40 Years of Fire Island Alumni
Finally Come Together
by Carla Hommel 4/25/2002
When you hear of Fire Island you mostly think of beach
houses, boardwalks, wild weekends and fun in the sun. However, there is a
whole other life if you happen to make a living and live on Fire Island
year round.
You see my parents immigrated from Holland in 1956 with four kids and
$400.00. After several attempts to find a job in New York my father was
directed to a Mr. Ludlow, who was the Mayor of Saltaire, a small town on
Fire Island . The Mayor offered my dad a job working for the town. He was
told to buy enough food for two weeks and for him to bring his family to a
boat marina in Bay Shore, Long Island, because we would be taking a boat
ride. Without fully understanding the realm of his new job we miraculously
ended up on Fire Island. Our family moved into the Town Hall in the
village of Saltaire and became the far and few between year round
residents.
Before 1964 Fire Island was inaccessible by car. The only way to get on or
off the island was by boat. Once you were on the island you had to be
pretty self sufficient. During the late fall, winter and early spring
there were no grocery stores, doctors or any businesses of any kind. All
the houses were beach houses, they were not insulated for winter living
and they had no running water until the summer. If you did stay year round
you had to have your own water well and pump.
Family life, was in it's true form, since you were perhaps the only family
in your town. No neighbors, no friends, only you and your family. Fire
Island being 32 miles long and in some areas as little as a block wide is
made up of many towns. During the winter most towns had one or two
families that lived year round while some had none. For the kids that
lived there, there was one thing that Fire Island did have and that was
the elementary school. It was located in one of the largest, or I should
say most heavily populated towns, Ocean Beach.
The "Fire Island School" as it was called back then was your basic two
room school house. Of course we did have an auditorium and the principals
office which also served as a library. Each classroom had about 15 desks,
one row of desks was for 1st graders, the second row of desks for 2nd
graders and so on.
We had only two teachers, Miss Ives and Mr. Woodhull, who also served as
the principal. Learning at the Fire Island School was pretty unique. Your
class could range from one to perhaps six at best. In 1956 we actually had
only one graduate. You knew everyone and everyone knew you. Most families
back then had four or more kids, so you and your bother and sisters were
in the same class as their bother and sisters. We were one big family
going through the school years together.
Getting to school was perhaps just as unique too. The school busses were
Jeeps with a few extra seats added to the cargo space. Each bus could hold
about 8 to 10 including the driver. The bus would drive along the beach
and stop at a designated boardwalk and pick you up. It could only pick up
a couple of families and then go back for the rest. What I remember the
most about the bus stop was wearing a skirt (no pants for us girls back
then) and standing on the ocean waiting for the bus while the temperature
would be -15degrees below wind chill factor. There was definitely a
hierarchy back then. You see the older you were, the more in the front of
the bus you got to sit. Whom ever called out "shot gun" first got to sit
with the driver in the front window seat , and whom ever called out
"pistol" got to sit in front but, in the middle of the seat.
Going to Junior High or High School was a bit more tricky. You took the
bus to Ocean Beach, then a 1/2 hour boat ride to Bay Shore, Long Island
then another bus ride to the schools. A one way trip could take about an
hour and a half. You had to get up pretty early to be at school by 8
O'clock, and you got home pretty late only to do your homework, eat dinner
and get ready for the next day of school. You can forget about little
league, girl scouts or any after school sports or activities. It was
straight home or you were stuck on the mainland.
As the years went by the Robert Moses Bridge was built, which allowed the
students to take an even longer bus drive to school. Now you got to drive
in a jeep all the way to the end of the Island, where the Light house was.
Every one piled into a bigger bus and then proceeded to drive over the
three bridges till you got to Long Island. The first stop was St. John's
then to St Patrick's then the Junior High and then the High school. Riding
the bigger bus had it's hierarchy too, the older you got the further back
in the bus you got to sit. Seniors of course sat in the way back and since
there wasn't to many students we each got to have our own seat. Seventh
and eight graders had to sit in the very front of the bus, and possibly
share a seat.
Going to school on Fire Island was a great experience and very unique. You
went to school, rode the bus and graduated with the same kids for 12
years. Even if they weren't in your graduating class you knew them and
their families. High tides sometimes meant no school because the bus
couldn't drive along the beach. Snow days were not a problem since you
rode in 4 wheel drive buss all the time, no real gym class, eating lunch
at your desk and playing a game of chess afterwards and getting to walk to
the town doctor with a class mate if you were sick or had your physical.
Over the years the Island changed and the school got bigger. In 1978 the
school was renamed in memory of the original teacher/principal, Mr.
Richard Woodhull. In 1975 a gymnasium was added, 1980 the Harold Wilder
memorial Library was added, In 1983 the detached bus garage was
constructed and in 1991 the Alexander M. Van De Mark wing was added to the
building along with an extension to the bus garage. It now has all the
necessities of a modern school. It even created it's own school district.
Since more families began to live on the island year round the whole
commuting process became more efficient and much more common.
Even with all the upgrades and modernized facilities going to school on
Fire Island is still unique. There's something about being a "Fire Island
Student" that makes you feel special and different .
It's been about 48 years since the current school was built and a few of
us decided one day it was time to have a "Fire Island School Reunion". In
August of 2000 I opted for the unique experience and began my quest to
find those families that we bonded with back in the 60's and sure enough I
found them. They are, like all alumni, alive and well and living all over
the states. I tracked them down by one by one, family by family thru phone
calls, letters, e-mails and the Internet. After one year I was able to
begin to arrange the First ever ...
Fire Island /Woodhull Elementary School Reunion
It will start off with an informal gathering on Friday,
July 5th at the Kismet Inn and Out. Then Saturday, July 6th we will hold
an open house at the school for those who want to visit their old
classroom and look at photographs and 8mm film footage of the 1960's &
70's of the school plays will be available for viewing . Saturday evening
the alumni, reception and dinner will be held at the new "Tequila Jack's
Grill and Cantina"(a.k.a. Sandbar) in Robbin's Rest. The reunion dinner
and reception are for alumni, teachers, administrators and their guest
only. Alumni will receive invitations by mail at their last known address.
There is limited space, so tickets will be sold prior to the reunion.
If you are interested in attending, please contact me by e-mailing or
calling at ficarla@aol.com, 949-462-3969 or writing to me at:
24391 Macedo Drive, Mission Viejo, California 92691.
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