From left, Senator Mario Mattera, Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo, Town of Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth, guest speaker Gail Sheryn Kastenholz, Assemblyman Keith Brown, Rabbi Yakov Saacks, Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman, Rabbi Beth Klafter, Cantor Steven Walvick, Councilman Sal Ferro, Councilwoman Joan Cergol and Angel Cepeda Photo from Town of Huntington
Guest speaker Gail Sheryn Kastenholz at the ceremony. Photo from Town of Huntington
Guest speaker Gail Sheryn Kastenholz at the ceremony. Photo from Town of Huntington
From left, Commander Harry Arlin, Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman, Commander Gary Glick with guest speaker Gail Sheryn Kastenholz, Rabbi Beth Klafter, Councilwoman Joan Cergol, Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth, and Senator Mario Mattera. Photo from Town of Huntington
The Anne Frank Memorial Garden sculpture in Melville by artist Thea Lanzisero.
Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth hosted the Town of Huntington’s 11th annual Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony on June 22.
The Anne Frank Memorial Garden sculpture in Melville by artist Thea Lanzisero.
“We must counter the voices that seek to divide us and fight ignorance with education, which is why the Town honors the memory of Anne Frank every year and, through her voice, all those voices silenced through the Holocaust,” said Supervisor Smyth. “The iron wedding dress sculpture in the Anne Frank Memorial Garden appears vulnerable yet it has withstood the elements, and even acts of vandalism; its endurance represents the strength and fearlessness with which we must fight evil, ignorance and hate.”
Supervisor Smyth was joined by Councilwoman Joan Cergol, Councilman Dr. Dave Bennardo, Councilman Sal Ferro, Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman, Superintendent of Highways Andre Sorrentino, Senator Mario Mattera and Assemblyman Keith Brown at Huntington Town Hall, the rain location for the Anne Frank Memorial Ceremony, where the event streamed live on government access TV channels and on the Town’s website.
Commander Harry Arlin and members of Jewish War Veterans Post #488 were joined by Commander Gary Glick of the New York State Jewish War Veterans and provided a color guard to present the colors for the ceremony. Rabbi Beth Klafter from Temple Beth David in Commack delivered the invocation; Hazzan (Cantor) Steven Walvick of East Northport Jewish Center performed two vocal musical selections; and Rabbi Yakov Saacks from The Chai Center in Dix Hills delivered the invocation.
Guest speaker Gail Sheryn Kastenholz, a Huntington Station resident, Second Generation Survivor and Holocaust education advocate spoke about her parents’ experience as survivors of the Holocaust and how that formed her life path as an educator; she currently serves as a docent at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center in Glen Cove.
Attendees included Rabbi Lina Zerbarini of Kehillath Shalom Synagogue; members of the Tobay Hadassah in Oyster Bay; members of the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center in Glen Cove; and Town of Huntington Community Development Agency Director Angel Cepeda who is a Board Member of Voices for Truth and Humanity, a Holocaust education advocacy organization.
Refreshments for the ceremony, including those from Hummel Hummel Bakery in East Northport, were donated by Suffolk County Legislator Manuel Esteban.
“The Holocaust was not that long ago. If Anne Frank were still alive now, she would’ve been celebrating her 93rd birthday this year,” said Councilwoman Cergol.
“With each passing day it grows more and more critical to preserve the stories of those who managed to survive this mass genocide as well as those who did not. For our sake and for history’s sake, we gather for Anne Frank’s birthday to remember her and to recognize her immense contributions to for understanding our very much flawed human history through her writings but we also gather to affirm our vigilance for standing up for and protecting those in our modern society who suffer from continuing acts of hate. Let our Anne Frank Memorial Garden serve not just as an enduring reminder of what was lost and who is lost but also how much more we might lose if acts of bigotry go unchallenged,” she said.
The Anne Frank Memorial Garden, unveiled by the Town in June 2010 at Arboretum Park in Melville, symbolically captures the journey of Anne Frank’s life. It features a circular pathway that surrounds a garden, which leads to the sculpture of a young girl’s dress. The Memorial Garden serves as tribute to Anne’s legacy of wisdom and genuine belief in the goodness of mankind and human nature, despite the ugliness of war and discrimination.
The new website includes information about William Sidney Mount's home in Stony Brook.
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation and grant recipient The Heckscher Museum of Art have announced the launch of the new website, Historic Artists’ Sites of Long Island (www.lihistoricartistssites.org), developed by Graphic Image Group, Inc.
From the 19th century to present times, Long Island has held a special place in the creative imagination. From native landscape and genre painters William Sidney Mount and his family to modernist transplants like Arthur Dove and Helen Torr and the abstract expressionists who clustered on the East End, artists working in various styles and media, from traditional to experimental, have found common ground here.
The new website includes information about the Dove/Torr Cottage in Centerport
“Long Island has a proud place in American art history. Offering exceptional light and air, along with inspirational vistas, artists have always flocked here to live and work. This website links the studios and homes of some of America’s greatest artists over centuries. It offers a historic view into another aspect of our region’s rich creative and cultural heritage,” said Kathryn M. Curran, Executive Director of The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation in describing the importance of these locations, “I strongly urge you to explore these places and support the stewards who are dedicated to their oversight and promote their legacy.”
The website is an online guide to discover the living and working environments of some of America’s most influential artists. Visitors to the site can explore these homes and studios, experience the surroundings that inspired the artists, and gain insights into their creative processes. Many of these locations are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Locations on the website include the Arthur Dove and Helen Torr Cottage inCenterport — The Heckscher Museum of Art; Arts Center at Duck Creek (artist John Little) in East Hampton; D’Amico Institute (The Art Barge) (artists Victor D’Amico and Mabel Birckhead D’Amico) in Amagansett; Dan Flavin Art Institute at Dia Bridgehampton; and the Elaine de Kooning House in East Hampton; and the Leiber Museum (designer Judith Leiber and artist Gerson Leiber) inEast Hampton.
It also includes information about the LongHouse Reserve (artist Jack Lenor Larsen) in East Hampton; Pollock-Krasner House (Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner), East Hampton — Stony Brook University; Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran Studio in East Hampton; Watermill Center (artist Robert Wilson) in Water Mill and the Hawkins/Mount House in Stony Brook, home of William Sidney Mount — Long Island Museum.
The Coast Guard standing over some of the cargo from the Thelma Phoebe. Photo courtesy of the Henry L. Ferguson Museum Collection.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel
“The reality of the rumrunning business is a lot darker than local memory paints it.” In the fascinating book, Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island (The History Press), author Amy Kasuga Folk resists the whimsy and nostalgia often employed when writing about the Prohibition era. Instead, she offers a focused, detailed account, thoroughly researched and rich in detail.
Folk opens with a concise history of nineteenth-century alcohol consumption, the rise of the temperance movement, and how it connected to anti-immigrant sentiment. She points to the bias against immigrants and addresses the “nativist prejudice link[ing] the new arrivals with drunkenness.” Citing this fearmongering tips the book from an exclusively historical perspective to a sociological angle.
‘Rumrunning in Suffolk County: Tales from Liquor Island’
The creation of the Volstead Act banned the sale of alcohol, with Prohibition coming into force on January 17, 1920. Folk presents an informative overview of the history of drinking and liquor sources during the 1920s. Much of the book focuses on the change in the criminal element. Prohibition transformed street gangs dominating small areas into more dangerous organized crime. The time saw the rise of figures like Arnold Rothstein, Dutch Schultz, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel.
Folk has a strong sense of the business elements of rumrunning:
To give you an idea of how a big of a business this was, the gang on average paid $200 a week to one hundred employees when the average store clerk took home $25 a week, and they paid $100,000 a week in graft to police, federal agents and city and court officials. Despite these expenses, the gang still took in an estimated net profit of $12 million a year from the business.
At a time when a consumer could purchase a dozen oranges for twenty-five cents, the figures are astronomical.
Cargo ships would anchor just outside the territorial line of United States waters; then, small, fast boats would claim the liquor and take it back to shore. Thus, “rumrunning” was born. Shortwave radios were common—quoting coded messages and describinginventory, orders, sales, and other details. Messages were even broadcast through commercial radio stations.
The book chronicles year-by-year, from 1921 through 1932. Violence on both sides of the law was commonplace. From fisherman hiding bottles in their catches to potato trucks concealing cases of illicit whiskey, Folk shows the intersection of day-to-day life with the precarious, dangerous business that made “Long Island, which is also termed Liquor Island … the wettest spot in the entire country.” (County Review, February 1, 1924)
Glass and liquid weigh a lot. One way police could spot an inexperienced bootlegger was to look for a car that had sagging suspension. Photo from Library of Congress.
In a detailed exploration, Folk mentions judges, attorneys, law enforcement agents, and a full range of transgressors. She has a complete command of the large cast of characters, the hundreds of boats, and other vehicles, along with the events surrounding them. Anecdotes include raids, trials, missteps, and hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions of gallons of liquor. There are storms and drownings, shootouts, and collateral damage. From Southold to Huntington Harbor, the accounts tell of the clash of lawmen and gunmen. The authorcomplements the text with a wide range of period photos.
The book is not without a touch of humor, as in this account of April 1927:
In an effort to move faster by lightening their load, a rumrunner being chased by the Coast Guard had thrown case after case of scotch overboard. The cases riding the waves were estimated to be fifteen to twenty miles out, but they were floating towards the shore. Guardsmen from the Quogue station spotted the first crate floating inland, and by two o’clock in the afternoon, it had become a race—all the locals turned out determined to get a slice of the bounty floating toward their community before the government swept it all up.
“One of the problems of enforcing Prohibition was the revolving door of justice. The rumrunners and bootleggers had the money and the ability to easily make bail and walk away from the charges against them.” Sometimes, they would move their cargo when agents were testifying in court. In addition, the book addresses widespread government corruption as agents were basically “untouchable.”
Since 1797, Port Jefferson’s harbor had shipbuilding yards. The busy harbor allowed the ship Dragon to blend in for several weeks. Author’s collection
Case-in-point: the head of the industrial alcohol inspection section of the Prohibition office in New York, Major E.C. Schroeder, went to jail for blackmail. But the flip side was that the government agencies, especially the Coast Guard, were woefully understaffed to take on the mammoth problem. Most actions were based on well-grounded evidence and experience.
Great fear existed among civilians. Getting misidentified as a rumrunner or being caught in the crossfire between bootleggers and the Coast Guard was not uncommon. Hijackings of boats, people held prisoner, low-level criminals turned informants winding up with bullets in their foreheads, all composed elements of the time. The events and incidents were so complicated that even the newspapers gave conflicting reports.
For the casual reader or the historian, Rumrunning in Suffolk County provides an excellent introduction and a detailed account of the Prohibition era in the eastern Long Island community
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Author Amy Kasuga Folk is the manager of collections for the Oysterponds Historical Society, as well as the manager of collections for the Southold Historical Society and the town historian for Southold. Folk is also the past president of the Long Island Museum Association and the Region 2 co-chair of the Association of Public Historians. She is the coauthor of several award-winning books focusing on the history of Southold. Pick up a copy of the book at Amazon.com, or BarnesandNoble.com.
The Bayles Shipyard Band is pictured on the steps of Port Jefferson’s Plant Hotel, June 10, 1919. The band performed at ship launchings, Friday night dances, receptions, and costume parties. Source: National Archives
Following America’s entry into World War I, the number of employees at the Bayles Shipyard in Port Jefferson jumped from 250 in November 1917 to 1,022 in January 1919.
Since many of these workers could not find housing in the village, the United States Shipping Board campaigned to persuade the area’s homeowners to rent rooms to Port Jefferson’s shipbuilders.
A painting by commercial artist Rolf Armstrong was offered as a prize to the villager who did the most to alleviate the housing shortage. Since this and other efforts did not meet much success, the USSB retained architect Alfred C. Bossom to design cottages and dormitories in Port Jefferson for the burgeoning population.
Bossom recognized the urgent need to provide accommodations for the wartime labor force, his numerous commissions including the Remington Apartments high-rise complex built for workers at the Remington Arms munitions factory in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
To secure a site for Port Jefferson’s housing development, the Bayles Shipyard purchased almost 16 acres of land just west of Barnum Avenue from Catherine Campbell in July 1918.
Nine detached, one-family homes were designed by Bossom to reflect the character of “old Long Island fishing villages” and erected along Cemetery Avenue, later renamed Liberty Avenue.
Between 1921-23, Port Jefferson’s Plant Hotel served as a United States Veterans Training Center. Source: Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive
Bossom also designed a dormitory unit called the Plant Hotel since it accommodated employees at the Bayles plant. The Mark C. Tredennick Company, which had constructed buildings at the Army’s Camp Upton in Yaphank, was named the general contractor.
Now the site of Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, the Plant Hotel included 206 rooms, a cafeteria, powerhouse, athletic field and water purification facilities. A porch connected the three major wings of the complex.
Completed in December 1918 just after the Armistice on Nov. 11, the hotel soon became the center of social life for shipyard workers. A band was formed, a baseball team was organized and dances were held on Friday evenings.
In April 1919, the Emergency Fleet Corporation commandeered the Bayles Shipyard because of the unsatisfactory progress at the facility. The seized property, which included the Plant Hotel, was then sold to the New York Harbor Dry Dock Corporation.
When the new owners fired hundreds of shipyard workers, the number of boarders at the Plant Hotel dropped dramatically. To compensate for this loss, the hotel began offering rooms to transients by the day or week.
The Port Jefferson Times scolded the hotel’s new clientele for destroying electric bulbs, smashing wash basins, spitting on the floors and generally behaving as if they were hoodlums.
In December 1920, the NYHDDC shut down the Bayles Shipyard, dismissing all of its workers except for a skeleton crew. Confronted with a virtually empty Plant Hotel, the NYHDDC leased the complex to the Federal Board for Vocational Education, later renamed the United States Veterans Bureau.
The Plant Hotel, which had been extensively damaged by some departing boarders, was refurbished as a training center charged with teaching disabled soldiers and sailors.
The initial group of 125 veterans arrived at the Plant Hotel in October 1921. During a typical three-month stay, the men prepared for new careers and received medical care. For recreation, they were entertained by theatrical troupes, went on field trips and enjoyed Friday night concerts.
Port Jefferson’s Plant Hotel was still under construction on October 15, 1918. Photograph by Arthur S. Greene, National Archives
Despite pressure from local business groups and politicians, in June 1923 the Veterans Bureau left Port Jefferson as part of a nationwide plan to consolidate its rehabilitation facilities.
As demobilization continued, local businessman Jacob S. Dreyer purchased the Liberty Avenue cottages, which have changed hands several times over the years and are still standing. In July 1929, taxpayers in the Port Jefferson school district voted to purchase the Plant Hotel itself and the remaining 13 acres.
In subsequent elections, the citizens authorized the board of education to sell some of the hotel’s furnishings, grade the grounds and construct an athletic field on the site. In June 1934, the taxpayers voted to build a high school on the property.
The board of education quickly sold the Plant Hotel to a high bidder for $250. Workers then demolished the building and hauled away the wreckage.
Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson village historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.
Image depicts what Patchogue looked like circa 1800.
By Beverly C. Tyler
William Bacon, my third great grandfather, left his home in the Midlands of England on June 12, 1794. He booked passage on a ship out of Liverpool on June 22 and arrived at New York’s South Street Seaport on Aug. 23. He then traveled to Patchogue, Long Island, arriving on Aug. 28, 1794. Letters from his father and brothers between 1798 and 1824 and numerous trips I made to the villages of his youth provided the basis for this fictional letter to his father and mother.
A letter from William Bacon’s father Matthew. Image from Beverly C. Tyler
In 1794, England was at war with France, as was most of Europe. The resultant curtailment of trade was having a very negative effect on the British economy. The impressment of American merchant ship crews by the British had brought America and England very close to war again. President George Washington was in his second term as the first president of the United States and had recently appointed Chief Justice John Jay to negotiate a treaty of commerce with England.
On Long Island, Selah Strong was again elected as president of the trustees of the Town of Brookhaven, a post he had held every year since 1780, three years before the end of the Revolutionary War. In Patchogue, the Blue Point Iron Works, run by a Mr. Smith, was in full operation and looking to England, especially the Midlands, for young men like William Bacon who came from a long line of lead miners and iron workers.
July 4, 1794
M. Matthew Bacon Alderwasley Parish of Wirksworth Derbyshire, England
My Dearest Father & Mother,
I am writing this letter at sea. We are twelve days out from Liverpool and expect to arrive in New York before the end of next month. Today is Independence Day in America and as this is an American ship and crew, they celebrated the day with cannon fire and decorated the ship with flags. A special meal was prepared and the other passengers and I were included in the feast. Sitting with these new friends and enjoying their hospitality, I realized for the first time how much I already miss home and family.
Last month, the day before I left, as I sat on the hillside above our home, I realized that there was a part of me that would stay there forever. The green hills of Alderwasley will remain forever in my memory as will your kind smile and patience with me as I prepared to undertake this journey.
My resolve in going has not diminished in spite of my love for my family, for my home, and for the gentle rolling hills I have so often walked. The position in Mr. Smith’s iron works I regard as a chance to flourish in a land of opportunity as many others have done before me. America also offers the chance to live free of the will of the Lord of the Manor. He has been good to you, and generous, but he owns the very hills and valleys where I was born and grew up. In America my opportunities are limitless.
Please write and tell me if any from Wirksworth or Alderwasley have volunteered for the cavalry or infantry and how the war goes. I will send you the prices of pig and bar iron in English money as well as the prices of beef and mutton in the same as soon as I can. If brother Samuel is still in Jamaica after I arrive, ask him to come and see me when he goes through New York. The same for my brother Matthew if he comes to Philadelphia to trade as he plans.
I continue with great hope and anticipation and a deep sorrow at parting.
Your loving son,
William Bacon
Beverly C. Tyler is a Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the society at 93 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-751-3730. or visit www.tvhs.org.
Above, a rock wall in a wildflower garden will be featured in this year's tour. Photo from NHS
By Tara Mae
Step into the serene respite of a restorative stroll through historic gardens and finely curated flora with Northport Historical Society’s annual Summer Splendor Garden Tour on Sunday, July 10.
A self-guided tour of seven unique gardens in Eatons Neck, Northport, Fort Salonga, Asharoken, East Northport, and Greenlawn, this annual fundraiser for the society is one of its most popular events, according to Northport Historical Society Events Director Karol Kutzma.
One of the gardens in the tour. Photo from NHS
“It’s a joy for the horticulturists of the community. We have carefully selected from some of the most distinguished looking gardens to cover a variety of gardening styles. Every garden is different,” she said.
These privately owned and personally curated plantings include explorations of horticultural artistry, such as an organic farm garden, a modern allusion to Long Island’s agricultural past, and a wildflower garden, carefully expanded over the years, inspired by the famed English gardens.
The organic farm garden complements herb and pollinator plantings with a vernaculture design for an apiary as well as poultry coops, composting structures, and raised beds. The wildflower garden offers a visual banquet, interspersed with birdbaths and a rock wall.
Another stop on the tour highlights a garden that was developed by slowly introducing native plants over a 10 year period. Pollinators, birds, insects, and other wildlife recognize the plants and use them for food and shelter. Like many on the tour, it is a deer resistant garden. The property also showcases a pond and rain garden. All of these elements are purposed to benefit the ecosystem.
One of the gardens featured in the tour. Photo from NHS
Other gardens sport a plethora of shade and sun flowers, annuals and perennials, rose bushes, flowering shrubs, colorful trees, hidden paths, and sitting areas for immersing oneself in the sights, sounds, and natural perfumes. Crafted largely by the homeowners themselves, these gardens reflect different areas of interest.
“This tour is so much fun because visitors get to explore extraordinary gardens they would not normally have access to and get inspired by the gardener’s creativity,” Northport Historical Society Director Caitlyn Shea said. “I am quite impressed with how the community comes together to support and fundraise for the Historical Society.”
A few of the gardeners will be available to discuss their inspiration and process. Volunteers will be on site at every location to lead guests through the grounds, some of which also feature historic homes. One of the homes will be partially accessible and have a selection of food, drinks, and raffle tickets ready for purchase.
Each of the gardens will be only open to the public between noon and 4 p.m. Patrons will need to drive to the different stops on the tour and avail themselves of street parking. In order to enter the properties, they must present their tickets, which are actually tour booklets that give driving directions, comprehensive descriptions of the gardens, and other details.
Interested parties may register for the tour online at www.northporthistorical.org. Tickets are $35 for members, $45 for nonmembers, and $50 if purchased the day of the tour.
Patrons may pick up their ticket booklets at the Northport Historical Society, 215 Main St., Northport on Friday, July 8 or July 9 between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. or after 11 a.m. on July 10. Raffle donations will be accepted through July 5.
This Fourth of July, Long Islanders continue to grapple with the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence. Pixabay photo
Independence Day is upon us.
As we prepare for Fourth of July festivities, it is important that we keep in mind what this day celebrates: The signing of the Declaration of Independence, primarily authored by Thomas Jefferson, whose legacy continually evolves.
Jefferson was born April 13, 1743, in Shadwell in the Colony of Virginia into a privileged family supported by the labor of slaves.
His father was a planter and a surveyor. Jefferson later inherited his father’s land and slaves and began a lifelong project to construct his well-known estate, Monticello. But Jefferson was destined for a higher calling and was thrust into public life, where he would shape the course of American history.
The American revolutionary penman
Jefferson was a tall young man, but also awkward and reserved. He demonstrated, however, an early penchant for writing, a skill that served him well as he climbed the ranks of the Virginia House of Burgesses and later the Continental Congress.
Colonial leaders quickly grasped Jefferson’s compositional brilliance, but also observed he said very little. John Adams, who had worked closely with Jefferson in the Continental Congress, once said, “During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter three sentences together.” Jefferson was a man of the written — not spoken — word.
While serving in Congress in 1776, Jefferson captured the spirit of his era and produced the Declaration of Independence, a radical pronouncement of America’s uniqueness from the rest of the world, justifying why it was necessary for the 13 American colonies to break off from Great Britain.
Jefferson wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Millennia of human conflict and conquest had emphasized man’s separateness in the eyes of his fellow man. America is the only society in history predicated on the notion of human equality, the only place on Earth that had the audacity to proclaim that humans can harmoniously coexist regardless of their religion or race or ethnic background or any other criterion.
While Jefferson presented Americans this challenge, it is worth noting that he did not embody the ideals of the Declaration in his own life. Jefferson was a slaveholder, his place in society secured by the labor of slaves.
As we reflect upon the Declaration, it is questionable whether its author even believed in its principles. Despite the conflict between his head and his heart, Jefferson’s words impact us to this day.
Inspiring generations on Long Island
Jefferson’s patriotic fervor was felt undoubtedly here on Long Island. Most notably, the great Long Island patriot William Floyd had joined the revolutionary cause, becoming the only Suffolk County resident to sign the Declaration of Independence. Floyd served in the Suffolk County Militia and was a representative to the Continental Congress. He risked his life and property to resist British authority.
Setauket native Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge is another local hero of the American Revolution. Tallmadge is best known for his reconnaissance efforts, collecting information from the Setauket Culper Spy Ring.
During a daring raid in 1780, Tallmadge landed near Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai with a contingent of American soldiers. Undetected, they marched to Smith’s Point, attacked, and took this British supply base at Carmans River and the Great South Bay. Under orders from Gen. George Washington, Tallmadge destroyed large quantities of hay that was stored in Coram.
Floyd and Tallmadge are just two of the many local examples of service and sacrifice that occurred on Long Island during the revolutionary period. These figures fought to form a new nation, a nation that was first articulated by Jefferson.
Tour of Long Island
The first administration of the United States was headquartered in New York City, not far from Long Island. For this reason Jefferson, Washington and James Madison all visited the local area, a place that had sacrificed much and contributed greatly to the independence movement.
Jefferson and Madison traveled extensively throughout New York state and New England, eager to meet their new countrymen. Both leaders stayed in Center Moriches, where they met with Floyd near his estate. All his life, Jefferson had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Intrigued by the various Native American dialects and cultures, he met with several tribes in eastern Long Island.
Jefferson notably encountered the Unkechaug [Patchogue] Indian Nation. Because most of this tribe spoke English, Jefferson successfully transcribed many parts of their language. His research has helped keep alive cultural studies into one of the two remaining Native American groups here on Long Island today.
From Drowned Meadow to Port Jefferson
Jefferson’s influence can also be felt through the history of Port Jefferson, formerly known as Drowned Meadow. This now-bustling village was first settled in 1682, located within the heart of Suffolk County and the Town of Brookhaven. In 1836, the people of Drowned Meadow renamed their community in Jefferson’s honor.
During his address to Congress in 1806, Jefferson highlighted the importance of connecting the United States through infrastructure programs. He said that “new channels of communication will be opened between the States; the lines of separation will disappear, their interests will be identified, and their union cemented by new and indissoluble ties.”
Port Jefferson has always been known for the industriousness of its people, as a productive and forward-looking community. Look no further than its shipbuilding history or The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry to see how infrastructure investments from the past keep us connected to this day.
Port Jefferson is one of 30 towns and counties across the United States that have been named in Jefferson’s honor. Jefferson surely appreciated Long Island — its natural beauty, its indigenous cultures and the local patriots who provided necessary intelligence to gain tactical advantages over the British forces.
This Fourth of July, as residents and visitors enjoy fireworks shooting above Port Jefferson Harbor, they should remember their own place in history and the figure in history whose name their community bears today.
Rich Acritelli is a history teacher at Rocky Point High School and adjunct professor at Suffolk County Community College.
Major Jonas Hawkins, son of Major Eleazer and Ruth (Mills) Hawkins, was born in Stony Brook, Long Island, on April 28, 1752, in what is now known as the Hawkins-Mount House at the intersection of 25A and Stony Brook Road. Jonas married Ruth Mills on Jan. 1, 1775, a little more than three months before the first shots were fired at Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts on April 18 and 19, 1775, dates that marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
Jonas was one of 73 men who signed the Association on June 8, 1775. The men who signed pledged themselves to protect against British tyranny. The list also included Selah Strong, Jonathan and Samuel Thompson, who supplied intelligence to General Washington in 1777 before becoming refugees in Connecticut after their spying was discovered.
It appears that during the entire Revolutionary War, Jonas and Ruth remained at their home and farm in Stony Brook as six of their children were born there between 1776 and 1783. It is also known that Jonas made several trips into New York City to gather information that he supplied to General George Washington through the Setauket-based Culper Spy Ring. Hawkins also needed to make trips to New York City to purchase dry goods and other items he needed for the general store and ordinary he ran out of his home in Stony Brook.
A view of the Hawkins-Mount House, on the corner of Route 25A and Stony Brook Road. Photo by Beverly C. Tyler
Major Hawkins’ home was built in 1757, and the loading door on the third-story gable end still reads “Jonas Hawkins Store and Ordinary.” We don’t know exactly when the general store was started, but by 1780, and probably by the end of 1778, it was in full operation with Hawkins making frequent trips to New York City.
The bill of credit below, part of the Three Village Historical Society’s Local History Collection, is one of a number of handwritten bills that indicate the range of products that rural general store merchants stocked and had available. Bills of Credit for Jonas Hawkins from 1780 through 1784 indicate that he also made purchases from a number of wholesalers such as “Elijah & Isaac Cock,” “Woodhull and Dickinson,” “Pearsall Glover” and “Willet Seaman.”
“Bought of Peter Smith & co .. Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov 17th 1780
5 Razors at l/9 … 8 .. 9 (8 shillings, 9 pence)
1 gross sleeve buttons 19..
1 Bladder Snuff 4/6 18..7
6 u(units) pepper @ 3/6. 1. .. 1 (1 pound, 1
shilling)
Mr. Jonas Hawkins”
The range of items Jonas purchased is quite extensive and indicates that local residents, especially after the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), had a wide range of goods available from the country general store. Jonas Hawkins, bought quantities of “Callico” (imported’ cotton textile), “Linnen,” “Superfine cloth” (finely woven linen), “Durant” (A variety of worsted wool),” “Cambruk” (cambric, linen or fine white cotton glazed on one side), “gause, thread, narrow Blk binding, cordarry” (corduroy) (and) calimmink” (calimanco-a European woolen cloth of satin weave in an imitation of camel’s hair).
Hawkins also purchased tea, nutmegs, clover seed, barrels of sugar, raisins, rum, gin, wine, and tobacco. From another supplier, he received “twist” (mottled woolens), buttons, bibles, pins, writing paper, shoe bindings and sewing silk as well as other cloths called “blue Tabareen” (Tabbinet-an Irish-made poplin), “Blue Morine” (Moreen:-a stout ,water- embossed finished fabric of wool or wool and cotton), and “black Tafaty” (taffeta-a rich thin silk). From yet another supplier, he received sickles, scythes, pen knives, tobacco boxes, and something listed as “1 doz Tomatum.” From Andrew Van Tuyh he received over 100 yards of green, brown and “mixt German Sarge” (serge) as well as metal buttons and 1 doz silver spurs. Locally, “Mr. Hawkins bought of Edward Dayton — 8 paire of shoes at 7s (shillings a) pair.”
Before the Revolutionary War, the seemingly inexhaustible supply of American lumber and timbers, plus a few manufactured items such as barrels went from U.S. ports to the West Indies where they were traded for rum, molasses and sugar. This island produce was then shipped to England to be traded for manufactured goods; clothing, glass, china, and tea, to name just a few. This movement of goods was known as a “Triangle Trade.”
After the Revolutionary War, this Triangle Trade, was extended to other European countries and to China as American ships began to bring their own tea, spices and other commodities back to the United States from all corners of the world. This increased trade brought the country general store into its own as an institution. It was an original American idea, an outgrowth of independence, an example of Yankee know-how and frontier enterprise at its best.
In large part, no money changed hands between the country general store owner and the importer or between the merchant and the local seller of eggs and bacon. Bills of credit were commonly given by the importers and continued to be the general practice until late in the 19th century. The country merchant’s major asset was the produce that he collected by barter. The general store owner was in contact with the large general stores in New York City, which sold both wholesale and retail, as well as, with the coast-wise schooner captains, freight shippers, money brokers and various jobbing houses.
The country general store was a natural gathering place for residents of the community, especially in the cold winter months, when many farmers, farmhands and seaman had nothing better to do. There was often a bench in the store, placed outside in the warmer months, called the liar’s bench. In the colder weather, the men who came to the store would find places close by the stove, which often sat in the open near the middle of the room. It was here that stories were told, tall tales were spun, and the latest information on the state of the nation and the world was discussed. It was often the store owner who had the latest newspaper from New York City or there was a ship captain who had just arrived with fresh news from one of the major ports.
Benjamin Franklin Thompson (his father called him Franklin) was just 16 years old in 1801. He was a hard, if not willing, worker on his father’s farm in Setauket, and he was often sent to “Jonas Hawkins Store and Ordinary” for a variety of items. “November 18, 1800 – Tuesday … Franklin rides to Major Hawkins to carry 36 yards of cloth, gets half a pound paper of tobacco at 0/9 (0 shillings/9 pence) carries 2 bushels of wheat to mill (Stony Brook Grist Mill) and fetches it home.”
About half the entries in Samuel Thompson’s diary, which detail trips to the general stores in Setauket and Stony Brook, indicate that Samuel went himself. “July 23, 1800 – Wednesday . . . Ride to Major Hawkins yesterday fetch 2 gall Rum pay 17/. Buye six yards of callonnick for my wife a pettecoat pay 24/ for it.”
It was usual for Samuel Thompson to visit the home and store of Jonas Hawkins since he was one of the few doctors in the community, and the general store was a vital source of news about local residents, as well as being the source of many of Dr. Thompson’s medicines. “October 9, 1800 – Thursday . . . I ride to see Betsey Kelly then to Major Hawkins in the afternoon pay 10/ for a gallon of rum get 10 oz common Peruvian Bark pay 3/11.” Dr. Thompson also listed Senna, Quaccuim and white viltrol as medicines that he purchased during the year 1800 from Major Hawkins Store.
The country general store owners were usually a fairly easy-going lot, and they put up with a great deal of tomfoolery from the bench warmers. They were also a very no-nonsense breed who recognized a good product or a good worker. One general store owner, the story goes, was sweeping out his store under the watchful eye of an early morning customer. “Where’s Benny? Sick today?” asked the small, thin woman as she reached across the counter to inspect the latest calico. “Gone two days,” the merchant said. The lady, seemingly absorbed in her inspection, added, “Anyone you considering to fill the vacancy?” The store owner went on with his sweeping and, without pausing to reflect on the question, replied, “Not expecting to, Benny didn’t leave no vacancy.”
Samuel Thompson recorded in his diary an average of one trip a month to the general store of Major Jonas Hawkins. His purchases for 10 months included 12 gallons of rum, (Dr. Thompson had a 200-acre farm and at least 5 farmhands, most of whom were slaves) 1½ gallons of [gugg], plus small quantities of sherry, gin and brandy. He also records the purchase of earthen cups, pipes, a pitcher and pins.
As the 19th century began, the country general store began to change and grow. In 1805, Artemas Kennedy of Arlington, Massachusetts, (near Boston) started the Kennedy Biscuit Company. The first “sea biscuits” were supplied to clipper ships as a staple for sailors on the long voyages around the horn to California. The sea biscuit or cracker soon became popular on land as well as at sea, and the cracker barrel soon became a standard item in the country stores.
Beverly C. Tyler is a Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the society at 93 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-751-3730. or visit www.tvhs.org.
'Sublime', Anne Frank Garden Memorial by Thea Lanzisero
Ceremony to Feature Second Generation Survivor, Holocaust Education Advocate Gail Sheryn Kastenholz
Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth will host the Town of Huntington’s 11th Annual AnneFrank Memorial Garden Ceremony on Wednesday, June 22, at 4:30 p.m. in the AnneFrank Memorial Garden at Arboretum Park on Wilmington Drive (between Threepence Drive and Roundtree Drive) in Melville.
The AnneFrank Memorial Garden symbolically captures the journey of AnneFrank’s life. It features a circular pathway that surrounds a garden, which leads to the sculpture of a young girl’s dress. The Memorial Garden serves as tribute to Anne’s legacy of wisdom and genuine belief in the goodness of mankind and human nature, despite the ugliness of war and discrimination.
Program participants include Rabbi Beth Klafter of Temple Beth David in Commack, Rabbi Yakov Saacks of The Chai Center in Dix Hills, musical selections by Hazzan (Cantor) Steven Walvick of the East Northport Jewish Center; and remarks from guest speaker Gail Sheryn Kastenholz, a Huntington Station resident, Second Generation Survivor and Holocaust education advocate.
Attendees of the AnneFrank Memorial Garden anniversary celebration may take a walk through the garden following the program and will be offered light refreshments, donated by Suffolk County Legislator Manuel Esteban.
On June 14, National Flag Day honors Old Glory and commemorates the adoption of the United States flag on June 14, 1777.
The American flag is a symbol of the country’s history, pride and success in overcoming political oppression. Through its many incarnations and variations, the Stars and Stripes has waved over government buildings, schools and private residences.
According to History.com, in 1775, the Second Continental Army led to the creation of the first “American” flag. However, that flag was too similar to the British Union Jack flag, George Washington requested a revision. In 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that the “flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white.” Furthermore, the “union” was represented by 13 stars of white in a blue field, “representing a new constellation.”
More than a century later, a small-town Wisconsin teacher named Bernard Cigrand came up with the idea for an annual flag day in 1885. Even though the Fourth of July, a holiday in which the flag is prominently and proudly displayed, had long been celebrated as the birthday of the United States, Cigrand wanted a holiday that would focus specifically on the flag in all its glory. June 14 was selected because it marked the anniversary of the official adoption of the first flag. Cigrand led his school in the first formal observance of the holiday, and throughout his life continued to advocate for respect of the flag.
Various other organizations liked the idea of a day to honor the flag, including the State Board of Education of New York, the Betsy Ross House and the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution. Yet, it wasn’t until May 30, 1916, that Flag Day was officially established by presidential proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson. Still, it would take another 33 years for President Truman to sign an Act of Congress designating June 14 as the official National Flag Day, which he did on August 3, 1949.
Americans can honor the flag by displaying it on Flag Day. Here’s how to display the flag properly, courtesy of Military.com:
• The flag should be free of any obstructions, such as power lines or tree limbs.
• Flags should only be displayed in public from sunrise to sunset, unless the flag can be properly illuminated during darkness. In this instance, it may be displayed at all times.
• When displayed with other flags, such as on a single staff or lanyard, the U.S. flag should be above all other flags. If flags are displayed in a row, the U.S. flag goes to the observer’s left.
• State and local flags are traditionally flown lower than the American flag.
• During marching ceremonies or parades with other flags, the U.S. flag should be to the observer’s left.
• The flag should be displayed at every public institution and at schools during school days.
• The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.
• The flag is often displayed at half-staff on days of mourning, including Memorial Day. The flag should first be hoisted to the peak for an instant, then lowered to half-staff position, which is half the distance between the top and bottom of the staff.
• On a vehicle, the U.S. flag should be displayed from a staff firmly fixed to the chassis. It should not be draped over the hood, top, sides, or back of a vehicle.
• The flag should never touch anything beneath it.
• When displayed vertically and not on a staff, the union should be on the left when observed. It should be suspended so its folds fall freely as though the flag were staffed.
• Flags can be repaired. However, a flag in poor condition should be destroyed with dignity, preferably by burning. Most American Legion posts and local Boy Scouts troops will have the resources to retire flags accordingly. Many will host annual flag retirement ceremonies on Flag Day.
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