For close to two years in the late 1980's, a big debate raged in Shirley, Long Island over it's name. It caught national media attention. Two of the "sparkplugs" on both sides of the debate that I remember from my Floyd school days were, Judy Mezzapelle Illardo, who I started out in kindergarten with in 1952 . Judy (originally from Mastic Beach), was behind the group wanting to change the name of Shirley to Floyd Harbor. Their battle slogan was something along the lines of .....Who wants to be known as Shirley from Shirley? Stanley Prekurat, who was Stan from Shirley, and who's older brother Patrick, I went to the end of the line with at Floyd in 1964, was the one who coined the opposition term that got it's point across in three liitle words .....

Well had Quimby prevailed in 1910, Stan's question would of never been raised, as part of Quinby's master plan was for a huge harbor. He needed a place to park all those yachts he hoped would come sailing up to all the estates he hoped to build. And he kmew how to get it done, as he had a U.S. Senator on his board of trustees. Senator William Hughes of New Jersey was given control of $100,000.00 of Tangiers Development Corp. bonds and Uncle Sam was petitioned to build "Da Canal" that would lead to "Da Harbor"