ONCE UPON A TIME a Utopian community existed off the southern tip of the Borough of Queens, at the very western end of a formidable strip of land commonly known as Long Island. This was at the turn of the century and an eleven-mile parcel of real estate had become a fashionable resort community, the pride of the state and a jewel in the crown of its host - the City of New York.

In addition to miles of beautiful white beach front and immediate access to the waters of the gentle Atlantic Ocean, the area came to be known for its many large imposing and luxurious hotels, lovely summer cottages which appeared to be more akin to expensive mansions than to the private single-family residences which in reality they actually were, a myriad of seasonal business establishments, including hundreds of individually owned and operated concessions such as massive bathhouses, an abundance of swimming pools, a large number of quaint intimate restaurants, privately owned and maintained boardwalks, theaters, parks, and even a few small but vibrant amusement parks.

And then, all of a sudden, it was all gone! Of course the barrier island did not fall into the sea - although there are those among us who feel had that happened, it would have been a blessing!

Obviously the land did not disappear. The very elements rendering it so very desirable were still there. The location had not shifted, the sandy beaches were all still in place, the ocean remained, weather patterns continued to remain pretty much the same as they had been for centuries. But there was a change -

a very definite change. What became much different over a period of less than fifty years was the change that took place in the people.

Today, some one hundred years later, the peninsula is no longer a seasonal resort paradise. There are no longer any grand hotels, no massive colonies of summer homes, no more large single-family residential cottages, very few concessions of any kind remain, no bathhouses are left standing, the amusement parks are gone, the population has increased substantially and the land is primarily utilized for year-round living. In short, the place that once was, is not anymore!

What happened? Our memories are still in place. Most of our friends are still "with us" - but live far away now from the former beach resort which we were proud to call home. Once considered by many to be the most valuable piece of real estate contained within the confines of the most powerful city on the face of the globe -presently that peninsula is in a state of shambles - with its landmarks destroyed, large imposing housing projects dotting vital areas, acre upon acre of barren weed-filled (apparently) abandoned shore front lots, a road starting nowhere and ending nowhere, businesses struggling to survive, a soaring crime rate, and a general population which seems to be "rootless," shifting from place to place every few decades.

There is no one answer to what happened to the Rockaways over a period of only five or six decades - to what turned a thriving summer resort community into the mini-metropolis it now appears to have become. A "step-child" removed by distance from its urban family, the area suffers from most of the same illnesses as does its older and more populated ailing parent.