Anyone know the history behind this.

[george]

​

Those directions wouldn't cut it today.

 

[pequa1]

LOL especially since the Post Office has been located further west and on the other side of Merrick Rd. My friend's dad had a small runabout docked next to Eddie's in the late 50s or early 60s. Sadly, its all private now.

 

[george]

WOW. That is an oldie!

 

[Double Trouble]

Used to fish out of there with my Dad in the 50's. Lots of good memories!

 

[Avenger]

View attachment 72498
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Those directions wouldn't cut it today.

Nobody needs directions anymore. Just an address and a phone app. I haven't had to give a customer directions to my place in years.

 

[george]

@Avenger I totally agree. I was referring to the fact that it looks a lot different now

 

[Leprechaun]

My neighborhood since 1962. I believe I bought a Mercury 25HP from them in the early-80's. They were a dealer for Merc back then.

 

[captmike28]

My neighborhood since 1962. I believe I bought a Mercury 25HP from them in the early-80's. They were a dealer for Merc back then.

Lep with an outboard motor?! Now that's a real blast from the past!!!

 

[Leprechaun]

Yeah, imagine that!

 

[MakoMatt]

I think I used to rent boats from him, and Pops too I believe. Many, many , many years ago.

 

[MakoMatt]

My neighborhood since 1962. I believe I bought a Mercury 25HP from them in the early-80's. They were a dealer for Merc back then.

So I’m sure you remember Lon Wanser too. My grandfather has some custom rods he made.

My neighborhood since 1962. I believe I bought a Mercury 25HP from them in the early-80's. They were a dealer for Merc back then.

 

[pequa1]

I got stuck on jury duty before I had Bs & Cs. Perp broke into Marlin TV across from Wanser's. Witness was his wife and I had to say I knew her. Judge asked me if I could be impartial. I hesitated. He asked me if I would consider her testimony fairly. I said there were other places I could buy my bait from. I don't, but go there. I was excused and went shopping at Roosevelt Field, lol.

 

[Leprechaun]

Yep Matt, I do remember Wanser's very well. Bought my first Newell "Blackie" from them, and weighed in many fish at their shop. The Dad was a bit of a lush, but entertaining, and the son was a very talented rod builder. The problem there was after the Dad passed, the son's main interest was Golf, not rod building. And so his wife was stuck minding the shop many days. It was pretty obvious that she's rather be anywhere else than there.

I heard they finally moved to Maine and opened a B&B up there somewhere. His special rod base thread wrapping loom was acquired by someone else in the rod business, but I cannot remember who that was.

Now a HVAC shop lives on that corner. I drive passed there nearly every day - and always think back to my local fishing, 50 years ago. Gone forever, and the newbies will never know just how great it was back then. Sorry to see it go, but happy that I at least got to experience it.

 

[Leprechaun]

O.K., here's an Update

Had lunch with Capt. Mike and Capt. Neil this afternoon at Varney's in Bellport. (excellent fried Cod platter, btw). While we were munching on the outstanding seafood Neil filled us in on the details of the Wanser thread wrapping loom end-story.

I seems that after Lonny Jr. left LI and set up residence and his B&B in Maine, Capt. Neil reached out to him regarding the balance of his rod building materials, including the loom.

Here's where it gets interesting. First - there was not one loom, but several. According to Neil, one went to Causeway B&T, here in Wantagh ( I have to ask Bobby and Mike about that next time I'm in their shop), one went to Bob's B&T in Amityville, and one went to a tackle shop in Jamesport. Or was it St. James that Neil said? I can't remember, as I was downing my Blue Point Toasted at the time, and that kind of blocked out Neil's words of the moment. You understand, I'm sure.

Anyway, Lon had two of them left and Neil decided that he would take both. So Neil talked a close buddy into a road trip, went up to Maine, took all of Lon's remaining rod building materials and the two looms. One was "almost" operational and the other was for spare parts.

Never having actually seen one, I had a picture in my mind of a desk-top contraption that was fairly compact. Not so. Neil said they were free-standing, with ridiculously heavy cast iron bases; and so Neil and his friend had a real tussle getting them both into the truck.

He brought his two back to Sayville and proceeded to "fix" the semi-operational one. Except he took it apart without fully appreciating the intricacies of its construction. Even though he had the second unit to emulate, he never could get the first one back together and operating properly. And so ended "Neil's Excellent Thread Loom Adventure."

Now here's the part that really got my attention. It turns out these machines were older than anyone thought. A LOT older. We know this because Neil's research told him that their original purpose was the manufacturing of woven buggy whips! Now THAT'S old!

And that’s the Wanser thread loom saga, as Neil remembers it. He's doing fine by the way. A little bit older than when I last saw him pre-COVID, but he still has that Irish twinkle in his eyes, and it truly was a wonderful afternoon spent talking fishing with him once again. He's one of the real genuinely good ones. And there's not that many left, to tell the truth. God Bless Him.

 

[captmike28]

O.K., here's an Update

Had lunch with Capt. Mike and Capt. Neil this afternoon at Varney's in Bellport. (Fantastic fried Cod platter, btw), and while we were munching on some outstanding seafood Neil filled me in on the end-story of the Wanser thread wrapping loom.

I seems that after Lonny Jr. left LI and set up residence in Maine, Capt. Neil reached out to him regarding the balance of Lon's rod building materials, including the loom.

Here's where it gets interesting. First - there was not one loom, but several. According to Neil, one went to Causeway B&T, here in Wantagh ( I have to ask Bobby and Mike about that next time I'm in their shop), one went to Bob's B&T in Amityville, and one went to a tackle shop in Jamesport. Or was it St. James that Neil said? I can't remember, as I was downing my Blue Point Toasted Lager at the time, and that kind of blocked out Neil's words of the moment. You understand, I'm sure. .

Anyway, Lon had two of them left and Neil decided that he would take both. So Neil talked a close buddy into a road trip, went up to Maine, took all of Lon's remaining rod building materials and the two looms. One was "almost" operational and the other was for spare parts.

Never having actually seen one, I had a picture in my mind of a desk-top contraption that was fairly compact. Not so. Neil said they were free-standing, with a ridiculously heavy cast iron base; and so Neil and his friend had a real tussle getting them both into the truck.

He brought his two back to Sayville and proceeded to "fix" the semi-operational one. Except he took it apart without fully appreciating the intricacies of its construction. Even though he had the second unit to emulate, he never could get the first one back together and operating properly. And so ended "Neil's Thread Loom Excellent Adventure."

So here's the part that really got my attention. It turns out these machines were A LOT older than anyone thought. We now know this because Neil's research told him that their original purpose was the manufacturing of woven buggy whips! Now THAT'S old!

That's the thread loom saga, as Neil remembers it. He's doing fine by the way. A little bit older than when I last saw him pre-COVID, but he still has that Irish twinkle in his eyes, and it was a truly wonderful afternoon spent talking fishing with him once again. He's one of the real genuinely good ones. And there's not that many left, to tell the truth. God Bless Him.

I too very much enjoyed feasting on the Varney's Cod and beautiful Little Necks as an appetizer.
After going over some way back memories and locations, I believe we did establish that the other loom wound up at Terminal Tackle in Kings Park.

Of course, the best part of day like this is sharing it with old friends. I was blessed to have Capt. Neil join me on two charters this past season. Now he has the motivation to do it again next year with that special gift his grandson gave him. I could see the tremendous pride in his face when he described the new custom spinning rod his grandson had built for him as a Christmas present! I guess it's true the acorns don't fall too far from the tree!!

 

[Snapprhead27]

That's some awesome history right there. Glad to hear Capt Neil is doing good. I had the pleasure of meeting him last year at Varneys for lunch along with Capt Mike. I really enjoyed listening to his story's.