_______ Malverne/West HeMpstead ______
HERALD Also serving Lakeview
Taking the stage in theater camp
Dancing in the Gazebo Park
Christmas comes early in July
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Vol. 33 No. 33
AUGUST 13 - 19, 2026
$1.00
A long journey comes to a close Don Pupke completes 750-mile walk across New York state By AlYSSA R. GRIFFIN agriffin@liherald.com
Alyssa R. Griffin/Herald
The Village of Malverne welcomed Don Pupke, center, home as he returned from a 36-day-long journey in which he raised money for American Legion Post 44.
After 36 days, more than 750 miles and countless hours of navigating traffic and drastically changing weather, Malverne resident Don Pupke has returned home. Pupke, 66, completed his cross-state walk from Buffalo, in western New York, to Montauk Point, accomplishing a goal he had pondered for years. But his return to Malverne was about more than reaching the finish line. The final stretch brought him back to the village he has called home for 35 years and the community he set out to support. Pupke’s walk raised money for American Legion Post 44, a longtime Malverne gathering place that has hosted meetings, community events and elections for generations. The funds will help pay for improvements to the Legion hall, including upgraded lighting, renoConTinueD on PAge 9
A hometown star takes Broadway’s stage once again By AlYSSA R. GRIFFIN agriffin@liherald.com
For Jordan Tyson, the journey from the Malverne High School stage to Broadway has come full circle. Now starring as Eurydice, a leading role in the Tony Awardwinning musical “Hadestown,” Tyson has reached another milestone in a career that began in the school auditorium, where she first discovered a love for musical theater. The Malverne native, who previously appeared on Broadway in “The Notebook” and “Gypsy,” will give her final performance in “Hadestown” on
Aug. 30. Bor n in Malver ne, Tyson spent much of her childhood in the village after returning from several years living in Baltimore. She attended Howard T. Herber Middle School and Malverne High School, where her interest in performing on stage first took shape. Her first role came as a freshman, when she appeared as a Spoon in the school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” It wasn’t until the following year, after her chorus teacher encouraged her to audition for “In the Heights,” that musical theater truly captured her imagination.
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fell in love with theater on Malverne’s stage.
JoRDAN TYSoN Broadway performer, Malverne native “When I did ‘In the Heights,’ I got the bug and thought, like, ‘Oh, I think this is what I’m supposed to do with my life,’” Tyson said. Outside the theater, Tyson immersed herself in music. S h e c o m p e t e d w i t h vo c a l ensembles across the East
Coast while developing skills in music theory, sight-singing and perfor mance, and regularly traveled to Manhattan to see Broadway productions and study scores at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. After graduating from Malver ne High School in 2015, Tyson attended Marymount
Manhattan College before leaving after two years to join the off-Broadway musical “Sweetee,” launching her professional career. Her Broadway debut came in 2024 as Younger Allie in “The Notebook,” after first playing the role in a regional production. She later joined the ConTinueD on PAge 20