•Blair Mathies hosted a number of local dignitaries and guests at the site of the Village Park Condominium on Friday, October 23rd. The Condominium complex, located on the corner of North Carll Avenue and Park Avenue in Babylon Village, will eventually feature fourteen units. The land previously belonged to Theresa Santmann. For many years it was the site of the Little Flower Adult Home. When the home ceased to operate, the building was razed and has been vacant for some time. Mrs. Santmann had a vision of using the land for condominiums and shared that with Blair Mathies and his brothers, who formed Mathies Properties and purchased the land. •N.Y. State Senator Owen Johnson, Mayor Scordino and the Village Board (Kevin Muldowney, Alice Vanderbilt, Tony Davida, and Debbie Basile), S.C. Legislator Wayne Horsley, and N.Y. State Assemblyman Phil Boyle all helped dig the first shovels of dirt for the project. Ken Rogers will handle construction and The Westcott Group will handle sales. Most aspects of the project will be handled by local labor and management. Financing is being provided by SuffolkNational Bank. Over the past several years, the homes of residents in this area have been fixed up and this project should only make this part of North Carll Avenue and Park Avenue even more attractive.

•Congratulations to Brian and Gwynn Leitch on the arrival of their first granddaughter Keira Doreen Leitch. Keira was born on Friday, Oct. 2nd and weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces. Proud parents are USMC Corp. Colin C. Leitch and Megan Leitch of Babylon. Keira’s maternal grandparents are Doreen and Frank LoBasso of West Babylon. Thenew father is currently deployed in Afghanistan and will be home to meet his little girl mid-November. Congratulations to one and all, and thank you to Colin Leitch for your service to our country. Be safe. Incidentally, if you have a friend or loved one serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, or elsewhere, let me know and we’ll be happy to feature them in this column. •Get well wishes to Marie Peck of Babylon, who has been ill for a couple of weeks with pneumonia. Get well soon! •Happy birthday to Anthony Tuitt, who turned 8 on October 21st. Anthony, a wonderful young man, is the son of Melissa Tuitt, and grandson of Monica Dawson. He celebrated his big day with a few friends at AK Karate School in West Babylon. Many happy returns!

•While the weekend of October 19th was cold and miserable here in Babylon, postponing the Merchants' Fair and the Apple Fest at the Conklin House, it was cool but sunny in Lake Placid. That was the setting for the wedding of Lindsay Tuthill and Tim Maidment. Lindsay is the granddaughter of the late Stu and Moody Morris of Babylon and niece of Sue Borg, who attended the wedding. Her parents are Nancy (nee Morris) and Allan Tuthill of Lake Placid and New Smyrna. FL. Thebeautiful bride met her husband, Tim, while both were studying at Oxford, where Lindsay received a doctorate in Economics. Tim is from Durban, South Africa. Thecouple will reside in Brooklyn aftera Hawaiian honeymoon.

•The South Shore Signal was a newspaper produced in Babylon beginning in the 1800’s and continuing well into the 20th century. It was later followed by the Babylon Leader and then today’s Babylon Beacon. While it was produced in Babylon Village, it did indeed serve the entire south shore of Long Island. The Signal building was located on the south side of West Main Street just west of Ferraro’s Liquors and Main Street Gifts, where the small strip mall containing Trade Winds Deli was built during the 1980’s. Afterthe Signal closed its doors, the most memorable occupants of the building were Bessie Upjohn’s Real Estate Officeand the Red Lion Pub. Thebuilding itself was purchased and moved across the street and placed behind Kevin Brosnahan’s law office,on MansfieldRoad, where it is used by Mr. Brosnahan. Copies of the South Shore Signal are on microfilm at the Babylon Public Library and available to the public. Various people have been reading the Signal on microfilm recently to research the arrival and later destruction of the fountain that was donated to Babylon by the Babylon Women’s Exchange in the 1890’s. In reading the old papers, I’ve come across a number of articles that I believe readers might enjoy, and will include them from time to time in this column. One such item has to do with the regulation of motor vehicles within Babylon Village. It seems the Board of Village Trustees passed a law providing that no motor vehicle should proceed faster than at the rate of one mile in four minutes (15 mph) or the driver would receive a $100 fine. Additionally, the motor vehicles were excluded from burial grounds and would subject the driver to a $10 fine for violations! Those of us who grumble at the fact that during heavy trafficperiods it may take fiveto ten minutes to get through the downtown area today, should be grateful that the old speed limit no longer exists!