Neighbors

Keeping Wantagh’s history alive

Karen Chowske is new president of Preservation Society

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Karen Chowske may have grown up in Plainview, but she has a deep appreciation for the history of Wantagh.

Chowske, 48, is the new president of the Wantagh Preservation Society, a local history organization that manages the museum and train car on Wantagh Avenue. Chowske moved to the community in 1994, where she and her husband, Ron, have raised their children.

An accountant by day, Chowske got involved with the Preservation Society about three years ago and quickly rose through the ranks. She was named a trustee in the middle of 2012, then spent the last two years as the first vice president.

Being president, she explained, doesn’t come with any more glory as every member of the Preservation Society has their role to play. “It’s just a title,” she said. “I’ll still be there sweeping the floor before the museum opens in the spring.”

Chowske described the museum, which features old photos and maps, as well as historic documents, as a hidden gem. It is open to the public on Sundays from the middle of April through mid-November. Major events there each year include community yard sales and the holiday open house.

As president, she is looking to grow the organization’s membership. She noted that dues help pay for the Preservation Society’s insurance, and for guest speakers at the monthly meetings held at the library. Additionally, she is looking for people who are willing to donate their time to host the Sunday tours, help out at events and work on various projects.

In the coming year, Chowske hopes that renovations on the interior of the train car can begin. It has fallen into disrepair, but would to see it fixed up so it can be opened back up to the public. The train car, donated by the Long Island Rail Road, includes a galley kitchen, sleeping quarters, bathroom and shower. It would be a nice compliment to the work that has been done to fix up the outside of the car in recent years, she said.

Chowske initially got involved with the Preservation Society when her son was asked by a friend, who was working on his Eagle Scout project at the museum, to help out. Chowske and her daughter went along, and she was approached by then-President Tom Watson about joining.

In helping Watson clean up the basement, she discovered pictures and documents dating to the early 1900s. “There’s a lot of old stuff down there,” she said. “I thought it was interesting.”

She wants to make more people in Wantagh aware of the museum’s existence, and hopes to bring in more groups for tours, such as the scouts and school classes. “We need to preserve our history,” she said, “but we need to educate people on our history, especially our kids.”

Chowske also wants to create a display of photos that show present buildings in Wantagh along with what those sites looked like in the past. For instance, she noted that the Wantagh Transmission Center at Wantagh and Park avenues has been a garage for years. “You can see that it’s the same bricks,” she said, referring to a historic photo of the building that Preservation Society has, “but it’s painted yellow now.”

Where McDonalds stands, Chowske said, there used to be a hotel that eventually burned down. “There’s a lot of history in Wantagh,” she said. “This town has been here a long time.”

Ellen Cook, a Preservation Society trustee and program chairwoman, noted Chowke’s exuberance, and believes she will do a good job as president. “She’s a wonderful person and she is very community spirited,” Cook said. “I think she’ll bring wonderful things to our Preservation Society.”

Chowske and her husband, who is a service mechanic for Slomin’s Oil Company and is a Wantagh volunteer firefighter, have two children. Her son, Christopher, is a sophomore at Nassau Community College and her daughter, Gillian, is a junior at Wantagh High School.

Moving to Wantagh 21 years ago, she said, was one of the best decisions she made. She noted her good neighbors, the good friends her children made, and the many restaurants and stores in town. “I like it’s location. I like that it’s easy to get to the beach. It’s easy to get to the city,” she said. “We’ve got a little bit of everything here.”