Reminiscences of My Boyhood in Roslyn by Roy Moger
A well respected figure in the Roslyn community, Roy William Moger (1907-1990) was born in Brooklyn, NY, the son of George F. and Edna I. Moger. In 1904 his parents bought the house at 91 Remsen Avenue, Roslyn, NY, where Roy lived most of his life. He attended Roslyn Public Schools and graduated from Roslyn High School in 1925. After attending Amherst College, Amherst, MA and New York University, Roy received a BS degree in 1932 from the NYU School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. In 1936 he married former high school classmate, Charlotte Anna Moore and had two children, Susan and William. After Charlotte's death, Roy married Elizabeth E. Hass in 1954 and they had a daughter, Patricia.
Between the years 1932 and 1950 Roy held many jobs in retail sales, advertising research, and aeronautics. In 1950 he began a new phase of his life and enrolled in a teacher training course and began teaching 4th grade at the Roslyn Village School. In 1951 he became Home Teacher for the Roslyn Public Schools, a job he held for 15 years. From 1966 until he retired in 1972 Roy taught first and second grade classed for the neurologically impaired. Active in community affairs he served on many village committees and was an elected Roslyn Village trustee from 1963 until he retired in 1987 He served as Village Historian from 1974 until his death in August 1990.
Roy began writing Roslyn history in 1959 when he was asked to prepare an outline of local history for the Superintendent of Schools. This grew into his first publication, Our Town-Roslyn. Expanding on this work, Roy prepared the first edition of Roslyn Then and Now, which was published by the Roslyn Schools in 1965. Shortly before his death, Roy agreed to write a new preface for this well received book and in 1992 the Bryant Library published the second edition of this Roslyn sourcebook. The following articles were written by Roy in the late 1970s and early 1980s:
- Napoleon Forget's Blacksmith Shop (December 27, 1979)
- My Father's First Car (January 3, 1980)
- Sledding on Station Hill (March 20, 1980)
- The Day We Skated in the Streets of Roslyn (April 3, 1980)
- The Bannisters at the Old School (April 10, 1980)
- Our White Horse (May 15, 1980)
- Electric Lights Come to Our House (June 5, 1980)
- A Fourth of July Experience (July 3, 1980)
- Charles Woodin's Ice Plant (August 21, 1980)
- Christmas Memories (December 25, 1980)
- Taking the Train to Brooklyn (November 27, 1980)
- Kilpatrick's Store (November 13, 1980)
- Skating on the Mill Pond (February 19, 1981)
- A Look In A Window At Harbor Hill (August 9, 1984)
- The Animals I Grew Up With On Our Roslyn Farm (August 23, 1984)
- Skating on Thanksgiving (November 22, 1984)