Our Little Town
Beacon
         

JANUARY 1957-JUNE 1960
Our little town's local newspaper was called .  It started in 1953 and was published every Thursday.  Looking back at it with hindsight ― and with judgment clouded, quite possibly, with considerable nostalgia ― it was a pretty good local paper!  

During the early part of our focus period, 1957-1960, the was priced at ten cents per copy, but following its purchase in late summer 1958 by John F. O'Keefe, Jr. (no relation to our classmate, Artie O'Keefe), the price was dropped to seven cents.

was the most conspicuous mirror we had of our little town's community pride ― which was substantial, indeed.  But besides an occasional fire and reports about expanding schools and the library, rising taxes, and the various testimonial dinners and the like,  didn't have that much news to report every week in our little town.  So our high school activities were the source of many headline news stories and the subject of a regular column that was titled, alternately, at times as either  "Sailors Notebook" or less creatively,  "Senior High School Notebook."  (There was a junior high column, too, at times called, "Junior Hi-Lites.")   If you read the selected clippings that follow, you should notice many familiar names and events ― maybe even your own name.

The following historical material from the pages of published during our focus period, was gathered from microfilm files maintained at the Long Island Studies Institute, a co-operative effort of Hofstra University and the Division of Museum Services, Nassau County Department of Recreation and Parks.  It is a major research center for the study of Long Island history.  Because these images were made from microfilm, although painstakingly restored electronically, they are necessarily of substantially less than perfect quality (especially the photos), and many had to be reduced in size for the website,  but, nevertheless, most of them may be read, and all of them may be enjoyed.  

January 24, 1957    

April 4, 1957 
  
 
 
   

August 7, 1958        
(Click on the photo for an enlargement.)        

 

March 6, 1958

 

 

 

September 18, 1958                                                   

August 28, 1958       

 

                     

October 23, 1958
 

 

     

December 11, 1958        
      

December 11, 1958          

 

January 29, 1959   
(To read text, click on image for enlarged version.)  

 

February 1959  

 

 May 21, 1959                 

 

June 4, 1959      
(To read text, click on image for enlarged version.)      

was rich with the advertising of our local merchants.  To revisit these ads ― and all the old familiar names and memories that they represent ― click on either of the two graphics below:

    Shop with Pride at Oceanside