Suzie Alvey Appointed Village Historian

Long-time resident Suzie Alvey has been appointed Garden City's next village historian.

Alvey is the fourth, and second female, to ever hold the position.

Mildred H. Smith served in this capacity from June 1959 through April 1987. Vincent F. Seyfried replaced Smith on April 6, 1987 and served until April 20, 2006. John E. Kordes was appointed deputy historian on April 1, 1996 until April 7, 2003 when he was then appointed co-historian with Mr. Seyfried from April 7, 2003 until April 2, 2007. Kordes served as historian from April 2, 2007 until April 1, 2013.

Alvey, who grew up on Willow Street, 1956-1975, married fellow Garden City High Schol graduate Robert Alvey and moved back to the village in 1984. They currently live on Fenimore Avenue and have raised three daughters here, Alexis (GCHS '01), Erin (GCHS '05) and K.C. (GCHS '08).

She was selected a "Woman of Distinction" in 2009 by NYS Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt and was the October 2012 recipient of President Barack Obama's President's Volunteer Service Award.

Mayor John Watras recognized Alvey at the June 20 village board meeting, stating Suzie has been involved in "every aspect of historical significance" in the village. "I believe Suzie is just going to be fantastic," he said. "She is a good person to work with our historical society."

Alvey said she's honored to hold the position. "I look forward to working closely with Mayor Watras, the village trustees, the administration, the Garden City Historical Society and our digital archivist. I know I will have their support with Garden City's historical preservation and education," she said.

Alvey, who co-founded the Garden City Bird Sanctuary/Tanners Pond Environmental Center with her husband, runs the sanctuary's annual benefit yard sale and organizes Halloween Fest as well as exhibits for the public. She also handles photography and publicity for all sanctuary events.

"Rob and Suzie have done an absolutely incredible job at the bird sanctuary," Mayor Watras said. "As a matter of fact, you walk through and you're like 'am I really in the middle of Garden City?' It really is just a beautiful site."

Alvey has long been involved with the Garden City Historical Society, where she also helps publicize and organize events and offers her photography skills. She became a board member in June 2012.

Through her volunteer efforts, Alvey was able to obtain a life-sized plaster bust of A.T. Stewart and numerous artifacts for the society's archives, and helps with the annual A.T. Stewart flea market and Christmas tour of village homes, among other events.

She's put together numerous historical exhibits at the Garden City Public Library, including "Garden City Then and Now," an exhibit that showcased Alvey's antique postcards of public buildings and houses and photos of what they look like today, and "Garden City's Military History," a group project that she worked on with Bill Bellmer, Cyril Smith and Mike Brosnan.

To help identify unnamed house photos currently in the Village Archives, Alvey has spent countless hours researching, writing and photographing houses for a series on Garden City Patch called History Mystery Homes. To date, Alvey has contributed 20 articles to the series and with the help of residents has successfully been able to identify many of the unnamed photos.

She's also contributed another series for Garden City Patch, 100 Reasons Why Garden City Is So Unique, which highlighted the many positive aspects of the village.

A professional artist specializing in watercolor house portraits and wedding calligraphy, Alvey has provided pen and ink drawings of Stewart and Stratford schools used for village brochures, plus stationery at Stewart and T-shirts for Stratford. At Stewart, the drawing hangs in the main office hallway.  

Alvey has also provided pen and ink drawings of Garden City landmarks used on Garden City mugs and prints for the Garden City Chamber of Commerce. A drawing of Seventh Street shops currently hangs in Garden City Village Hall, as does "The Gentlemen's Agreement" - in calligraphy - thanks to Alvey's artistry.

The Fenimore Avenue resident is poised to take on her new role.

"There are several projects I would like to do, including some interactive ones. I welcome input from our residents," she said. "Four generations of my family have lived here. My grandfather, Perry Los Kamp, bought an A. T. Stewart disciple home on Tenth Street in 1950, so I have a great appreciation for Garden City history."

(Editor's Note: Suzie Alvey is a contributor to Garden City Patch.)