UPDATED: MAY 1, 2004

 

ANOTHER MASTIC BEACH LANDMARK
GOES

 

 

 

 

I recieved a phone call in mid April 2004 from Greta Tucker who still owns this place regarding this page. She wanted to update me on what is going on and what the future holds for

 

 

"Schultes Tavern est 1932"

 

 

It seems she was in the long legal process of foreclosing on the people who ran it as COEDS when the fire broke out. Her nephew Tony Orsi was there to help keep an eye on her interests. The fire may of been caused by some electric heaters that overloaded the circuits. But the main thing she wanted to convey to me besides the legal difficulties she was having re claiming her family's property is that :

 

 

SHE PLANS TO RE OPEN IT

for other related Up In Smoke incidents be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this page

 

 

 

 

 

Sad news reached me Tuesday Morning Jan. 20th. It seems that Schulte's Tavern a Mastic Beach Landmark since 1932 caught fire the night before. Although it is still standing, I hear the 150 year old stable suffered damage to its interior. These photos were taken in October of 2003, when I visited it and the current barkeep Tony Orsi, who is the great grandson of the founder Paul Schulte, it seemed to be going through some difficult times.

 

One time a local gathering place for many civic orginizations and the very first Fire Hall for the Mastic Beach West End Fire Department, Schulte's has seen a lot of changes in the past decade or so most not that positive. In October it was using the name Last Chance Pub and Mr. Orsi seemed to be having difficulties with the Town Codes people and the County police.

 

 

 

I hope the building can be saved and turned around into a positive thing for the community.

 

 

 

HERE ARE THE OFFICIAL MBFD PHOTOS OF THE FIRE

There is too much good history in it. For more about it's history & Paul Schulte the first businessman in town

CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

May 1, 2004 Photo by Marty Van Lith

 

 

 

FORMER KNAPP ESTATE
Caretakers Cottage Goes

 

 

 

On March 31, 2004 the Mastic Beach Fire Dept responded to a house fire at the corner of Monroe Dr & Neighborhood Rd .

What is important to me is, what this place once was. It was the gate house for the Knapp Estate in the 1930's and the last residence of Willie & Honey Schluder, who were J. F. Knapp's chief caretakers in that era. As far as I know this was the last place the Schluders lived at least in Mastic Beach, because no one seems to know what ever happened to them. Readers of this website and Mastic Beach pioneers know that the Schluders were very active in Mastic Beach civic and social affairs all through the 1940's & 50's and that Willy Schluder was a longtime friend of Paul Schulte Sr. Their photo is on the pages known as Greta's Photos.

It was probably through Willie that Paul aquired the Knapp Secrateries House that was moved behind his tavern in the 1940's and still stands there today. It is also interesting that Willie Schluder was the custodian at the Mastic Beach Fire Hall in the early '50's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Jim Rugen courtesy of MBFD website

Here is the MBFD website coverage of this fire

 

 

AND IF THAT WASN'T ALL !!! ON APRIL 29, 2004

THE ENTIRE WATERFRONT OF THE FORMER KNAPP ESTATE
FROM LOCUST DRIVE TO BEAVER DRIVE

WENT

 

 

 

 

ÝBy Newsday.com

April 29, 2004, 4:53 PM EDT

A brush fire stopped short of several homes in Mastic Beach after about a half dozen houses were evacuated, emergency officials said today.

The fire, which took about 200 firefighters from 11 local departments to extinguish, began at about 11:35 a.m. at the intersection of Grove and Locust roads. The blaze jumped about three blocks * until it was brought under control at 12:40 p.m. on Beaver Drive. The fire came within 20 feet of several houses.

Fire officials said they encountered difficulty in fighting the fire because it was burning in marsh land. Firemen were forced to drag hoses through the woods instead of driving to the blaze using trucks. It was not immediately clear what started the fire.

 

* Note its really much more than three blocks Locust, Monroe, Polk, Lafayette,Jefferson, McKinley, Alder & Beaver Drives all run North and South between the Locust & Beaver borders.

 

 

I have just obtained obtain some photos of the damages from this fire and have added them
HERE

 

 

This entire website was started with a short story about the Knapp Mansion fire in 1959. The M B F D of today is a very well equipped and staffed department and that is probably why Schultes & Schluders are still standing.... but that said I do hope that this UP IN SMOKE segement does not become a regular feature of this website.... there is very little left of the Knapp Estate buildings and of the little town that developed around it known as Mastic Beach.

 

 

 

DECEMBER 1948

 

 

 

 

 

October 2003

 

 

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