Mark your calendars! Caroline Episcopal Church, One Dyke Road, Setauket will be celebrating Flowering Sunday on Sunday, April 30 at 9:30 a.m.
“This is an Anglican tradition, which some sources cite as beginning in South Wales in the late 17th century. In the United States, we usually see graves decorated on holidays, and of course Veterans’ graves on Memorial Day. Caroline Church will be bringing this tradition back on April 30. This is not only for parishioners; we invite the community to join us as we remember those buried in the churchyard,” said spokesperson Barbara Russell.
The celebration will begin with Morning Prayer. Flowers will be blessed and distributed to those present who will then follow a bagpiper and proceed to the cemetery where you can place flowers on the grave sites of family members and any others you wish to remember. Following placement of the flowers and time for remembrance and reflection, some hymns will be sung before the group rejoin in the Marco C. Smith building to share refreshments. For more information, please call 631-941-4245
Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Road, Setauket seeks volunteers to help transform their property into a native landscape that is welcoming to the birds and bees. Help is needed to remove invasive species, create new gardens and transform the 3-acre property into a bird and bee sanctuary. Call 631-751-3730 for further details.
Above, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, right, joins Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker, left, who chose Walter Colleran for Legislative District 6. Photo from Steve Bellone’s Flickr page
In a sea of orange and green, Suffolk County officials, community groups and Irish Americans converged upon the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge on Friday, March 24, commemorating the first-ever Irish American Heritage Celebration in county history.
In 2019, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved a resolution designating March as Irish American Heritage Month. Friday’s event marked the first such celebration sponsored by the county government.
Above, Legislator Leslie Kennedy with District 12’s pick, Matthew Kelly. Photo from Steve Bellone’s Flickr page
“We’re celebrating the incredible contributions that the Irish have made to the United States of America and to the world,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D).
The county executive also used the occasion to acknowledge the Ancient Order of the Hibernians, an Irish American heritage group with nine divisions across the county, including Port Jefferson, Selden, Smithtown and Huntington. Bellone said the AOH enriches Suffolk communities by celebrating Irish culture while giving back through various charitable endeavors.
Legislators from each of the county’s 18 districts had an opportunity to recognize an Irish American making an impact within their communities. Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) read off the biographical descriptions of each honoree.
Choral and bagpipe arrangements from several Irish American folk groups were performed, along with Irish historian Mike McCormack detailing the historical contributions of the Irish in Suffolk County.
Connor Klug and his Eagle Scout project at the Three Villlage Historical Society surrounded by family and members of the TVHS. Photo by Rob Pellegrino/TVHS
The Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) has a new Little Free Library thanks to Eagle Scout candidate Connor Klug of Troop 1776, a Mount Sinai resident and senior at Mount Sinai High School.
SEEING DOUBLE: Connor Klug with his Little Free Library Eagle Scout Project, an exact replica of the Bayles-Swezey House in the background. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
Like all Scouts aiming to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America program, 17-year-old Klug needed to complete a service project. When it came time to choose one, he thought immediately of his love of history and knew that TVHS was extremely active within the community.
Klug got the ball rolling on his project last fall, when he contacted TVHS director Mari Irizarry who suggested the community could use a Little Free Library like the ones at West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook and along Main Street at Three Village Community Trust headquarters in Setauket.
“We welcome hundreds of guests to our property each month for events and exhibit tours. The response I’ve heard on social media about Connor’s library has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Irizarry. “The addition of the Little Free Library adds great value to our community, and a special touch to the Society.”
Connor Klug with the Little Free LIbrary on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society. Photo by Rob Pellegrino
Once Klug got the OK from TVHS, he began the six-month long process of designing the library to look exactly like the headquarters of the Three Village Historical Society, the Bayles-Swezey house (circa 1800), all the while being mindful of durability and weatherproofing. Klug then hit the streets asking for materials to be donated for the project with an approximate cost of $500 and had help to complete the project from family, friends, and Troop 1776.
The process became a learning experience for Klug. “I learned that being a leader isn’t all about telling people what to do. You need to be confident, moral, and decisive, especially when things don’t go as planned,” he said.
The public is invited to drop off books about history-related topics to be included in the library — and is free to take ones too.
The Three Village Historical Society is located at 93 N. Country Road in Setauket. For more information, visit www.tvhs.org.
From left, Northport Historical Society curator Terry Reid, co-owners of the Engeman Theater Kevin O'Neill and Richard Dolce, and Northport Historical Society Executive Director Caitlyn Shea last Thursday night. Photo from NHS
On March 23, Northport Historical Society board and staff members joined theatergoers at the John W. Engeman Theater as Curator Terry Reid and Executive Director Caitlyn Shea presented co-owners of the theater Kevin O’Neill and Richard Dolce with the Northport Icon Award which honors the people and businesses that helped shape the Village of Northport.
After a fire in April 1932 left Northport’s first movie house (located at 256 Main Street) in ashes, The Northport Theater opened its doors on the site at 248-250 Main Street on November 23, 1932. The new theater was outfitted with 754 seats and offered the “latest and most popular pictures on the cinema screen” at the time. Although it changed hands several times, the movie theater remained in operation until 1999.
On June 30, 2006, Huntington resident and entrepreneur Kevin O’Neill and his wife, Patti, purchased the Northport Theater. O’Neill then partnered with theater expert and attorney, Richard Dolce, who had been running the Broadhollow Theater Company, to convert the Northport Theater into a year-round professional live theater. In tribute to Patti’s brother, Chief Warrant Officer Four John William Engeman, who was killed in Iraq on May 14, 2006, they renamed the theater the John W. Engeman Theater at Northport.
The Northport Icon Award coincides with the Northport Historical Society’s current exhibit, Iconic Northport, which opened last summer.Other recipients include Tim Hess/The Shipwreck Diner, The Weber Family/Seymour’s Boatyard, The Great Cow Harbor 10K Race,The Northport Yacht Club and Vincent Terranova/Jones Drug Store.
The Three Village Historical Society has announced the appointment of Lindsey Steward-Goldberg as Education Coordinator. Ms. Steward-Goldberg comes to the Historical Society with a Master of Arts degree in Public History from Central Connecticut State University.
Her experience in connecting multiple audiences to an organization’s resources and values comes from her work at a number of institutions that vary in size, audience and resources. Further, her background in history and education will be pivotal in developing more varied public programs that encourage a wider audience to appreciate local history.
Steward-Goldberg is no stranger to museum education. She is the creator and author of Looking Back, Moving Forward in Museum Education!, a blog that researches and discusses future trends in museum education. Before volunteering with the society’s education committee in 2017, Ms. Steward-Goldberg gained experience as an educator and interpreter at museums across Connecticut and Long Island, preparing her well to enhance the docent program at the Three Village Historical Society. Her experience at these small non-profit institutions has given her the basis for a solid understanding of the wide-ranging needs at TVHS.
“I am looking forward to continuing my work with TVHS as we share our educational opportunities with the public. I hope our programs continue to grow and expand to fit the needs of our community” said Ms. Steward-Goldberg.
“With Lindsey’s energy and enthusiasm, I’m confident that she will build upon the Society’s accomplishments by expanding our educational footprint throughout Long Island and beyond and inspiring young children’s inquisitive spirits and the community’s lifelong love and interest of history and learning,” said Mari Irizarry, TVHS Director.
A year ago, Vladimir Putin waged an unprovoked war against Ukraine. Today, he leads an army that is poorly trained, ill-equipped and increasingly resentful of his command. Pixabay photo
The Russo-Ukrainian War has become the largest European conflict since World War II, which ended in 1945.
A year after the Russian invasion, and with his nation fighting for its survival, Ukraine’s leader President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the world his forces would continue their efforts.
The year of bloodshed
At first, the international community believed the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv had no chance of holding out against a well-coordinated Russian assault. Yet the capital city remains in Ukrainian hands.
Some cities in Ukraine now resemble the World War II-ruined cities of Berlin, Dresden and Warsaw, buried in rubble.
At some points in the war, Zelenskyy has warned against the potential collapse of his lines as Russian assaults have been levied against his army. The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has relied on the costly strategy of attrition against the Ukrainians, even as his army has endured as many as 200,000 casualties.
During this year of fighting, Ukraine, with a smaller army, has relied on Cold War-era planes, helicopters, guns and tanks yet has thwarted Russian movement.
With European allies like Germany deploying Leopard tanks, the key to Ukrainian survival has rested in the constant supply of weapons from the coalition that the United States has created.
The war has demonstrated the might of American weaponry, which has stymied the Russians. Through the proximity of American bases in Poland and Germany, American forces have also trained Ukrainian noncommissioned officers to lead their soldiers better.
This expertise has also aided Ukrainian military officials, who have learned to mobilize Patriot air defense systems, Abrams tanks and artillery guns. Although the Biden administration has continually downplayed the deployment of fighter planes for the Ukrainians, reports indicate that training has already commenced for some of their pilots.
A disconnected dictator
Putin, meanwhile, continually targets civilian populations of Ukraine’s major cities and towns, causing death and destruction with hypersonic missiles that are almost impossible to shoot down.
On the world stage, the Russian army has no clear path to victory. Some of Putin’s soldiers have even sent videos to their families and the press, revealing how poorly equipped and trained they are to meet the Ukrainians on the battlefield.
Some Russians have openly criticized the government for mishandling the invasion effort. Putin’s government has lost much credibility along the way.
During the early days of the war, the Russian dictator said his goal was to rid Ukraine of its “Nazi” elements that influenced the government in Kyiv. During a recent G20 Summit in New Delhi, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was met with laughter when he said, “The war, which we are trying to stop, which was launched against us using Ukrainian people.”
These confused comments suggest an increasingly disconnected Putin regime, a Kremlin that has lost the global public relations battle to justify the war.
Resentment against the regime
Domestic instability has been a primary concern when looking at the Russian regime under Putin. The dictator is in constant fear over his own security, increasingly suspicious that he will be deposed.
The Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization that has spearheaded much of the fighting, has had several public differences in how this war was being carried out under Putin’s directives. Some believe that Putin views the Wagner Group as a threat to his own rule.
It is estimated that the Wagner Group has lost over 30,000 mercenaries, with about 9,000 fighters killed in action, U.S. officials said last month. Putin’s forces quickly surpassed the 15,000 Russians killed during the Soviet War in Afghanistan from 1979-89.
There is rising distress within the Russian population over the many soldiers who will not return alive. It has not helped Putin’s cause that his armies receive little training before being shipped off to the Ukrainian front against a battle-hardened foe.
Through the startling number of casualties, deficiencies in Russian hardware and a total lack of leadership, Putin has repeatedly stated that nuclear weapons remain on the table.
All signs point to a defeated and embarrassed former world power. At every turn, Putin has refused to believe the Ukrainians could mount a capable resistance. One year later, Ukraine continues to push for victory.
Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College. Written in conjunction with members of the high school’s History Honor Society.
Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society hosts a Give Back to Our Veterans Food Drive at the William Miller House, 75 North Country Road, Miller Place on Saturday, March 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.Canned and paper products are appreciated. Any person that donates can dedicate a rock to the Society’s Veteran’s Memorial Rock Garden. Stay and write a letter to a veteran to thank them for their service. All veterans are welcome to drop by for a cup of coffee. For more information, visit www.mpmshistoricalsociety.org.
Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden presenting Mark Sternberg, Culper Spy Ring historian at the Drowned Meadow Cottage, with a village proclamation. Photo by Raymond Janis
The Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees met on Monday, March 6, with a public meeting covering the East Beach bluff, youth programs, irrigation systems and public safety.
The board continued planning for the phase II upland wall project between the East Beach bluff and the restaurant facility at Port Jefferson Country Club, approving a modification to its drainage plan to accommodate racket sports facilities for $5,500.
Approaching its budget season, the board adopted a local law to enable it to approve a budget with a tax levy that exceeds the default tax levy under New York’s General Municipal Law. The local law passed 3-1, with Mayor Margot Garant absent and trustee Lauren Sheprow voting against it.
The board deliberated with Lisa Perry, president of the village-based nonprofit Long Island Foundation for Education & Sports, a children and family services group which rents a room in the Village Center.
The village lowered the room’s rental rate from $42 to $35 per hour following the COVID-19 pandemic to assist LIFFES with its expenses. Perry emphasized the program is a service to the community.
Following some back-and-forth, the board passed a resolution to continue billing the nonprofit at a $35 per hour rate for the remainder of LIFFES’ spring season. The two parties would revisit the rates for its fall season by May.
Suffolk County police officer John Efstathiou delivered the department’s report on public safety, noting the problem of vehicular theft throughout the area.
“Let’s lock our cars,” he said. “Let’s keep our cars locked in our driveways. Let’s lock them when you park in a parking lot because people are out here stealing many items from people’s vehicles.” He added, “Do not leave your keys in the car.”
Resident Arthur Epp inquired about xylazine — also known as tranq — an animal tranquilizer appearing in fentanyl supplies throughout the country.
Efstathiou said the 6th Precinct “has not seen that yet.” Because Narcan does not help in instances of xylazine overdose, he suggested the substance would remain on the department’s radar.
Acting code enforcement chief John Borrero during the code department’s monthly public safety report on Monday, March 6. Photo by Raymond Janis
Acting code enforcement chief John Borrero delivered the code department’s report. He took over as acting chief following the suspension with pay of Fred Leute last month.
Borrero reported a recent incident of two Rottweilers attacking a small dog. “They tore him up pretty good,” the acting chief said, adding that the owner received two citations.
Borrero urged, “Please keep your dogs tied up.”
Deputy Mayor Kathianne Snaden reported that the Jericho-based Beechwood Organization is in its final stages of closing on the Maryhaven property, with plans to convert that area to residential housing.
“Their plan is to build condos on that site,” Snaden said. “We have a lot of apartments being built uptown. We had some apartment buildings down here, but these will be owner-owned condos.” The deputy mayor added that Beechwood would soon submit its application to the zoning and planning departments.
Trustee Rebecca Kassay reported that the village is exploring potential solutions to the drought problem on Long Island, considering irrigating the golf course at PJCC using rainwater.
“This is the direction everyone seems to be going in,” she said. “The water situation has been serious.”
Trustee Stan Loucks reported that permits are now available for kayak racks. “If you have a kayak, canoe or vessel, you can pick up your applications right now,” he said. “The lottery for those racks will take place on April 3.” He added, “Hopefully, we have enough racks this year, so we don’t really freeze anyone out.”
He also reported that the walkways at Harborfront Park would be renovated in the coming weeks, with discussions in the works for rerouting some.
Trustee Sheprow said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council approved the date of Aug. 17 for the village’s annual community golf outing at a rate of $75 per player.
“Whoever wants to play who lives or works [in the village], volunteers for the fire department, working in the school district, works at the hospitals is welcome to participate in that golf outing,” she said, adding, “It was very successful last year.”
During the meeting, Snaden presented Drowned Meadow Cottage historian Mark Sternberg with a village proclamation for his research connecting Port Jefferson to the Culper Spy Ring.
Following the presentation, Sternberg delivered a brief address thanking those for supporting him in his historical endeavors and discussing the momentum behind the village’s local history.
“The energy with the cottage is so incredible, and I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t see smiles on so many people’s faces that are coming through,” he said. “It’s been an incredible ride, and I can’t wait to continue it.”
During the public comments, resident Myrna Gordon petitioned the village board to consider banning single-use plastic containers, particularly for village-sponsored events.
“I would hope that an ordinance or request can be made that the only kind of containers that can be used are environmentally friendly or paper products,” Gordon said. “We have to do away with the plastic.”
Brookhaven Town Historian Barbara Russell and Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine with a copy of a topographical map from 1778 showing Setauket Harbor, encampment of British troops and General William Tryon's headquarters.. Photo courtesy of TOB, Map courtesy of Port Jefferson Arts Conservancy
Brookaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine recently announced that Brookhaven Town Historian Barbara Russell is the first appointee named to the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission.
Mrs. Russell’s appointment by New York State Senator Robert Ortt II was at the request of State Senator Alexis Weik.
In January 2022, the New York State Legislature passed the New York State 250th Commemoration Act (S7700 and A8689) and Governor Hochul signed the legislation into law on February 24, 2022. The legislation establishes a 21-member commission to support and facilitate local efforts by heritage organizations, municipalities, and others in commemoration planning and programs.
The commission is co-chaired by the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Commissioner of the Department of Education, or their designees, and includes the New York State Historian.
In her role as Brookhaven Town Historian since 2005, Mrs. Russell, researches, interprets, and advocates local history for the Town. For more information about the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission, visit www.NYSenate.gov.
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