You’ll be seeing a good bit of this photo around town in the coming months. Cover of Images of America: Rockaway Beach, courtesy Arcadia Publishing, lifeguard photo, circa 1927, courtesy The Wave.

So you’d like to be one of the first to own a signed copy of Images of America: Rockaway Beach, my new book published on June 4 by Arcadia.   The kickoff event was at Ciro’s Pastry Shop, 415 Beach 129 Street in Belle Harbor, on Monday, June 4.  We celebrated by enjoying a beautiful and delicious cake and Ciro’s excellent coffee, then the book sale commenced!  There is a reason the first event  was held at Ciro’s; many of the photo-gathering sessions for the book occurred there.

For those who can’t make it to a signing, the book is also available by direct order from Oy Vey Rockaway.  All you have to do is look to the far right just below the header photo, for the words “Buy Images of America: Rockaway Beach” and hit the “Buy Now” button to purchase via credit card or Pay Pal account.  If you want a signed copy for yourself or as a Father’s Day gift, there should be an online comment box so you can specify the message to be inscribed.  If that doesn’t work, send me an email at VCARTER@nyc.rr.com with the exact message at the same time you place your order, and I’ll do my best to get it out to you, signed as requested.

With shipping, handling and New York taxes, the total price for copies ordered by mail comes out to slightly less than $27.  I will be shipping the books through the U.S. Postal Service, in envelopes made of 100% recycled materials, with the postmark “Rockaway Beach 11693.”  The postmark alone may turn it into a collectible, since the Rockaway Beach post office is on the list of stations being examined for possible restructuring or closure in the near future.

If you order this way, you should receive the book in your mailbox within a week. Please order early for Father’s Day.  Let’s hope all goes smoothly.  I don’t think that Rock Viv Publications will ever grow to the size of Walmart, but I do hope to give Amazon a run for their money. I will also soon be posting photos of the local retail establishments that will be selling my book in their stores.  I am grateful for their support.  As they say, buy and shop local!

This 1947 photo, which appears on page 94 of the book, had to be cropped to fit Arcadia’s templates. Here it appears in its full glory, courtesy of The Wave. Pre-teen Sharon Gabriel (Rockaway Music and Arts Council Board Member), stands in front of the third window from the right, in a white shirt. Readers may be surprised to know that this building (formerly Greenrose’s Restaurant) still stands, albeit somewhat altered. It’s the storage facility on Beach 90 Street between the RBI’s and the elevated subway station.

Other book-signing events are listed in a separate box on the “Notable Local Events” tab of this website, for those who can’t make it to Ciro’s on June 4. Five are presently scheduled for the month of June, including one that will occur during the monthly meeting of the Rockaway Artists Alliance on Monday, June 11 from 7-9 p.m., at the sTudio 7 Gallery in Ft. Tilden.

Early lay leaders of First Congregational Church, circa 1910. Courtesy FCC.

Images of America: Rockaway Beach contains over 200 previously unpublished photographs documenting the early social history of the communities of Seaside, Holland and Hammels (collectively known as Rockaway Beach). It is a point of pride to me that the book has been produced entirely in the United States.  I assembled all the photographs and wrote all of the text here on the peninsula, and Arcadia Publishing printed the book in South Carolina on American-made, 100% Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper products.

Readers will discover that the contents of my book are quite different from all the others previously published on the subject of The Rockaways.  Although I have included some photos of early hotels and amusements, the vast majority of the pictures in my book show the people and families, the churches and schools, the sports and local entertainment events over the decades in Rockaway Beach.

My take on the subject is also diverse from the previously published histories, because it is written from the perspective of a present-day resident/homeowner.  I have a stake in the future of the area, so I hope that my book will spur more civic involvement and positive, long-lasting change.

Please tell your friends and neighbors about Images of America: Rockaway Beach.  Why not buy a copy for Dad for Father’s Day?  Send the link to out-of-town relatives.  Share the good news–this is a celebration of the year-round residents of Rockaway Beach, past and present.  Pass the book on to your children.  They will write the stories of our future.

Header photo, Memorial Day at Rockaway Beach Parade Grounds, circa 1900, courtesy The Wave.  Other photos used with permission of the owners.  Text copyright 2012 Vivian R. Carter.