Once, on a Christmas Eve in Hicksville, a tail light ignited a street fight between village residents and New York State Troopers. At its climax, the Troopers were backed against a wall by a crowd of 40 men, some of them armed, and many of them likely half-drunk. By the time the ruckus was over, several Hicksvillians had been arrested for their part in the riot. During the subsequent arraignment (at which guns once again were drawn) there was talk of charging some of the villagers with sedition. After all, this was 1917, and unpatriotic remarks uttered in time of war could not be tolerated.
Curiously, those arrested were among the leading citizens of the village. One was a dental surgeon; others were Special Reserve Sheriff's Deputies. Even more remarkable was the identity of the man charged with instigating the riot: William J. Duffy, past President of the Board of Education, respected member of Nassau's Democratic Party, and Chief of the Fire Department. He would later serve as President of the Long Island National Bank.
For men such as these to have rioted seems unfathomable; there must be more to the story. Let's begin by looking at what else had happened in Hicksville that year.
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