This Month's Featured Articles

Etcetera for October 2025

Etcetera for October 2025

Congratulations to the Hicksville High School Girls Varsity Tennis team for capturing the 2025 Conference 3A Championship with an incredible 13-1 record, winning 80 matches and losing just 18! Congratulations!

In Memoriam

Mrs. Karen Warner, Hicksville HS Math Teacher, passed Sept. 22, 2025.

Patricia "Patty" Ruggero-Porter, Class of 1975, passed on Sept. 30, 2025.

In this issue, you will read about a fire at the House of Donuts. Here is a submission from Ron Wencer about another fire and subsequent fundraising:

The recent Hicksville fire and consequent fundraising response have reminded me of a 1956 fire on Broadway. It started in a laundry -- a careless customer had tossed a lighted cigarette butt into a waste basket -- and spread to the adjacent buildings. The laundry was destroyed, leaving the owner -- a recently widowed immigrant -- with no income with which to support himself and his young daughter.

Hicksvillians donated more than $800 -- the equivalent today of about $10,000 -- to a fund organized by the Mid-Island Herald. In addition, the man and his child appeared on TV on Strike It Rich, a daytime show on which viewers could hear the stories of people in need and respond by phoning in contributions.

I hope that today's Hicksvillians come through as well as their predecessors did.

Ron Wencer
HHS Class of 1964

October 2025: A Mary Keller Prequel - Part 1

Introduction

Last December, I wrote about Elise Bergold and Mary Frances Keller, two Hicksvillians who served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I. This month, we look back a little further, and we see that before Ms. Keller was a nurse serving in Europe in the Great War, she had been... well, a nurse serving in Europe in the Great War. While the conflict was still new, she had served on a team sent to Belgrade to establish a Red Cross Hospital, at a time when that city was bombarded daily by Austrian mortars.

Click here to continue reading October 2025: A Mary Keller Prequel - Part 1

Fire at House of Donuts

A fire in a shopping center on Broadway and Marie Street damaged businesses, including a donut shop that opened in 1977. The fire was covered by many news stations in New York, reporting that seven fire departments responded to assist the Hicksville Fire Department in battling the four-alarm fire.

You can see the story by clicking here.

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the owners. According to GoFundMe, The House of Donuts has been a cherished part of the community since 1971, and it’s hard to imagine mornings without those delicious treats and the warmth of Nick and Maria. Recently, a fire damaged their beloved shop, forcing them to close. This is more than just a business; it’s a gathering place where everyone knows your name and your favorite coffee order.

Nick and Maria have dedicated their lives to serving us, and now they need our help. They are determined to rebuild, but the costs for cleanup and repairs are significant. Any contribution you can make, no matter how small, will go a long way in getting them back on their feet. If you can’t donate, sharing this message with others in the community will also make a difference.

Let’s rally together to support The House of Donuts, so they can continue bringing joy to our mornings for many more years to come.

https://gofund.me/b8abbf130