_______ Malverne/West HeMpstead ______
HERALD Future leaders helping out now
Malverne softball finishes strong
Voter registration snafu to be fixed
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Vol. 30 No. 22
MAY 25 - 31, 2023
$1.00
WWII vet turns 100 years old Bob Mackreth, of Malverne, is just two years younger than the village By NIColE FoRMISANo nformisano@liherald.com
Bob Mackreth has fit a lot of life into 100 years. Between his boyhood in Malverne during the Great De pression, his involvement in U.S. intelligence in World War II and his decades as a family man, he is a living testament to the importance of community history. Anyone who spends more than five minutes with Mackreth is likely to be charmed by his wink-and-elbow sense of humor, which he often uses to dismiss others’ well-deserved praise of him. “I don’t see what the big deal is,” he said after being honored by Mayor Tim Sullivan on May 12, two days after his 100th birthday. “All I did was live a long time.” He did much more than that.
Even the kids made a difference The West Hempstead Community Support Association held its biannual cleanup at Halls Pond Park on Sunday, and thanks to a few sets of little hands, the park is much cleaner. Twice a year, the association’s volunteers and residents gather for an enjoyable day of cleaning the park. Story, more photos, Page 4.
A boyhood in Depression-era Malverne
To this day, Mackreth can’t eat cabbage without hearing his mother telling him and his siblings to clean their plates. During the Depression, he recalls, meals were usually some variation of boiled cabbage and potatoes, which were cheap options at a time when families struggled to put food
Maureen Lennon/Herald photos
Bob Mackreth on the table. Mackreth remembers Long Island’s experience of the Depression with striking clarity. Unemployed men would commute into the city for some semblance of a routine; women would negotiate with grocers to charg e food on overdue a c c o u n t s ; bu s i n e s s e s p e rformed half-services to accommodate tight wallets. Mackreth, who is writing a memoir, explains that there was a reward inherent in saving money, in being able to fix Continued on page 4