Holzmacher, Gustave, E

In 1890 Gustave E. Holzmacher and Hermine Sophie Reinecke immigrated to America from Germany and married. They had three children, Margarethe (Margaret), Henry Gustave (Gus), and Alfred. Gustave died suddenly in 1911.

From the writings in the CENTRAL PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL by Robert Holzmacher

Holzmacher, H.G. (Henry Gustav) - Gustave (Gus) worked as a machinist and in 1923 he obtained a position with an internationally prominent consulting engineering firm of Fuller & McClintock of N. Y. In 1925-1926 the firm was to oversee the installation of the Glen Cove Sewer System. In 1926 he married Grace Emily Leslie. He was put in charge of the sewer system for Oyster Bay Hamlet. His professional career continued to move forward despite the great depression. In 1929 he was awarded the advanced Civil Engineering degree by Cooper Union. In 1932 he received his land surveyors license and the same year he was elected as Water Commissioner for the Central Park Water District. His fellow commissioners were George Baldwin and Robert J. Chapel and they immediately elected chairman of the board in light of his extensive municipal waterworks experience. He was laid off as the depression deepened and he went to work for the L. I. State Park Commission and was put in charge of construction of the Goose Creek Bascule Bridge a vital part of the Jones Beach State Park project which was then underway. Several years later he went to work in the Nassau County Department of Public Works, division of Water Resources. Sometime in the mid 1930's Gus was elected to the Central Park Library Board and once again he was elected chairman. He started his engineering and surveying business in 1933 from his home on Stewart Ave. In 1935 he was retained as consulting engineer to the South Farmingdale Water District.

Gus was active on the committee that approached Grumman to move its operation to Bethpage in 1936. He was also active on the committee that spearheaded the name change from Central Park to Bethpage in 1936. Subsequently he was retained by Grumman to do virtually all the land surveying associated with the company's land acquisitions in Bethpage in the 1930's and 40's. Gus left the position with the Nassau County Department of Public Works in June 1944. At this time Grumman awarded him a major assignment to provide all surveying services in conjunction with the construction of new runways. This was at the peak of the war effort and time was of essence. Within several weeks he had twenty men working on the project. Within months he was down to one man and struggled along until the war ended and peacetime construction started in earnest. In 1947 he moved his office to temporary quarters in Hicksville. In 1948 he moved into the old frame house at 66 W. Marie St. where he would conduct his business for the next thirteen years. That was the same year that he was the supervising engineer on the construction of the new Bethpage Firehouse on Broadway. In 1951 Gus resigned as Commissioner of the Bethpage Water District and was retained as Consulting Engineer to the district.

In June 1960 the firm of H. G. Holzmacher and Associates constructed a new office headquarters on Rt. 110 in Melville. In December of 1960 Gus proudly presided over the gala office opening at which many Long Island Water Works officials attended. In March 1961 Gus suffered a heart attack and died in Mid Island Hospital. Several years after Gus Holzmacher's death, the firm he founded, Holzmacher, McLendon and Murrell was the consulting engineer for the for the design and construction of the Bethpage Community Park. The firm has also been continuously involved in all major projects of the Bethpage Water District from 1951 to 2002.

From the writings in the CENTRAL PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL by Robert Holzmacher

Holzmacher, Robert - Son of Henry Gustave (Gus) Holzmacher and Emily Leslie Holzmacher. Bob graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1945 and entered the New York State Maritime Academy. At the academy he received his Naval Reserve Commission and Coast Guard License in 1947. He attended Hofstra College and graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1951 with a degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering. He started his first full time job as assistant engineer at the Long Island Water Corporation in Lynbrook, L. I. Two years later he joined his father's firm in Hicksville. From 1953 the firm grew rapidly as the construction boom enveloped Long Island. In 1955 Bob married American Airline Stewardess, Ardith Hammons and they established their home in Amityville. In 1956 Bob was awarded his professional engineers license. In 1957 he received his Master of Civil Engineering Degree from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and in 1958 he was awarded his land surveyors license.

From the writings in the CENTRAL PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL by Robert Holzmacher

Holzmacher, June - Daughter of Henry Gustave (Gus) Holzmacher and Emily Leslie Holzmacher - June graduated Hicksville High School in 1950, attended Farmingdale Technical College, married Arthur R. Galli of Floral Park and settled in Levittown

From the writings in the CENTRAL PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL by Robert Holzmacher