Historical Society Honors Art Contest Winners

The Garden City Historical Society proudly announces the winners of its first annual Children’s Art Contest, “Landmark Buildings of Garden City.” Our congratulations to Julia Lepetit (first place, High School), Michael Bucharski (second place, High School), Franklin Dickinson (first place, Middle School), Joe Pelter (second place, Middle School), Laura Beckstead (Honorable Mention, Middle School), Alex Ostermann (first place, Grades 2-5), Katie McCabe (second place, Grades 2-5), Robert Brosnan, Peter Escribano and Caileigh McGoldrick (Honorable Mention, Grades 2-5); Mikayla Mehling (first place, K-1), Ryan Feryo (second place, K-1) and Kaylah Bozkurtian (Honorable Mention, K-1).

“You’ll be amazed at our young people’s artistic talents,” said Society President Brian Pinnola, at the reception and awards presentation in honor of the winners held on April 8. “And, many of the students researched and accompanied their work with background facts about the buildings they illustrated, including the year they were built or their prominence in the Village’s history.”

The Society thanks Garden City’s young people for their participation and their family members for sharing the special day with our winners. We also thank our Garden City schools and their staff for their support, and residents Susana Cerruti, Barbara Martis and MaryJane Caldwell who graciously served as our judges.

Along with the winners’ artwork, all of the illustrations received from the contest’s 240 participants are on display at the Garden City Historical Society Museum, 109 Eleventh Street. Visitors are welcome to come view the extraordinary drawings of our Village’s historic buildings on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. until May 21 (closed Easter Sunday). The museum only recently opened last September after a two-year restoration project, which was funded by grants received through the generous assistance of New York State Senator Kemp Hannon.

“The Vanderbilt Cup Races of Long Island”

The setting: The dawn of the 20th century in the Village of Garden City, Nassau County, Long Island. Automobile promoter Willie "K" Vanderbilt launches the Vanderbilt Cup Races to encourage the development of the automobile in America, which lagged behind the advancements in Europe. Automobile Club of America helps initiate the Races. Winner receives a 31-inch, 30-pound Silver Cup trophy designed by Tiffany & Company.

At the Society's presentation, speaker Howard Kroplick narrated his audience through the crazy days of the Races (1904-1910) before they were discontinued on Nassau County local roads, because of the many dangers involved and the deaths and serious injuries to participants and on-lookers.

Mr. Kroplick is a research volunteer at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, and a member of the Vanderbilt Race Cup Centennial Committee and the Long Island Motor Parkway Panel. He is a proud owner of a 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350H and a Segway. He is CEO/President and owner of The Impact Group, one of the largest independent medical communication companies in the world.

Nassau County Receiver of Taxes Don Clavin, left, installs Historical Society officers and directors, from left, President Brian Pinnola, Director Dale DeMasco, Secretary Gloria Jones, Nominating Committee Chair Maureen Clancy, and Archive Cataloging Chair Betsy Patterson.

For information on the early Vanderbilt Cup Races, visit www.fpvillage.org/history/
vanderbilt_cup_races.htm

“Architecture, Garden City, and Recording Our Past”

Art historian Donald Dwyer presented a slide presentation on residential architecture. The lecture took place in conjunction with the kick off of the Society's Historic Structure Survey, a cataloging of pre-1935 residential and non-residential structures in the Village of Garden City.

The Society is seeking the help of owners or occupants of local pre-1935 structures in our effort to compile data and photographs. As we compile this data, the survey results will be posted on this Web site. Have further questions? Contact us at info@gardencityhistoricalsociety.org

Professor Don Dwyer

Cradle of Aviation Lecture and Tour

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of manned flight (December 2003), the Garden City Historical Society sponsored a lecture and tour at the Cradle of Aviation Museum (Garden City, Long Island, NY) in November. Our guests heard an informative presentation by Nassau County Historian Ed Smits, who traced the museum's history from its earliest visions in the 1960s to its opening nearly two years ago. He also previewed some of the museum's upcoming projects, including the acquisition and future display of a 50% scale model of the Concord SST. Guests toured the museum's extraordinary exhibits, and took in a show at the IMAX theater.

The Garden City Historical Society presents its lecture series in fulfillment of the educational mandate in its charter, granted by the University of the State of New York in 1975.