History comes to life at 119th birthday celebration
By Toni Miles
From a pirate who is said to have buried his treasure in the area to being dubbed as “The Radish Capital of the Year,” the City of Long Beach has a rich history, one that was celebrated by more than one hundred people at the city’s 119th Birthday Celebration at historic Greenvale, formerly known as The Quarles House, originally owned by W.J. Quarles and his family. Long Beach was incorporated officially as a city on August 10, 1905.
Tours of Greenvale and face painting were just some of the activities that were all part of the Friendly City’s 119th birthday celebration, which took place on Saturday, August 10.
“It’s been a privilege and a pleasure for us, first of all, to get the house [Greenvale], and bring it back to what it is,” said Long Beach Mayor George Bass, who was among those in attendance at the celebration. “This is actually the first celebration we’ve had around here since we opened it [Greenvale] up, and people are touring this historic home today.”
History also came to life on stage during a presentation put on by the students of Long Beach teacher Carol Paola, with the young actors dressed up and portraying the founders and other notable characters that contributed to Long Beach’s rich history.
“We’ve been able to bring the Discovery students, under the direction of teacher Carol Paola,” Bass said, “She’s [Paola] has always done a great job sharing with others the history of Long Beach. Today’s presentation has been mainly focused on W.J. Quarles and his family. This is a big part of our history with this house, with our city and our community, and all those who worked to incorporate Long Beach into a city. This event celebrates our city’s rich history.”
Residents, students, business owners and City officials were on hand to celebrate the milestone event. Bass says while the day was dedicated to celebrating the city’s rich history, there’s much more to look forward to in the future, especially when it comes to the historic home and grounds of Greenvale.
“It allows us to show the citizens that this [Greenvale] is available here, that we’re able to do things – we’re looking forward to an Easter egg hunt here and having a fall festival here, maybe having different choirs come out here around Christmas and having different lights and decorations.” 
