Ancient Hixtory
Wonderful articles about the history of Hicksville, researched and written by Ron Wencer. This complete monthly series spans 4 years, from May 2018 until April 2022. Enjoy!
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It's 1908, and in about two years, the LIRR will start operating electric-powered trains under the East River between Manhattan and Long Island, creating a tsunami of new commuters. If you live in a town where the trains are powered by electricity, you will have an advantage - you will not have to risk extra delays by changing trains at Jamaica twice a day.
Click here to continue reading November 2020: A Great Future
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It was the 1970s, but it might as well have been the 19th century. A winter storm was hitting Long Island, and in the morning the LIRR sent train after train of passengers westward - even though the line was impassable. Thousands of commuters found themselves marooned above Hicksville, east of the frozen switch points at DIVIDE tower.
Click here to continue reading October 2020: 20,000 Seconds Over Hicksville
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Many of us who grew up in Hicksville during the 1950s got used to hearing loud, sometimes conversation-stopping, airplanes pass overhead. Prior issues of Ancient Hixtory put some of these noisy interruptions into historical context, by discussing the respective roles that Mitchel Field and Republic Aviation played as America in turn faced the demands of World War II, of Korea, of Vietnam, and ultimately, of aerospace.
Click here to continue reading September 2020: Grumman in the 1950s
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In 1921, when my mother was thirteen, there was only one licensed radio station in the U.S., and it was in Pittsburgh. And yet, on the first Saturday of summer vacation, she got together with friends in Queens, and they listened to a radio. All over the Northeast, people were doing the same. Many years later, she would look back on that afternoon, and tell me how exciting it felt.
Click here to continue reading August 2020: Live From the Octagon...
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This month, Ancient Hixtory profiles John F. Heitz, who bought land in Hicksville in 1850. He was not the first German immigrant to settle in the village, but he may have been the one whose generosity had the most beneficial and enduring impact.
Click here to continue reading July 2020: A Quiet Man, Who Gave So Much to Hicksville
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In the years following the Civil War, Hicksville was not a village which one expected to see mentioned in front-page news - newspapers usually reserved such honors for criminal, the gory, or the terrifying. Thus, if it got mentioned, it probably was because ofa railroad mishap which had killed or maimed someone.
