On Aug. 20, Mount Sinai’s Heritage Trust, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, hosted Summerfest 2016 at Heritage Park.
The event featured live music, including Dog House Blues Band, The Jukebox Explosion and Rock Nation; vendors; a beer tent; raffles and other family fun.
By Desirée Keegan
Thousands of dollars have made their way to North Shore historical nonprofits, which will help continue to preserve Long Island’s rich history and educate others on it.
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation funds Long Island’s history-based 501(c)(3)s, museums and universities to help with object conservation, historical preservation, education programs and exhibits. The organization was established in memory of Gardiner’s Island, a part of East Hampton town.
“The foundation grants have become highly completive,” Executive Director Kathryn Curran said. “For this round, the board reviewed 43 applicants that covered every form of historic outreach. Projects included restorations, exhibitions, programs and collection digitization.”
Most recently, local historical societies, Friends of Science East Inc., Suffolk County Historical Society, The Nature Conservancy, 3rd NY Regiment Long Island Companies and Stony Brook Foundation, among others, were the 2016 first round recipients.
Joseph Attonito, chairman of the board of directors, said there were many great groups to choose from.
“It is very gratifying to have so many worthwhile organizations overseeing our local heritage and preserving our history,” he said. “Bob Gardiner would be very pleased.”
Rocky Point Historical Society received $7,500 for restoration use and, according to historical society President Natalie Aurucci Stiefel, the funds are being used for repairs and restoration of The Noah Hallock House, built in 1721.
“We feel very privileged to have the foundation choose us for that grant,” she said. “It is important to keep this historic house in good shape. We would’ve had a hard time fundraising that money.”
According to Stiefel, the house, which holds tours on Saturdays between 1 and 3 p.m., was the birthplace of revolutionary soldiers, and had the possibility of being torn down several years ago before Mark Baisch, owner of Landmark Properties in Rocky Point, stepped in to help.
“We still have staircases that the servants and slaves used,” Stiefel said. “It’s filled with artifacts and photographs from the 18th and 19th century, and there’s even a 20th century room dedicated to the radio history of Rocky Point.”
The Port Jefferson Harbor Educational and Arts Conservancy received $16,354.09 for it’s annual Heritage Weekend festivities.
According to Nicole Christian, a consultant for grant writing for Port Jefferson Village, about 50 percent of the funding from the weekend came from the grant.
“The larger, more impactful exhibits and reenactments that would have lasting public benefit, that’s what they supported,” she said.
“We made sure that we tailored a lot of the activities that you see with the cars and the beach scene — we made sure that it all weaves together to celebrate the history of Long Island, particularly the 18th century.”
All 19 locations around the village that hosted the event covered a particular time period in Long Island’s history. According to Christian, the funding helped Port Jefferson be able to create a larger and grander event than would have originally been possible.
“We had all levels of recreational activities here,” she said. “We’re hoping that [visitors took] away a greater appreciation for Long Island’s role in 18th century history, the colonial period, the Revolutionary War, a recreational pastime. People don’t know that [Port Jefferson was] a magnet of recreation for all families.”
The Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson also received grant money, totaling $22,000 for restoration purposes.
The 3rd NY Regiment Long Island Companies was awarded $12,000 to substitute payment customarily made by collaborators, host sites and venues during the campaign season, allowing those organization to apply those resources to other priorities associated with their missions. The Regiment partakes in re-enactments to educate Long Islanders on the Revolutionary War.
“They are quite an extraordinary group of volunteers who perform a vital role in helping our county’s residents and visitors get a very personal education about colonial life and the role Long Island played in the Revolutionary War,” Richard Barons, the executive director of the East Hampton Historical Society, said.
The Smithtown 350 Foundation received a $5,000 grant toward anniversary events, as the town celebrated its 350th anniversary this year. The Walter S. Commerdinger Jr. County Park Preservation Society in Nesconset received $100,000 for restoration and preservation purposes.
The Huntington Historical Society received a $12,728 grant that Executive Director Claudia Fortunato-Napolitano said will be used to purchase new technology products and technical support.
“With the new technology and updated software that [the] funding will provide for, the society can continue to stay relevant in the 21st century,” Fortunato-Napolitano said in an email. “We will be able to stay better connected with our members and donors, while increasing the number of people who we can help with their research… [It] will lead directly to the growth of the organization as the goal is for the society to successfully engage more members of the public and the community. For small not-for-profits like ours with a limited budget, vital technology updates is often an item that can seem too costly to afford.”
The Old First Presbyterian Church in Huntington received $50,000 for restoration and conservation of the steeple.
The Ward Melville Heritage Organization was awarded $22,500 for an educational program called Distance Learning.
According to Gloria Rocchio, president of the organization, an instructor will give a lesson, in say, the Bewster House, and it would be filmed and broadcasted onto the Distance Learning website.
“People from around the world could learn about the rich history we have here,” she said. “We already have the cameras installed in the Thompson House and the Brewster House, and we’re developing programs for them. Once program should be ready this fall, and the other should be ready next spring. It’s very exciting.”
Friends of Science East Inc., more commonly known as Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe in Shoreham, received $17,500 for capacity-building technology and $3,800 for collections care.
According to board of directors President Jane Alcorn, the funding will be used to survey the property, especially the lab building and power base, to study its historic nature — identify which parts are historic, have architectural drawings done, and figure out which parts are critical to preserve and protect, and how to do it.
“The funding will help as we continue to protect the site as we work toward getting it on the National Register of Historic Places,” Alcorn said. “We know the history of the project is historic. It has significance because of Tesla’s work there — it’s a scientific site. Its architectural origins, in inspiration of Stanford White, an important architect at his time, [are also significant].”
Alcorn said that every dollar is significant, as the nonprofit looks toward the future of turning part of the site into a museum — and the funding makes the creation of a museum more exciting, if the organization can get the property on the national list.
“We believe in preserving and making the best possible choice in how we use that space,” she said. “Having the grant enables us to develop ideas that bring together the past and the future. We have far more fundraising to do moving forward, so the contribution really helps us realize and achieve the steps necessary to move forward. The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has been magnificent, and we applaud their foresight into giving to organizations such as ours, who want to preserve the best of the past.”
Victoria Espinoza and Alex Petroski contributed reporting.
The Huntington Manor Fire Department responded to a car fire in the parking lot of the South Huntington Library on Pidgeon Hill Road Sunday night, Aug. 21.
By Joseph Wolkin
North Shore natives in need of a total knee replacement can now get a revolutionary surgery right in their own backyard. In July, John T. Mather Memorial Hospital became one of the first in the United States to conduct a robotic-assisted total knee replacement surgery.
Laurie Mullens, a patient at the hospital, hopes she is on her way to being pain-free, following a groundbreaking surgery she received at John T. Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson in late July. She said she has dealt with painful arthritis in her knees for more than a decade.
The 63-year-old Farmingdale resident thought she tried everything to alleviate her knee pain. Mullens was frustrated, as the pain was not allowing her to walk properly. She lived with what she described as severe and sharp pains in her knees, and when treatments failed to reduce her pain, Mullens opted to have knee replacement surgery.
On March 17, Mullens had her first knee replacement surgery at Mather. While recovery time after the surgery usually takes six months to a year, after four months she said she wasn’t feeling positive about her improvement. When the pain continued, she went back to Mather.
Dr. Brian McGinley, who graduated from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, did something different with Mullens. Instead of performing the surgery with only human hands, he opted to have a robot assist in the operation. While the hospital has used robot assistance in partial replacement procedures for about a year, no one had used one for a total knee replacement yet.
“I control the data put in the computer, and I set the parameters of which I want to cut the ends of the bone. The robot allows me to match those parameters by one millimeter of my plan because it is so specific.”
—Brian McGinley
“It’s robotic-assisted surgery, so the robot is controlled by a computer,” McGinley said. “I control the data put in the computer, and I set the parameters of which I want to cut the ends of the bone. The robot allows me to match those parameters by one millimeter of my plan because it is so specific. When I’m cutting the surface of the bone, it turns off if I go more than one millimeter outside where I set it on the computer.”
McGinley opted to use the robot for the entire surgery, as opposed to the partial usage common at Mather.
“They didn’t really tell me anything other than it was there to assist them in doing the surgery,” Mullens said. “It’s just assisting him, so I didn’t have to worry it wasn’t done by a surgeon.”
The surgery featured the Navio Surgical System, which utilizes hand-held robotics. When done with the system, the procedure is meant to produce precise results for knee replacements.
“We’ve been working on this project for two years, and we’ve been using computer-assisted surgery at Mather for many years,” McGinley said. “Now, we have the next-step technology to have surgery that’s robot-assisted. It’s completely safe because we’re still in control, performing the function with the assistance of the robot. There are no real major errors that can be placed in the system. If the power fails, we still have our traditional instruments that we can use.”
According to Blue Belt Technologies, creators of the Navio Surgical System, the robotic devices have led to reports of improved accuracy and repeatability of implant placement.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were 757,000 knee replacement surgeries in the United States in 2011.
While the end goal is to make the surgery quicker, Mullens’ surgery took 15 minutes longer than Dr. McGinley would have liked.
“It’s a little slower right now because we’re still trying to figure out the methodology during the procedure,” McGinley said. “I’m expecting to get that time down in the operating room.”
Since her July 20 surgery, Mullens said she has experienced aches and pains similar to the aftermath of her first operation.
“It’s to be expected because I had both knees done,” she said. “It’s very swollen and it’s an uncomfortable recovery. That’s the way it goes. But I’m recovering very quickly — as quickly as to be expected.”
The technology is currently being studied to see what can be improved in order to make it more efficient and eventually more widely used. According to McGinley, the doctors who are using the robot are coming together to see if it is a valid treatment option for patients.
Suffolk County Police have arrested 19-year-old Danny Bonilla Zavala for driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene after a man was killed in a Port Jefferson Station motor vehicle crash on Aug. 21.
Bob Hidalgo was driving a 2011 Toyota Corolla southbound on Route 112 near Sagamore Hills Drive when his vehicle was struck by a 1995 Nissan Maxima traveling southbound on Route 112 at 5:10 p.m. Bonilla Zavala, the driver of the Maxima, of Selden, fled on foot and was apprehended a short time later by Sixth Precinct Police Officer Matthew Cameron.
Hidalgo, 31, of Coram, was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician’s assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. His wife, Taisha Hidalgo, 30, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Bonilla Zavala was transported to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson for treatment of minor injuries he sustained in the crash. Major Case Unit detectives charged Bonilla Zavala with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death. Bonilla Zavala was held at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip today.
The vehicles were impounded for safety checks and the investigation is continuing. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Major Case Unit detectives at 631-852-6555.
This version correctly identifies Danny Bonilla Zavala, who was arrested and charged with a DWI and leaving the scene of an accident. He initially misidentified himself to police. Additional charges are pending.
Every project has its perks, and in the case of one large North Shore endeavor, the possibilities are endless.
U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), along with other local officials, recently announced a 2018 completion year for the Port Jefferson Station to Wading River Rails to Trails project — that has been more than 30 years in the making. With the plan, which involves paving a bike path where old railways existed to be used for cyclists, potential is everywhere.
While the project will provide a safe space for biking enthusiasts, skateboarders, roller-bladers and even those just looking to take a scenic stroll, there is also a huge chance for economic growth, with the path connecting so many Town of Brookhaven hamlets. Bikers, hikers and anyone in-between could stop at kiosks along the path to grab a bottle of water or an ice cream cone, or groups may stop in any hamlet along their travels to grab dinner or go shopping. The trail could also be a way to connect locals, and tourists too, to local beaches, museums and other landmarks.
It’s also just a great opportunity to explore the wonders of the North Shore. The plan helps preserve even more open space while stringing together breathtaking views that tend to get lost in all of the development on Long Island.
Further, the trails should serve as inspiration for cars to be left at home occasionally, which can only have a positive impact on the environment around us.
This project is attractive on multiple levels and across multiple layers of government. We applaud officials for being able to work together and across party lines to achieve a common goal with so many benefits.
By Daniel Dunaief
Stony Brook University is taking to the skies to help people on the ground in Madagascar. Through its Global Health Institute, SBU plans to bring drones to the island nation off the southwest coast of Africa that will carry medical samples from hard-to-reach villages to its state-of-the-art research facility, Centre ValBio.
Late last month, Peter Small, the founding director at GHI, brought a drone to Madagascar, where it flew from the research station to a nearby village. The drones can fly like an airplane over 40 miles of terrain, while they take off and land like a helicopter, enabling a smooth ride to protect the samples inside the cargo area.
“Our challenge is to align the most pressing challenges that are amenable to supply chain and specimen transport and intervention,” Small said. Madagascar is dealing with “high rates of tuberculosis” among other health challenges, he said, adding that a university like Stony Brook can take complicated problems and find solutions in the real world.
The drones can provide two important functions for Madagascar: monitoring the outbreak of any unknown and potentially dangerous disease and offering health care for people who live in areas that are inaccessible by road, Small said.
“Diseases like Ebola and Zika frequently pop up in remote areas,” said Small, a medical doctor who worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation prior to joining Stony Brook University in 2015. Having sites where drones can land and collect specimens will allow village health workers to send off specimens for analysis, providing greater clarity on the incidence of specific diseases throughout the country.
Additionally, people in remote areas can send samples back to a lab to test for medical conditions, such as tuberculosis. After medical technicians run tests, the drones can return not only with drugs that can treat the condition but also with instructions on how to treat patients.
The drones can carry a special box to record whether a pill bottle is opened. The box also can carry a sound recorder that can recognize and count coughs, Small said. When the drone returns with another supply of medication, the previous medicine can make the return trip to the lab, where doctors can determine whether the cough is getting better and can see how much medicine the patient took.
Ideally, the drones will not require any specialized knowledge to fly. Once people in rural villages have a signal, they can request a drone, which can transport samples to a lab or bring medicine back to the village.
“We want to put these drones in the hands of the village health workers and the local health system,” said Small. He said those working with this project hoped people in the village would welcome this medical service but were unsure how it would be received. “We had no idea how people would respond to these” drones, Small said. The initial run, however, was successful. GHI plans to bring two more drones to Madagascar in the next few months.
A company in Michigan called Vayu manufactures the drones, which weigh 35 pounds, are about the size of a picnic table and can carry up to a 5-pound payload, said Daniel Pepper, the company’s chief executive officer. Using an electric, rechargeable battery, the drones can travel up to 40 miles. In the near future, Pepper hopes to increase that distance to as many as 65 miles.
Vayu has manufactured dozens of these drones. The recent Madagascar test was the first time they had used the unit in an international setting. Pepper is “speaking to partners and potential customers in over a dozen countries,” including the United States, where drones might offer a connection between medical centers in urban areas and harder-to-reach rural communities.
Pepper said the drone was the only one on the market that’s electric powered and can carry this payload over this range. “It takes off automatically and lands vertically,” he said and described the landing as “soft.”
According to Small, Madagascar could benefit from these drones, particularly in diagnosing the myriad health challenges of the area. “Madagascar is a remarkable area to start addressing some of these problems and bringing innovation,” he said.
In some villages, as many as 90 percent of people have intestinal parasites, which contributes to malnutrition and stunts growth, Small said. Small and Patricia Wright, the founder and executive director of Centre ValBio who has been working in the area for 30 years, are hoping to broaden and deepen the connection between Stony Brook and Madagascar.
The dental school has coordinated dental missions to treat hundreds of patients a day. Small said the dean of the dental school, Mary Truhlar, recently visited Madagascar to go beyond medical missions to “engage in improving the quality and training, care and health system issues.”
Small is excited with the way computational science and high-end mathematics are coming in to describe the complexities of health problems to the government of Madagascar. This will assist the government in generating medical priorities. Small has set some large goals for his role: “If life is not palpably better in five, 10 or 15 years” in Madagascar, “I will have failed at my job.”
By Ellen Barcel
Every garden is a reflection of the tastes of the gardener: a children’s play area, fresh veggies, grapes for homemade wine or jam, a place to read and relax in the extensive greenery, privacy around a swimming pool, etc.
While some plants have little or no scent, or an unappealing one, many have a sweet or pleasing scent. Depending on your preference, you may want a very fragrant garden; or, if you’re allergic to sweet scents, you may want to know which plants to avoid. Here’s a rundown of some very fragrant, sweetly scented plants that will perfume your garden and your home.
Lilacs are known for their beautiful scent. Unfortunately, most only produce flowers in spring. Depending on your other choices, you may want to plant them as part of a whole plan — a number of fragrant plants blooming throughout the growing season. There are some varieties that are billed as rebloomers. The second bloom is usually not as lush as the first.
Roses should be selected by reading the tags or catalog descriptions carefully. Some roses have been cultivated to be beautiful but have little scent. Research your selections carefully so that you get exactly what you want. ‘Double Delight’ has a fruity or spicy scent, while ‘Julia Child’ has the scent of licorice and ‘Fragrant Cloud’ has a sweet perfume.
Honeysuckle is very sweetly scented, but note that some varieties are on the Do Not Sell List because of their invasive nature. Honeysuckle is native to the northern hemisphere, including North America, Europe and Asia. The plant is particularly popular for its intensely fragrant white flowers.
Mints are herbaceous perennials with a strong aroma. They can be used in cooking (jams, jellies, iced tea, etc.) or just enjoyed in the garden. Brush against the leaves and you release the wonderful scent. Lavender is in the mint family. Lavender is not native to the Americas but has been grown here since colonial times. It has been used as an insect repellent, to freshen clothes, to flavor foods and to scent cosmetics and soaps.
Lily of the Valley is a woodland plant that is very sweetly scented. Another benefit is that it does well in shady areas. But, be careful here, as the plant is toxic. As with all plants you are considering adding to your garden, make sure that no little children or pets can ingest it.
Bee balm is also a member of the mint family. A native of North America, it has even been used to make a tea. Flower colors range from red to purple.
Gardenias are extremely fragrant, but must be grown as a house plant on Long Island — they are cold tolerant only to zone 8. Yes, they can be moved to the outdoors in the summer and they will certainly add to the fragrance.
Jasmine is so strongly scented that some people avoid it as a result. Jasmine does well in zones 6 through 10 and requires full sun. Blossoms can be used to scent water in indoor arrangements and can also be used to scent tea.
Viburnum is a woody shrub that can easily reach 10 or more feet tall. Some species have flowers that are strongly scented. The white flowers are followed by bright red berries.
Mock orange is a woody shrub that does well in zones 4 to 7. It blooms in summer with lovely white flowers and an orangey aroma.
Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana) has sweetly scented, tube-shaped flowers available in a variety of colors: pink, white, red. It is usually grown as an annual but don’t be surprised if it survives a mild winter.
Hyacinths are spring blooming bulbs with a very strong sweet scent. Plant them in autumn before the ground has frozen. Like all spring flowering bulbs, after the flowers have died down, allow the green leaves to continue growing to provide food for the bulbs for next year. By summer those leaves will have disappeared.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
The “Culper Spy Adventure,” a special presentation by TBR News Media, is an immersive digital attraction that will allow locals and tourists alike to be recruited into the ranks of General Washington’s secret Setauket spy ring. Accessed by scanning a special QR code on a panel of the Three Village map or visiting www.TBRNewsMedia.com/Culper, you will begin an interactive 45-minute journey that puts you into the starring role of your very own secret spy adventure!
Become a time traveler as you arrive in the year 1780, crossing paths with legends and heroes: Abraham Woodhull, Anna Smith Strong, Caleb Brewster, George Washington himself! Enjoy interactive games between each episode that are filled to the brim with intrigue, action and fun! Created with the whole family in mind, the “Culper Spy Adventure” is great for all ages.
Lemuel Cook, one of the last surviving veterans of the American Revolution, died at 106 years old in 1866. He served under the command of Lt. Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, a Setauket native, Culper spy and member of the House of Representatives. He was born in the British Colony of Connecticut in 1759, just two or three years apart from Alexander Hamilton and died in the State of New York as a citizen of the United States of America.
Cook was a cavalryman who rode alongside the 2nd Light Continental Dragoons. He enlisted when he was just 16 years old. His military career took him from the Battle of Brandywine to the war’s end at Yorktown. He was witness to the surrender of General Cornwallis and given an honorable discharge by General George Washington. At the time of his enlistment in 1775, there were just 13 British colonies. By the time of his death there were 36 American states. This centenarian saw his national flag change many times and watched our founders’ dream of American democracy come to fruition.
He lived through the War of 1812, a conflict his generation called “the Second American Revolution.” He saw his countrymen settle westward achieving new frontiers, and in 1861 he saw our young republic descend into a brutal civil war. By that time he was one of five remaining veterans of the War for Independence. He died five years later but lived to see the Civil War’s conclusion. He lived to see the abolishment of slavery, and we can only hope with it he experienced a great comfort that our American experiment would endure.
Seeing Cook for the first time was an overwhelming experience. In all of my research and love for history, I’ve never seen a real photograph of someone who lived through that extraordinary time in our national story. His eyes look tired but tell such an important story. They witnessed so much: watched as Benjamin Tallmadge led charges against British soldiers, watched as Caleb Brewster carried secret messages to camp, watched the sword of General Cornwallis be offered to George Washington. He was the last direct connection to Setauket’s secret revolutionary history and perhaps to our nation’s first commander-in-chief.
In our textbooks we often forget about men like Cook. His name, like so many others, has fallen into obscurity. His story near forgotten. Yet his bravery and sacrifice remain just as profound and real as they were some 240 years ago. We should not forget them, those brave Continentals and militiamen who risked everything for a dream of a nation that did not yet exist. They epitomized what it means to be American, heck, they defined it.
My greatest honor in life has been paying homage to them by telling their stories some two and a half centuries later. Honor their sacrifice by witnessing it first-hand. See Cook’s unit come to life in our recently released “Culper Spy Adventure” series now available for free at: www.TBRNewsMedia.com/Culper.
By Ellen Barcel
The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook revealed its newest exhibit, Drawn from Life: Objects and Stories from William Sidney Mount’s Paintings Aug. 12. Mount was an early 19th-century genre artist who lived from 1807 to 1868. Born in Setauket, Mount spent much of his career in Stony Brook. He is buried in the Setauket Presbyterian Church’s Cemetery.
Julie Diamond, director of communications at the museum, noted that the William Sidney Mount house, located on the corner of Route 25A and Stony Brook Road in Stony Brook, is preserved to this day. Mount had his studio in the third-floor attic of the house, which was built in 1725 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
The Long Island Museum has the largest collection of Mount’s work and memorabilia in the world. His paintings show ordinary people doing ordinary things: washing laundry, dancing to the music of a violin, fishing, trapping, etc. He was a contemporary of the Hudson River School of painting.
The exhibit is curated by museum assistant curator Jonathan Olly. New to the LIM since February, he earned a doctorate in American studies just a few years ago from Brown University. Although this is his first major exhibit at the LIM, he knew he wanted to become a museum curator back when he was a summer intern in Washington, D.C., at the National Museum of American History. “I’ve been working in museums since 2001,” he said.
One of the really unique paintings on view is the portrait of Robert Morris Russell. According to Olly, Mount painted it in 1832 along with a portrait of Russell’s wife and mother. The painting has not been on display “in over 40 years.” It needed conservation, which was provided through a Greater Hudson Heritage grant.
Russell “died that year, a victim of the cholera epidemic in New York.” Olly continued, “He was a merchant in New York [City]. His wife, Ruth Amelia Smith Russell moved the family back to Long Island after he died.” Since both his and his wife’s portraits are on display, this “is the first time they are reunited in public since the 1970s.”
Olly noted that in assembling the exhibit “we also drew on our textile collection to outfit mannequins.” An 1830s black dress and a man’s black waistcoat are paired with these two portraits.
While some of the objects paired with each particular painting are of the period, a few are actually the items Mount painted. One of Mount’s original easels is on display, along with one of his violins. The 1857 instrument, one of the Cradle of Harmony violins he designed, was unique in that it had a concave, instead of a usual convex, back in order to “create a larger sound in a crowded room,” at a time when there was no electricity — no amplifiers. “He used and played the violin himself, but there was never any interest in manufacturing it,” said Olly. The violin is paired with “Catching the Tune,” showing a fiddler holding that actual instrument.
In the portrait of Mount’s sister Ruth, she is shown with her child, Charles. The original dress that the baby is wearing in the painting is on display as well.
Six paintings are paired with current photos of the same locations. Most of these were taken by Olly, including that of Patriot’s Rock in Setauket. The photo of the barn, shown above, was taken several years ago by Diamond. “The doorway of the barn frames the image that Julie took of three kids, in programs,” held at the museum. The barn is the Williamson barn, believed to be the one Mount painted in “Dancing on the Barn Floor,” below, which was moved to the LIM property for preservation. Olly added, “it’s amazing that these places still do survive,” after more than 150 years.
Seniors age 62 and over are invited to visit the museum (free admission) on a normally closed day, Sept. 13, to take a self-guided tour of the exhibit from 10 a.m. to noon as part of the museum’s Senior Tuesday program.
The new Mount exhibit will be used in the museum’s children’s programs as well, including Meet the Museum: A World Without Cars (with a focus on carriages), Meet the Museum: Through an Artist’s Eyes (with a focus on art) and The New Nation: The World of William Sidney Mount (focusing on business and transportation). Detailed teacher’s information is available for download on the museum’s website.
The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook will present Drawn from Life: Objects and Stories from William Sidney Mount’s Paintings through Dec. 31 in the Art Museum on the hill. The museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. For further information, call 631-751-0066 or visit www.longislandmuseum.org.
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