Beat Generation author and one-time Northport resident referred to Allan Kaprow as “The Happenings Man.” Kaprow (1927-2006) was a pivotal and influential figure in the art world of the 1960s. Starting out as a painter, he had been influenced by abstract expressionism and later the action paintings of Jackson Pollack. His greatest legacy, though, was as the creator of art happenings: spontaneous, audience-participation works that contributed to the radical changes then occurring in the 20^th century art world, paving the way for both pop art and performance art.

Born in New Jersey and raised in Tuscon, Arizona, Kaprow came to New York to study art and philosophy with such luminaries as painter Hans Hoffman and composer John Cage. Kaprow became a prolific art-writer and later taught at both Pratt Institute and SUNY at Stony Brook. During those years, he lived with his family on Glen Cove Avenue in Glen Head.

Kaprow would later move to California where he would spend the rest of his days. For those interested, several works by or about Kaprow are available in the collections of Long Island’s public libraries.

 

PT (Patrol Torpedo) boats were critical to Allied success in World War 2. A unique class of fighting ship, they were designed to take on much larger vessels. Heavily armed with both torpedoes and machine guns, they penetrated minefields and other harbor defenses because of their small size, maneuverability and speed. PT boat squadrons saw action during the D-Day landings in Northern France, but were most active in the Pacific Theatre.

Their successes against the Japanese Navy were so great that the Japanese nicknamed them “Devil Boats”. 43 PT boat squadrons of 12 boats each were utilized by the U.S. Navy during the war. The Electric Launch Company (ELCO) of Bayonne, NJ produced more than 300 of the 80-foot boats. Many of these newly-built vessels made a stop at Glenwood Landing before they saw any action. At the Fyfe Shipyard they received some final modifications. It was there that camouflage paint was applied. Fyfe also served as a repair depot for damaged PT boats. New guns replaced those worn from battle. Fresh crews would join the squadron and sail from Hempstead Harbor to rejoin the war.

The Fyfe Shipyard opened in 1906 and operated in Glenwood Landing for more than 60 years. During those years, a wide variety of power boats and sailing craft was outfitted and repaired on its grounds. But the small yet significant role that the Fyfe Shipyard workers played in aiding the Allied efforts during World War 2 is perhaps how it is best remembered

 

 

 

Scudders Lane – which runs from Mott’s Cove to Glen Cove Avenue in Glen Head – was named after Townsend Scudder (1865-1960). Born in Northport, Scudder later resided in Glen Head where he ran a 950-acre strawberry and asparagus farm.

Farming was just one of his many pursuits. After graduating from Columbia Law School, he held the position of corporation counsel for Queens County from 1893 until 1899.  He served two-terms as a congressman and later was appointed a State Supreme Court Justice. As a jurist, he had reluctantly presided at the sensational 1928 murder trial of Ruth Snyder and Henry Judd Gray.  At its end, he sentenced both to death in the electric chair at Sing Sing prison, though he was personally opposed to the death penalty.

Scudder was also an avid breeder of blue-ribbon dogs. Over a span of 80 years, his entries won more than 1,000 prizes. He kept as many as 70 cocker spaniels at his Glen Head estate.

It was perhaps in his role as Parks Commissioner that Scudder left his most lasting mark on Long Island. The establishment of Jones Beach as a State Park had been opposed by property owners who fought the acquisition of certain lands. Townsend Scudder’s defense of creating the road that leads to the beach – broadcast on radio before a referendum of Nassau County residents – is credited as making the difference in gaining public approval for the acquisition of the land.

When Scudder died in 1960, a plaque was dedicated at the Jones Beach amphitheater. It reads:

Townsend Scudder: Eminent Jurist, Conservationist and Promoter of International Good Will

 

 

Stern’s was a department store chain the served the northeastern United States for over 130 years. Brothers Isaac, Louis and Benjamin Stern opened their first store in Buffalo, New York and soon moved to Manhattan, with a flagship store first on 23^rd, and later 42^nd Street. The 23^rd Street store featured a cast-iron facade and five stories of selling space. It was – at the time – the city’s biggest department store.

The business brought the Stern brothers great wealth. In 1905, Benjamin Stern would purchase the Gothic-styled Clapham House in Roslyn Harbor, converting it to classical French chateau.

He quickly became an influential figure in his new community. The Glenwood Landing firehouse was built with both his financial assistance and his choice of architects.

A west coast trip instilled in Mr. Stern a love for the stucco houses of Southern California. He had eight houses built in that style on Hill Terrace, the Glen Head neighborhood where streets are named for eight US presidents. Plans for further development were scuttled, however, as the country entered the Great Depression.

Born in Germany in 1920, Herman Lang fled Germany as a teenager, arriving in New York in 1939. He joined the US Army just before the United States entered WWII. With his knowledge of the German landscape, he was sent for training as an intelligence officer at Camp Ritchie, Maryland. Known as the “Ritchie Boys,” Lang’s unit contributed to the war effort in both Europe and the Pacific theater. Lang served as General George S. Patton’s personal translator and – after the war – served as a civilian interrogator at the Nuremberg war crimes trials.

In post-war life, Lang became a cameraman for CBS-TV, working on programs that featured broadcasting icons like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. He filmed Jackie Kennedy’s White House tour and an interview with Albert Einstein. His camera also caught many of the top sporting events of his time, from auto races at Daytona to major PGA tournaments to the Dallas-Green Bay “Ice Bowl” game in 1967. During his 41 years at CBS, he won six Emmy awards.

Herman Lang lived with his family in Glen Head from the 1960s until shortly before his death in 2006.

Lang’s niece, Kathryn Lang-Slattery has published a book about her uncle’s life: Immigrant Soldier: The Story of a Ritchie Boy. Ask for it at the Library Reference desk.

Herman Lang with his wife, Marjorie Marie Lang