The Museum Corner at Middle Country Public Library, 101 Eastwood Blvd., Centereach has a new exhibit! Titled Pattern Pod, it features patterns in art, math, nature and language. Through engaging and colorful hands-on activities visitors will learn about symmetry and repetition, as well as number patterns, patterns that appear in art from Africa, Asia and South America, and patterns found in nature.
Middle Country Library cardholders may check out circulating Pattern Pod kits for at-home exploration and register for Museum Corner programs for children. The Museum Corner is open during regular library hours, Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call the Youth Services desk at 631-585-9393 ext. 559.
Middle Country Public Library, 101 Eastwood Blvd., Centereach has announced that the library’s Nature Explorium will reopen April 1.
Photo from MCPL
“We know that many of you are eager to visit the Nature Explorium and play outside. The Nature Explorium is an outdoor learning space for children and families to experience the benefits of nature. Children are invited to explore, play, and learn in a safe and natural environment. The Nature Explorium contains a variety of learning areas, all geared toward connecting children to a different aspect of nature. Whether they’re making a pie in the mud kitchen, climbing on a tree stump, or expressing artistic talent through song and dance on the Play It stage, children will discover the gift of the outdoors,” said the press release.
For more information and operating hours, please visit www.natureexplorium.org or call the library’s youth services desk at 631-585-9393 ext. 559.
Join the Middle Country Public Library for an exciting evening of career exploration! Long Island teens in grades 6 to 12 and first/second year college students are invited to register for this informative panel of professionals from specialized job fields who will give insights into their professions. Attendees will have an opportunity to chat with panelists one-on-one and learn about the library’s Career Counseling services.
Featured career panelists include:
Stephanie Knorzer: Owner/Operator, The Cookie Shop, Centereach
Dominika De Leon: Graphic Designer/Creative Director, Konwalia Design
Danielle Gruttaduario: Forensic Artist, Suffolk County Police Department
Karen Oswald: Senior Evidence Specialist, Suffolk County Police Department
Large Anthony: Tattoo Artist, Main Street Tattoo, Kings Park
Chris Kelly: Training Director, Long Island Electrical JATC with IBEW 25 & NECA LI Chapter
This event will take place on Wednesday, March 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Middle Country Public Library’s Selden location at 575 Middle Country Road. Registration required and open to district and non-district residents. Register in-person or call 631-585-9393 ext. 115.
Unknown couple circa early 1900s enjoying fishing in the pond. Photo from MCPL
Amongst the Middle Country Public Library’s many historical artifacts are a few that explain just how far the area has come from its pastoral roots. The picture and story below comes courtesy of a collaborative effort among the librarian staff.
Gould’s Pond is both! It is a pond, a body of fresh water, but it is also known as a kettle pond. This name is used for ponds or lakes which form when very large blocks of ice left by glaciers break off, stop moving and melt.
Photo from MCPL
This is exactly what happened when the glacier which formed Long Island reached its southernmost point on its journey down from eastern Canada over 20,000 years ago. There are many kettle ponds and lakes on Long Island, the largest of which is Lake Ronkonkoma. Lake Ronkonkoma is the largest freshwater lake on the Island, measuring approximately two miles in circumference. Fresh water has always been a valuable resource, and Gould’s Pond is one of our local treasures.
People have always chosen to live near water, and Long Islanders were no exception. Middle Country Public Library has some historic atlases which show exactly who lived near the pond back to the late 1800s. Here is an image from Fredrick W. Beers’ “Atlas of Long Island, New York” published in 1873. The pond is represented by a circular feature at the left side of the map.
Individual family names were plotted on older maps like this one. Here we can see labeled homesteads surrounding Gould’s Pond and the names of families who lived on Hawkins Avenue, Middle Country Road, Moriches Road and Saint James and others.
One of the earliest settlers we can name was Morgan Lewis Gould, whose home appears above the pond which bears his name. In 1886, the Town of Brookhaven paid Morgan Lewis Gould and his son, Henry Lewis Gould, $5 to maintain an unobstructed pathway connecting to the main road, four rods wide (approximately 60 feet), for public access to the pond, so residents could bring their livestock to water and to use it for general household purposes.
Two historic houses are still situated near the Pond today, most probably the M.L. Gould and T. Scott homes shown on our 1873 map.
In later years, with home wells or piped water, this freshwater pond was used more for leisure purposes, including ice skating and fishing. But during the 1880s the pond still had a practical purpose – as a source of ice before refrigerators and freezers were commonplace.
In this case, ice from the pond was harvested. It was cut by hand from the surface of the pond and stored for later use. Two separate icehouses were built along the shores of Gould’s Pond, used to store this ice during the warmer seasons.
The large chunks of harvested ice were tightly packed in these icehouses so they would not easily melt. Sometimes, straw or sawdust was used for insulation, and in many cases, icehouse foundations were built below ground to keep the ice frozen year-round. Research shows that after World War I, the icehouses were no longer necessary and were dismantled.
Today, Gould’s Pond is used for hiking, nature watching and fishing. A gentle hill which is popularly used for sledding lies next to the pond. This hill was most likely scooped out by that same glacier which formed the pond so many years ago. You can find Gould’s Pond at the corner of Moriches and Saint James Roads in Lake Grove, where a beautifully lettered sign marks its spot.
Unknown couple circa early 1900s enjoying fishing in the pond. Photo from MCPL
Gould’s Pond: Is it a pond or a kettle?
Amongst the Middle Country Public Library’s many historical artifacts are a few that explain just how far the area has come from its pastoral roots. The picture and story below comes courtesy of a collaborative effort among the librarian staff.
Gould’s Pond is both! It is a pond, a body of fresh water, but it is also known as a kettle pond. This name is used for ponds or lakes which form when very large blocks of ice left by glaciers break off, stop moving and melt.
This is exactly what happened when the glacier which formed Long Island reached its southernmost point on its journey down from eastern Canada over 20,000 years ago. There are many kettle ponds and lakes on Long Island, the largest of which is Lake Ronkonkoma. Lake Ronkonkoma is the largest freshwater lake on the Island, measuring approximately two miles in circumference. Fresh water has always been a valuable resource, and Gould’s Pond is one of our local treasures.
People have always chosen to live near water, and Long Islanders were no exception. Middle Country Public Library has some historic atlases which show exactly who lived near the pond back to the late 1800s. Here is an image from Fredrick W. Beers’ “Atlas of Long Island, New York” published in 1873. The pond is represented by a circular feature at the left side of the map.
Individual family names were plotted on older maps like this one. Here we can see labeled homesteads surrounding Gould’s Pond and the names of families who lived on Hawkins Avenue, Middle Country Road, Moriches Road and Saint James and others.
One of the earliest settlers we can name was Morgan Lewis Gould, whose home appears above the pond which bears his name. In 1886, the Town of Brookhaven paid Morgan Lewis Gould and his son, Henry Lewis Gould, $5 to maintain an unobstructed pathway connecting to the main road, four rods wide (approximately 60 feet), for public access to the pond, so residents could bring their livestock to water and to use it for general household purposes.
Two historic houses are still situated near the Pond today, most probably the M.L. Gould and T. Scott homes shown on our 1873 map.
In later years, with home wells or piped water, this freshwater pond was used more for leisure purposes, including ice skating and fishing. But during the 1880s the pond still had a practical purpose – as a source of ice before refrigerators and freezers were commonplace.
In this case, ice from the pond was harvested. It was cut by hand from the surface of the pond and stored for later use. Two separate icehouses were built along the shores of Gould’s Pond, used to store this ice during the warmer seasons.
The large chunks of harvested ice were tightly packed in these icehouses so they would not easily melt. Sometimes, straw or sawdust was used for insulation, and in many cases, icehouse foundations were built below ground to keep the ice frozen year-round. Research shows that after World War I, the icehouses were no longer necessary and were dismantled.
Today, Gould’s Pond is used for hiking, nature watching and fishing. A gentle hill which is popularly used for sledding lies next to the pond. This hill was most likely scooped out by that same glacier which formed the pond so many years ago. You can find Gould’s Pond at the corner of Moriches and Saint James Roads in Lake Grove, where a beautifully lettered sign marks its spot.
From left to right: Elizabeth Malafi, coordinator, Miller Business Center and Sophia Serlis-McPhillips, library director, MCPL; Maryellen Ferretti, retail market manager, V.P. Long Island East Region; Joseph Clements, V.P. store manager, Bohemia; and Patricia Owens, VP, store manager, Sayville, TD Bank. Photo from MCPL
TD Bank recently provided a generous grant of $2,500 to the Middle Country Library Foundation in support of the annual Women’s EXPO, the library’s educational and supportive venue where local women entrepreneurs and artists gain valuable tradeshow experience.
Here is a picture of a lopped tree cultivated in Middle Island standing in 1940, as photographed by Albert Bayles on June 29 of that year. Courtesy, Donald M. Bayles, Albert E. Bayles 1897-1963, A Lifetime in Middle Island, 2008.
Amongst the Middle Country Public Library’s many historical documents and artifacts are a few that explain just how far the area has come from its pastoral roots. The picture and story below come courtesy of a collaborative effort among the library staff.
To grow a fence — If this seems like an impossible idea, think again.
If you lived on Long Island during the late 18th century and you needed an enclosure for your livestock or wanted to create a boundary line, you’d most likely grow a fence instead of purchasing one.
Today we’d take a drive over to the local home improvement store to buy the posts and other supplies to erect a fence, or perhaps we would hire a contractor to take care of the project.
Whichever way we choose to install a fence nowadays, we have goods and services at our disposal to get the job done.
Take a look at these photos and read on to learn how our ancestors went about the same task, using materials at hand — trees or young saplings already growing in the proper locations.
As local historian Thomas Bayles wrote in his 1965 booklet, “Old Lopped Tree Fences,” live trees were partially cut with their tops bent over mounds of previously piled soil, in a technique known as “lopping.”
The bent section of the tree would begin to sprout roots and continue to grow. After several years the larger upright branches would become new trees and the “lopping” process would be repeated again. According to Thomas Bayles, these living fences could be maintained for a century or more, with the original offshoots developing into large trees, still attached to the original trunk.
One of the most fascinating facts about the lopped tree fences is that George Washington took note of them on his 1790 visit to Long Island, even writing several entries about them in his diary.
Lopped fences were very popular in our area at the time, and President Washington was quite intrigued by them.
However, he did note that they were not “hog tight,” meaning that the homesteaders’ pigs could get around or under the fences. Nonetheless, the settlers of the time favored these fences because their horses and cattle were safely contained within their borders.
Landowners learned that the fences could be reinforced by weaving in vines or adding other plants like saplings and woody shrubs along existing lopped tree fences to fill in gaps and provide a more secure barrier.
Over time, most of these trees have been removed, but some have been reported to be standing on Long Island as late as 1965.
A few may be standing yet. Next time you are driving or cycling down an old country lane or exploring a wooded area, see if you can spy a tree which looks as if it may have been coaxed into growing in this special way, and you’ll see a piece of our living local history.
If you locate a lopped tree and would like to let us know, please e-mail Middle Country Public Library’s Local History Team at [email protected].
Middle Country Public Library in Centereach hosted the annual Women’s EXPO on Nov. 5. This year the annual event, which celebrates women entrepreneurs, headed outdoors for the first time and set up in the library’s parking lot. According to Elizabeth Malafi, Coordinator, Adult Services and Miller Business Center at the library, the event featured over 40 exhibitors and more than 950 visitors who started their holiday shopping early.
One of the area’s favorite fall events, the Middle Country Public Library’s Women’s EXPO is back in person on Nov. 5 and, for the first time, outdoors. The annual event, which will feature more than 40 exhibitors this year, celebrates women entrepreneurs by connecting them with their peers, local business women and potential customers.
“We are eager to see some of our favorites and to meet a great selection of new women entrepreneurs at this year’s EXPO,” said Elizabeth Malafi, coordinator of the library’s Miller Business Center.
As always, the EXPO welcomes a diverse group of entrepreneurs with something for everyone. Shoppers can find items such as jewelry, pottery, handbags and home decor.Library director, Sophia Serlis-McPhillips, reminds us that the EXPO is much more than a trade show. “The library’s Miller Business Center works with these and other entrepreneurs all year, educating them on business topics and offering them ample opportunities to network with business professionals from throughout Long Island.”
TD Bank has been a sponsor of the EXPO since 2007. Maryellen Ferretti, Retail Market Manager, V.P./Long Island East Region says, “The Middle Country Library is a great partner with TD Bank because we both believe in giving back to the community in which we live and work. The Women’s EXPO is a great example of TD Bank’s commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs and business on Long Island.”
Let’s learn more about some of the women you’ll meet at the EXPO.
Jessica and Jennifer Morales, Luv Chic Boutique
Jessica and Jennifer Morales Luv Chic Boutique
On their birthday in 2019, twins Jessica and Jennifer Morales tossed around the idea of starting their own clothing business. They wanted Luv Chic Boutique to help “women feel beautiful, comfortable and confident.” Having worked at the Middle Country Library since 2014, Jessica knew the Miller Business Center can help entrepreneurs like her and her sister. Librarians at the Center connected them with the Stony Brook Small Business Development Center, where they were able to get their business going.
Learning as they went, Jessica and Jennifer started with big clothing drops, promoting via social media, but soon found that smaller collections were more successful. Both women look forward to growing their business, eventually adding accessories and even a store front.Jessica and Jennifer are eager to finally be a part of the EXPO as exhibitors as they have seen the energy of the day. “We are excited to do the show because it is such a big and important event.”
Shannon Messina,North Fork Creations
Shannon Messina
Shannon Messina of North Fork Creations is an EXPO veteran. She worked with her business partner and mother-in-law, Elaine, to create beautiful hand painted glassware. After Elaine passed away, Shannon had a difficult time picking up a paint brush so she tried something new. She started hosting paint parties at wineries out East and was building her new niche when Covid happened.
Like most small businesses, Shannon pivoted to survive, creating kits for people to paint at home and investing in a laser cutting machine. She loves the creativity involved with both painting and designing laser cut items and is looking forward to showing her new products to EXPO shoppers. “What’s so nice about the EXPO is that you speak with so many different types of people. Whenever I meet another woman [business owner] from Long Island, I tell them to do the EXPO.”
Cathy Buckley,Cathy Buckley Cat’s Meow
Cathy Buckley
Cathy Buckley always loved seeing the beautiful, unique handmade jewelry when she attended art fairs and felt inspired to make her own. Being a registered nurse, designing jewelry with copper, brass, silver and vintage items is also a way for Cathy to keep her sanity.During the pandemic, she shifted sales to online and worked hard to increase the presence of Cat’s Meow on Instagram and other social media outlets. Cathy even participated in the virtual EXPO last year but is eager to get back to in-person events. “I love the EXPO! It’s very empowering to be in the presence of so many women entrepreneurs.”
Diana McDonough,ACD Vinyl
Diana McDonough
Diana McDonough is BUSY! She works full-time and is a full-time grad student in Cyber Security at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NYC. Oh, and did we mention she runs ACD Vinyl? As many entrepreneurs did, during the start of the pandemic, Diana took her graphic design background and turned it into a business. She was happy to be able to use her creativity to make her own designs in cake toppers, stickers, cards, banners and more.
Each month, Diana donates a portion of sales to an organization focused on getting women & girls into STEM such as Girls Who Code. While most of her sales are online, Diana loves to attend shows so she can network with other small businesses. She is excited to attend the EXPO for the first time because “celebrating women and helping women is something I am extremely passionate about.”
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The annual Women’s EXPO will take place outdoors on Friday, November 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Middle Country Public Library, 101 Eastwood Blvd, Centereach. Admission is free and there is ample parking. The rain date for the EXPO is Friday, November 12th. For further information, call the library at 631-585-9393 x296 or visit www.womensEXPOli.org.
From left to right: Elizabeth Malafi, Sal DiVincenzo, Maryellen Ferretti and Sophia Serlis-McPhillips. Photo from MCPL
TD Bank has provided a generous grant of $5,000 tothe Middle Country Library Foundation in support of a new series focused on business and personal finance and the annual Women’s EXPO, the library’s educational and supportive venue where local women entrepreneurs and artists gain valuable tradeshow experience.
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