Going home again
Lew Bonagura, 68, of Massapequa, has lived on Long Island since he was 3 years old. He reminisces about ice skating at Corroon’s Lake. (Jan. 12, 2012) Credit: Nancy Borowick
Bill Novinski was in the Mid-Island Plaza parking lot (now the Broadway Mall) in Hicksville when he boarded an airplane for the first time. Excitement ran through his 4-year-old veins on that summer day in 1975 as his eyes landed on the DC-7, the last and largest piston engine Douglas aircraft to be produced.
The plane's internals looked and felt tight, even for a little boy, but the trip's highlight was gaining admission to the cockpit. This was perhaps one of the fastest "trips" in history, seeing as the plane was not actually headed anywhere. Rather, it was sold to an audio company, planted in the Hicksville parking lot and set up as a storefront, with "Fly Buy Nite Audio" in bold, capital letters and adorning either side of the shiny white aircraft.
The store went out of business shortly after and the plane was quickly dismantled on site. But thanks largely to Facebook, Novinski, who is now 40 and moved to Delaware in 1999, is able to resurrect the plane and his fond memory.
It's commonplace to hear of people using Facebook to find, connect and reconnect with family, friends, co-workers and former classmates, but it's more unusual for people to go on Facebook and reminisce about their hometowns.
Nevertheless, many Long Islanders who use this unusual aspect of the social networking site are finding that it helps build community spirit.
'An online neighborhood'
The Hicksville, NY club page "brings together people with common associations," said Novinski, who posted his airplane photo and memory to the page on Jan. 3. "With people being more isolated by distances and a changing world . . . [this page] becomes an online neighborhood where people can support each other's views and memories, much the way they would in person."
Nassau County Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) agrees that Facebook is a valuable tool in boosting town pride, saying that it "can be used to make people feel good about themselves and their communities."
Denenberg represents some of the Long Island communities with Facebook club pages of the highest fan count, including Bellmore, Merrick and Wantagh. Other top rankers are Bethpage, Hicksville, Levittown, Massapequa and Seaford.
Richard Zitrick, 68, grew up in Seaford and Wantagh, where he recalls playing stickball on Mill Road in Seaford and baseball in the empty pastures of Henderson Dairy farm, now the site of Seaford High School.
"It seemed like our entire world of fun encompassed just a few blocks," he said.
Zitrick, who now lives in Sinking Spring, Pa., with his wife, is a member of the Seaford club page and the Facebook group page "I live(d) in Wantagh and/or went to Wantagh High School." He said he visits the Seaford page once in a while and the Wantagh group daily because it deals more with reminiscing and less about current events and advertisements, as the Seaford page does.
"The Wantagh site is a nostalgia site where people can discuss things about their years in the school system," said Zitrick, who actively creates and comments on Wantagh-related posts and conversation threads. "Topics range from favorite retail establishments to events in and out of school, to what home remedies your mother used to treat a cold."
According to The Facebook Blog, Facebook pages are designed to be the "official profiles" for public figures, businesses, organizations and other entities. They are viewable to everyone on the Internet; however, Page members can interact and receive News Feed updates. Groups are usually more intimate and smaller in size, are not always public and sometimes require a request to the group's administrator(s) to join, as this Wantagh site does.
Sharing fond memories
While some native Long Island Facebookers like Novinski and Zitrick have left the area, others, like Lew Bonagura of Massapequa, will probably never move from Long Island.
"The weather here is just right for our family," said Bonagura, 68, who has lived on the Island since he was 3. "Seasons here are the best. Also, my children are in the area with my grandchildren and I'm able to see them weekly."
Spending summers swimming and ice skating on Massapequa's Corroon's Lake is one of Bonagura's fondest memories, one that he shares with Massapequa native Carol Lawson, who moved to Islip in 1971. Lawson recently posted to the Massapequa page, asking fellow members, Who lived on Massapequa Ave. in the 50s, near Fairfield School (near Massapequa Ave. School)?
"People answered, one of them saying that they lived in my house," said Lawson. "My family moved out in 1956 and they moved in three years later. Such a small world it is!"
Lawson added that she "loves reminiscing" and looking at the old photos people upload to the Massapequa page.
"I wish there was a chat room just for this group," she said. "I would probably be at the computer all day."
Others, including Zitrick, understand this sentiment.
"Several people on the Wantagh group have commented that pursuing the group is a real 'time vampire,' that is, it just sucks away your day," he said. "Well, it's not that bad with me, but it could get that way."
For him and many others, the good times are worth reliving.
"I had a great time growing up," Zitrick said. "Folks that were like me will spend time on these pages. And what I like most about the pages is being able to relive the good times that we had 'back in the day.' "
You know you're from Long Island
The top LI communities club pages on Facebook, ranked by fan count:
Massapequa
Hicksville
Wantagh
Seaford
Other communities with club pages:
Lawrence
Westbury
Woodbury
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
