LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 65th Anniversary of The Colony
Shop of Patchogue, New York

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to take note of and
publicly recognize those businesses within the State of New York which
have positively impacted their communities; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 65th Anniversary of The Colony Shop of Patchogue, New York, on
Wednesday, March 2, 2011; and
WHEREAS, The Colony Shop opened on March 2, 1946, locating on Main
Street, where it has remained a fixture of the Village of Patchogue as a
family-owned business for the past 65 years; and
WHEREAS, The store was founded by Eloise Staudinger, who was born in
Northport in 1908; she was raised by her grandfather on a Northport area
farm where she met Booker T. Washington, the famed African-American
educator and founder of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute, who was a neighbor
in Fort Salonga; and
WHEREAS, As a young mother in the mid-1930s, Mrs. Staudinger could not
find a baby's hat for her daughter, so she opened her first store, a
Greenport knitting shop, which weathered the deadly hurricane of 1938;
and
WHEREAS, After World War II ended, she moved to Patchogue and opened
The Colony Shop in 1946, in time for the first wave of the post-war Baby
Boom and its demand for children's clothing; and
WHEREAS, Since its grand opening, The Colony Shop has been known as a
high-end place for children's clothing, especially knitted blankets,
hats and sweaters, as well as outfits for christenings and communions;
and
WHEREAS, The Colony Shop is a true family business; Eloise Staudinger
herself worked at the store for more than 60 years, until she passed
away at the age of 101; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, other family members have become employees of
the store, including Staudinger's two daughters, Lorice Fiala and Judith
Gueli, her granddaughter, Lori Belmonte, and a great-granddaughter,
Jessica; and
WHEREAS, In addition to a business on Main Street, the owners of The
Colony Shop have been active members of the Patchogue community; through
their efforts, the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce's beautifica-
tion committee was formed; in recognition of these efforts, the revital-
ized alley on West Main Street has since been dedicated and identified
with a large sign as the "Eloise Staudinger Walkway"; and
WHEREAS, It is with great pleasure that this Legislative Body acknowl-
edges this exceptional business and its contributions to the local and
State economies, fully confident that it will continue to enjoy the
sparkling successes it has experienced thus far; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 65th Anniversary of The Colony Shop of Patchogue, New
York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to The Colony Shop, Patchogue, New York.