Donald V. Ferguson
Army
Middle Island
Donald
Van Dyck Ferguson was born October 25, 1893, in Brooklyn, New York, the
son of William Cashman and Elizabeth Van Dyck Ferguson. He attended
Princeton for a year and then transferred to the Cornell School of
Agriculture where he studied fruit growing for three years. In April
1917, when the U.S. entered World War I, he enlisted as a Private in the
U. S. Army. He was assigned to the Fifth Infantry and was sent to the
Panama Canal Zone for Lock Guard duty. In January 1918, he was accepted
for Officers’ Training School at Camp Gilliard in the Canal Zone. In
April 1918, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant with the 29th
Infantry. Four months later, in August 1918, he was promoted to1st
Lieutenant. He served as an Intelligence officer and was appointed Judge
Advocate of special courts martial. He also served as Engineer,
Personnel Adjutant, and Athletic Officer. He was recommended for
promotion to Captain, but when the war ended in November 1918,
promotions were frozen. He was discharged in April 1919.
In
1922 he married Eleanor Fullerton, daughter of well-known Long Islanders
Hal B. and Edith Loring Fullerton. In 1923 they moved to Middle Island
where they operated a fruit farm, Rainbow Ranch. They grew apples,
peaches, pears, and raspberries, and sold all their produce at the
Rainbow Ranch roadside stand, just down the hill from the Richard Bayles
house on Middle Country Road. Old-timers in the area will remember the
huge red apple sign that hung in front of the stand. It was a well-known
local landmark, and the farm was often known as “The Red Apple.” There
was also a sign with the motto, “Not a Worm in a Wagonload.” The quality
of the Fergusons’ fruit was so outstanding that they had regular
customers from all over Long Island and even from Manhattan. They had a
mailing list to notify customers when a particular variety was ready.
Middle Island was visited by Russian royalty when Princess Alexandra
Kropotkin came to Rainbow Ranch every year for her favorite variety of
peaches. Her large black limousine had a crown painted on the door and
was driven by a liveried chauffeur.
Ferguson served the community as Chairman of the East Middle Island
Board of Education for many years, and was instrumental in the hiring
and retention of Ruth Larsen Jones, an exceptional teacher who educated
an entire generation of Middle Islanders. He also served as a Special
Deputy Sheriff of Suffolk County.
When
World War II started, Ferguson was 48 years old and was too old for
service. However, he considered it his duty to re-enter the Army in
order to release a younger man for combat duty. After some effort, he
succeeded in being accepted back into the Army in 1942 and was assigned
to the Military Police. He started at his World War I rank of 1st
Lieutenant but soon received a promotion to Captain. He was a Plant
Guard Officer, in charge of training and inspecting guards at defense
plants in the New York and Long Island area. He taught marksmanship and
judo, and laid out procedures and protocols for the plant guards.
In
1943, he was transferred to a military prison, the U.S. Disciplinary
Barracks at Greenhaven, New York. The Army needed an officer with some
knowledge of agriculture to establish a farm at the prison, both to
provide work for trusties and to produce food for the prisoners. As
Ferguson had a farming background, he was made Greenhaven Farm Officer.
He was well respected by the inmates, but always carried a roll of
pennies in his hand and a blackjack in his pocket when he was on the
cell blocks. During his service at Greenhaven, he suffered a serious
back injury in a vehicle rollover while pursuing an escaped prisoner. In
December 1946, he received a medical retirement with the rank of Major.
Rainbow Ranch was put up for sale after Ferguson entered the Army, and
was purchased by Leo Lentin, a clothing merchant from Patchogue. Lentin
built two highly successful women’s clothing stores across the road from
the farmhouse, using the name of Rainbow Ranch for one of them. The
orchard, sadly, was eventually swallowed up by a gravel pit.
After
his discharge from the Army, Ferguson taught fruit growing at
Farmingdale, at what was then called the Long Island Agricultural and
Technical Institute. After his retirement from teaching, he and Eleanor
moved to St. James where he grew raspberries and kept bees. He died at
St. James in 1971. Their three children, Edith, Anne, and William
Ferguson, all grew up on the farm in Middle Island. William enlisted in
the U.S. Air Force, where he served with distinction in the Korean and
Viet Nam wars, was highly decorated, and retired after 30 years of
service with the rank of Colonel.
Written by,
Mrs. Anne Nauman
August, 2006