A Snapshot of Hicksville, 1908
One August Saturday, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle featured a portrait of Hicksville; it occupied about half the front page of the Long Island section. Five photographs chosen to show off Hicksville - we'll look at them more closely later - were displayed prominently.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 1, 1908
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Note that the other half of the page (the portion that is greyed out above) was primarily devoted to Rosyln and Port Jefferson. It featured two large photos, one of a rustic "arched, vine-draped bridge," and one of a harbor in a vale, dotted with sails. The text extolled romantic settings: lush woods, yachts on the sound, a lake bordered by rhododendrons. As we shall see here, the Eagle's approach to Hicksville was quite different.
The portrait of Hicksville interweaves two views, both of historic interest today. One describes the village that was; the second tries to look ahead. Let's examine this final glimpse of rural Hicksville, written before the waves of suburban change started washing over it, and try to appreciate them both.
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