinstein.
Harry Weinstein was born in New York City on July 26, 1902, the son of the late Abraham and Yetta (James) Weinstein. When he was thirteen years old his father established a hay and feed market at Lin- denhurst. The family moved to this community and there Harry Weinstein completed his education in the public schools. Thereafter, he worked in his father's business. In 1920, five years after it was established, this business was sold by the elder Mr. Weinstein to the Nitrate Agency Company, but the son continued his association with it. From 1920 through 1921, he was manager of the Nitrate Agency Company both at Amityville and Babylon, represent- ing it in all transactions. On July 13, 1921, Mr. Weinstein purchased the company's Babylon plant. From this he formed the Harwein Feed and Fuel Company. At the Babylon plant and offices Mr. Weinstein's brother, Martin, is associated with him.
In 1928, a plant similar to that at Babylon was estab- lished at Huntington Station. Later a supply store was added to the Huntington Station operation. In 1930, still another plant was opened at Bellmore-on Newbridge Road. Here Ralph Weinstein is the partner in charge. Harry Weinstein is also a direc- tor of the Suffolk County Federal Savings and Loan Association of Babylon.
He is chairman of the United Service Organizations (USO) for Suffolk County and a member represent- ing National USO at Northport Hospital on the V.A.V.S. Advisory Committee. He was chairman of the National USO Fund and later USO Fund for the town of Babylon. He is also former county co- chairman of the Solid Fuel Administration under the War Advisory Board Committee for Suffolk County. He is former president of the Congregation Beth Sholem at Babylon, a member of the Garment Center Congregation, New York City, former vice president of the Long Island Zionist Region and is now chair- man of the Jewish Welfare Board Army and Navy Committee of Suffolk County, as well as chairman of the United Jewish Appeal for Suffolk County. He is a member of the Selective Service Advisory Committee and the Selective Service Reemployment Board of Bay Shore. In addition, he is active in
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