This 1960 first grade class photo from Marion Carll School is a small part of Commack’s history. There are thirty-three students in this photo and this was a morning session. In 1960 Commack was growing quickly and as it developed, new schools opened and eventually the Marion Carll School closed.
Marion Carll’s legacy was not the Marion Carll School, her legacy was community involvement, commitment to education, love of Commack, its residents, and the Marion Carll Farm. It was in this spirit that Marion Carll left her farm and its cherished possessions to the Commack School District.
The Commack – Kings Park Rotary Club’s essay contest was created to foster an understanding of Marion Carll and what role the Marion Carll Farm has in 2011. The winners were announced at a luncheon at the Bonwit Inn. The students read their essays and explained what they learned from their research.
The winners of the essay contest are:
Pres. Richard Rafle, Barbara Kruger, Arielle Horowitz,Mike Mackay, Fred Kruger and Ken Darragh
1. Arielle Horowitz ——— Winner Commack High School
2. Ken Darragh —————— Winner Commack Middle School
3. Mike Mackay —————- Runner up
Barbara and Fred Kruger were the Rotarians responsible for the contest and its success. They had this to say about the event, “Woman’s History Month provided the Commack-Kings Park Rotary Club with the perfect opportunity to recognize a woman who was not only instrumental in early Commack education, but who also left the Carll family farm to the Commack School District to be preserved as a historic site and used as a great educational resource.”
A great deal has changed in Commack since the days of Marion Carll. The Farm is a reminder of how much times have changed and what that change looks like.