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DECEMBER 24, 2025 - DECEMBER 30, 2025
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VOL. 71 NO. 52
HERALD PERSON OF THE YEAR HAL SCHAD
Schad cares for the community he calls home
He steps up and commits fully to the work of keeping Amityville vibrant Michael O’Neill elected Mayor of Amityville Village Page 8
By CAROLYN JAMES Hal Schad talks about Amityville with a mix of pride and personal ownership — not from generations of family roots, but from a commitment he says took hold when he arrived in the village at age 14. The transition, he admits, wasn’t easy. “I really wasn’t happy about coming here in the beginning,” he said, recalling how his father’s work in defense aviation pushed the family to move frequently. They had just spent more than four years in Pennsylvania— the longest they had ever stayed anywhere — when his father accepted a job I never feel with Grumman on Long Island. Amthat I should ityville became the eighth community Schad had called home. be recognized “When I got here, I wanted to turn around and go home,” he said with a because there laugh. “But I made the most of it.” are so many What helped ease the difficult arrival, he said, was the Great South other people Bay. who do a lot “I never lived on the water,” he said. “We were near the Chesapeake more. in Maryland, but not on the water, so HAL SCHAD it made it easy for me to assimilate and eased the pain a little bit.” Before long he had a 13-foot boat with a 7.5-horsepower engine — and a circle of friends. “That was it — now I was happy,” he said. Schad said his time in the Amityville High School Key Club taught him the importance of community service. He paused, thinking back. “It was just something I gravitated to,” he said. “But I never realized it.” Through Kiwanis Club projects, Schad helped build many floats for the village’s Fourth of July parades and, years later, worked with fellow Kiwanians to construct the Pappas Pavilion at the Amityville beach. He later chaired the construction of the second structure, the Wesley P. Robinson Pavilion. Over the decades, Schad’s volunteer résumé grew. He served 13 years on the Amityville Planning Board, spent almost 60 years with Amityville Kiwanis and served as a trustee and president of the Amityville Cemetery Association. He is also a trustee of the Amityville Historical Society and a former Amityville School Board member and past president. Prior to serv-
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Locals recognized by Amityville Historical Society Page 17
Rev. Father Jon Geminder, left, is honored by St. Mary’s Page 18
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ing on the school board, he chaired the school district’s budget advisory committee for two years.. For years, Schad was trustee of Project Literacy Outreach of Long Island, helping immigrants learn English. He is a member of the Amityville and Unqua Corinthian yacht club and serves on the vestry at St. Mary’s Church. One of his most visible contributions stands at the Village Triangle. For decades, drivers heading south on Broadway saw the American flag above the Triangle Building — and the empty space where the building’s original 19th-century turret once stood. Schad helped change that. Working with volunteers, he designed and built a new turret, finishing it in just one month for the village’s 100th anniversary celebration in July 1995. He collaborated with architect Christopher McCarthy, Mick McDonough and members of the Main Street Alliance and Kiwanis — all of whom donated their time. “I don’t know how we did it, but we did,” Schad said. In high school, when he wasn’t studying or volunteering, Continued on page 2 Carolyn James/Herald
Hal Schad, the Amityville Herald Record newspaper’s Person of the Year.