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Our Little Town |
Local Artist,
Reggie Behl (1922-2011) |
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Born
and raised in nearby Long
Beach, New York, artist, teacher and international art
missionary, Reggie (Regina) Behl spent much of the 1950s
living on Pearl Street in
our little town. Reggie
and her husband, aeronautical engineer,
Hal Behl, were deeply
involved in community life during their time (and ours) in
Oceanside and were founding members of its
Temple Avodah.
According to Hal, whom I contacted in May 2014 at the age of 91, the
following two pen-and-ink sketches of Reggie's were both created in
1953 as part of Temple Avodah's initial developmental fundraising efforts. |
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The artist with the oldest 2 of her 3
sons
during their Oceanside years |
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The sketch
below illustrates the remarkable spirit of community demonstrated in
1953 by the earliest congregants of
Oceanside's first
reform synagogue,
Temple Avodah, 85 men and women, and some
children, who "lovingly scraped, patched and painted"
the just
purchased, ten-room,
unoccupied, three-story house set on
a
beautiful 4-acre site at the bend of Oceanside Road just north of
Campbell Avenue
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then in dire need of
a facelift but soon to become
Temple Avodah's religious school building. |
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In addition to
pen-and-ink sketches, Reggie did watercolor paintings during her
Oceanside period, and her husband, Hal, graciously provided us with
the following examples. Thanks Hal.
The first two are
scenes of Mill River, near their home on Pearl Street: |
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The third painting is of an old house
that may have been on Oceanside Road: |
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Click here or
here to
read more about the artist.
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Copyright
© 2014 by Howard B. Levy and
1960 Sailors
Association
Inc. All rights reserved.
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