Page 14
BELLMORE GUIDE
www.liherald.com
LIVING IN BELLMORE
Penny Frondelli/Herald
The Bellmore Striders running club’s Fourth of July four-mile run annually attracts a crowd. No doubt, much has changed in the Bellmores over the years. What was once a sleepy farming and fishing community is now a frenetic suburb, full of mom-and-pop shops, topnotch schools and sprawling parks. Alison Frankel, president and founder of the South Bellmore Civic Association, said, "Bellmore is unique because we have so many family-owned businesses, which is rare these days. I love walking with the stroller around the block and passing beautiful homes on the water, while enjoying the bay breeze. "My favorite community event," Frankel continued, "is the street fair and festival by the train station –– especially since it's so dog friendly" The Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores annually sponsors the Bellmore Family Street Festival, which is held in Bellmore Village, the community's downtown, in September or October. Over the years, it has become the largest family street fair in Nassau County, annually attracting more than 100,000 fair-goers. Three school districts serve the community –– Bellmore, North Bellmore and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District. The two elementary districts feed into the Central District. The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District spends $13,000 on a typical student, compared to the state average of $10,963. Ninety-four percent of the district’s graduates attend college, compared with the state average of 74 percent. Marie Testa, superintendent of the North Bellmore School District, has lived in the community nearly her entire life. The
Bellmores, she said, "have a small-town feel. We don't have a lot of commercial businesses that other towns have. We have Bellmore Village as the heart of the community." A big part of what makes the schools so great is the close partnership between teachers and students, Testa said. "The teachers love the students. It's that simple," she aid. "They want the best for the children. It's a very caring community." The superintendent added that Bellmorites are kind-hearted people. "It's a safe neighborhood, warm, inviting, close-knit. It's a homey place to be," she said. The first records of the community that is now the Bellmores appeared in the mid- to late-1600s. It all began when a prominent farmer, John Smith, gave his son, Jeremiah, a land deed for 100 acres of salt marsh. The marsh provided a fine hay, ideal for raising cattle. Soon, people came from all around to lay claim and buy acreage on the marsh. Robert Bedell, another of Bellmore’s earliest settlers, moved to the community during the 1640s. He was among the more successful salt marsh farmers. The Bedell home, built by John Bedell, Robert’s son, still stands at Merrick Road and South Saint Marks Avenue. It has been declared an historical landmark. Another early pioneer was Thomas Southard, a farmer from what is now North Bellmore, who owned 200 acres of land in 1655. Southard’s home still sits by what is now the Southern State Parkway. It, too, has since been declared a landmark. In the late 1700s, George Washington marched through Continued on page 16