Lake Ronkonkoma's Book House Remembered

Across from Windows on the Lake, hidden in the brush surrounding Lake Ronkonkoma sits a landmark.

There was a time when the Book House was a happening place, a venue for people to browse through thousands of old books, talk to the owner Larry and feel engulfed by community spirit in a building hugging the water. Those days ended in 2005.

But for a quarter century, Larry Holzapfel ran a tasteful little shop that appears lost if you weren’t looking for it on a quick drive around the lake today.

The building’s history dates back to the early 1920s when Haugs’ Pavilion operated on the lake, along with countless eateries and destination zones for the jumping Hamptons-esque era when Lake Ronkonkoma was a summer hotspot long before summer hotspots were the norm.

Operating as a refreshment stand on a prime piece of realty near the east end of the lake, it stayed in business and served beverages until 1943 when John Huth (pronounced Hoot) purchased the small shack, a deeded portion of the actual lake and the building across the street, which is now Windows.

Though closed during World War II, Huth opened it again in 1946 and it remained a concession stand until 1964 when the area became more populated as a residential destination and less as a vacation hub.

Holzapfel’s daughter Donna graduated from Sachem High School in 1977 and needed a fast way to make cash before shipping off to college. Larry, now 88 and still living in Nesconset all these years on Gibbs Pond Road, leased a small building at the corner of Old Portion Road and Lake Shore Road so his daughter could open a used book business.

They knew of a doctor in Smithtown leaving his office because of escalating rent prices and he was selling hundreds of books for a quarter a bag. By 1979 they moved across the street to Huth’s shack and remained in the 500-square-foot dwelling until the business closed.

“When she went back to school that fall she had quite a following,” said Larry from his home this week, flipping through scrap books of the many articles and photos detailing his shop that have surfaced over the years. “So I kept it alive on Saturdays only.”

That lasted until he retired from Grumman as a manager and worked many weekdays, supplying the community with cheap books, most of which he received from customer trade-ins.

“We always left there with a bag of paperbacks,” remembered Evelyn Vollgraff, president of the Lake Ronkonkoma Historical Society. “We used to pack a lunch and go to the Brookhaven Town beach and have a picnic with our children. Larry was a great man and he would entertain the kids with story books.”

In the early 1980s, Suffolk County took ownership of lakefront property, including the book shop. Holzapfel paid a small sum each year to operate. George Schramm, president of the Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization, said his group has tossed around of having the structure landmarked.

“You need a specific use in mind,” he said. “The County has a hard enough time maintaining buildings that are currently landmarked. They like to see groups utilize it. It doesn’t have a bathroom, it’s uninsulated, it’s probably not to code. The fact that it doesn’t have all the things it’s supposed to have makes it a little difficult.”

In his later years, Holzapfel wrote a book about Lake Ronkonkoma called “Fall of Apple Blossom Time.” He often thought of writing a piece about the shop, which was inhabited by bums at times and visited by an author whose book was on his shelves.

Next time you’re on Lake Shore Road, don’t just blow past the Book House. Stop and look the white exterior and green and yellow sign that sticks to the roof. Look down the left side and see how close the water is, picture thousands of books lining shelves inside and picture a packed house with smiling customers.

An official landmark title or not, the Book House will forever be an important part of Lake Ronkonkoma’s vast history.