Local history tours in Valley Stream’s future?

Valley Stream has been an incorporated village since 1925 but history was being made here even before that. Over the years, there have been plenty of interesting historical events and figures that called Valley Stream home. Just ask members of the Valley Stream Historical Society.

Guy Ferrara, president of the Historical Society, enjoys sharing his knowledge of Valley Stream’s history with neighbors and visitors whenever possible. When he recently discussed Curtiss Airfield, a former airfield where the Green Acres Mall currently is, Ferrara said people were amazed. Famous pilots used to practice in Valley Stream during the late 1920s, he said.

Ferrara said he decided to get involved with the Historical Society six years ago after noticing there was no sign to commemorate Curtiss Airfield. Now, people can read all about what once stood in Valley Stream as they run their errands at Green Acres.

“We want to teach the young children the history of their own town,” Ferrara said. “We want to preserve it.”

He is currently working on a historical tour of Valley Stream with David Sabatino, president of Envision Valley Stream. The tour would allow people to walk, bike or drive around Valley Stream and learn about historical landmarks and famous people who lived there.

“This walking tour will make people who live in Valley Stream, or nearby, very proud of their neighborhood,” Ferrara said.

Sabatino said the idea was originally discussed years ago, but it is still his hope to see the idea come to fruition. Ferrara and Sabatino outlined a map of potential stops on the tour and hope to get it up and running as soon as possible.

“It would be great for people who just moved to the community, or lived here for 50 years but might not know this is all around them,” Sabatino said of the tour. “I lived here for quite a long time and the things that I was learning just shocked me. I couldn’t believe what an incredible history there is right here where we live.”

At the April 24 Envision meeting, residents discussed the value of learning Valley Stream’s history and ways to get more people involved in the process.

“My interest resides in the fact that it helps explain a lot of why things look the way they do today,” Sabatino said of Valley Stream’s history, “why they’re laid out that way, how they work and function. Looking back at history, it sort of opens a whole story. It lays out a view into the past.”

Sabatino suggested hosting an event for seniors to have them tell their stories and record the discussions as a way to preserve their memories. His father, Thomas, agreed. “Before you lose all the senior citizens, you have to tap their brains,” he said. “Some grew up here or lived here for 70 years and they’ve got some history to tell.”

During the Envision meeting, Sabatino outlined a few stories from the early 1900s that piqued his interest after combing through old New York Times archives. Some of the stories he touched on included Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh flying out of Curtiss Airfield and Valley Stream opening up the first drive-in movie theatre in New York.

The Historical Society holds its monthly meetings on the third Wednesday of each month at 8 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Envision’s next meeting is Thursday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Sip This on Rockaway Avenue.