The Long Island Symphonic Choral Association (LISCA) will hold its annual gala on Sunday, March 3 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Bates House, 1 Bates Road, East Setauket. Enjoy a concert by the critically acclaimed quartet Cuarteto Quiroga from Madrid from 4 to 5 p.m. Hot and cold hors d’oeuvres by Elegant Eating, wine and craft beer will be served before the concert and a delicious dessert buffet along with a raffle basket auction will follow. Tickets are $75 per person. Reservations required by calling 631-751-3452 or by visiting www.lisca.org.
This week’s featured shelter pets are 7-month-old pointer/heeler mix siblings Kevin and Kali, both waiting at Kent Animal Shelter to be adopted. Kevin, listening very closely on the left, is an outgoing little guy with lots of energy, while Kali on the right is a bit more relaxed and is very sweet. These two would benefit from a nice big backyard to run around in. Kevin comes neutered, Kali is spayed and they are both up to date with their vaccinations and are microchipped.
If you would like to meet Kevin and Kali (they do not have to be adopted together), the center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. For more information on Kevin, Kali and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in a scene from ‘Gone with the Wind’ Photo courtesy of Fathom Events
Fiddle-dee-dee! It’s been 80 years since “Gone With the Wind” was first released and to celebrate the momentous anniversary, the classic film will return to select theaters nationwide on Thursday, Feb. 28 and Sunday, March 3, courtesy of Warner Bros., Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events.
The film, which premiered in 1939, won eight Oscars and received two additional honorary Oscars, making it one of the most honored movies ever.
The epic drama, based on the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell, stars Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Clark Gable and Olivia de Havilland (the film’s last surviving principal cast member at 102!) and Hattie McDaniel, who was the first black actor to ever win an Oscar.
Set in Georgia during the turbulent times of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period, the film follows the life of Scarlett O’Hara, a spirited Southern belle who tries to keep her family’s plantation afloat amid a series of romantic affairs.
The special screening includes a 4-minute intermission.
Participating theaters in our neck of the woods include Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas, 1001 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.; Island 16 Cinema de Lux, 185 Morris Ave., Holtsville on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.; and AMC Loews Stony Brook 17, 2196 Nesconset Highway, Stony Brook on Feb. 28 and March 3 at 1 and 6 p.m. To purchase your ticket in advance, visit www.fathomevents.com.
Eye-opening exhibit depicts the history of slavery on Long Island
'Sharpening the Saw,' 1867, oil on canvas, by William Moore Davis. Image courtesy of the LIM
By Heidi Sutton
After a brief hiatus, the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook reopened last weekend to showcase its latest exhibit, Long Road to Freedom: Surviving Slavery on Long Island, in honor of Black History Month.
Located in the Art Museum on the hill, the show is already receiving quite a lot of attention, evident by the many visitors who stopped by last Saturday. Jonathan Olly, who curated the exhibit, was pleased by the interest. “Part of the challenge of working behind the scenes is that we almost never spend time in the galleries so to see this is great,” he said as he fielded questions from guests.
The project, which took approximately five months of research, features more than 100 items, including paintings, photographs, artifacts, furniture and documents that are tied to Long Island’s slavery story. In addition to items culled from the LIM’s collection, many pieces from the exhibit are on loan from other museums, historical societies, libraries and private collectors.
‘Eel Spearing at Setauket,’ 1845, oil on canvas, by William Sidney Mount is showcased in the exhibit.
Brought from Africa to New York by the Dutch and later by the English in the 1600s, slaves had an impact on every community on Long Island for the next 200 years. Landowners like the Smith, Hawkins/Mount, Townsend, Blydenburgh, Hewlett, Mills, Lloyd and Strong families used enslaved Africans and their descendants to manage their estates until New York State formally abolished slavery in 1827.
“If you were wealthy in the late 18th century on Long Island you were probably enslaving people,” said Olly. “Because that was what business was.”
“African-Americans have been part of the story of Long Island since the very beginning and they’re still here. Every historical society on Long Island has something that’s tied to their town’s story about slavery. This exhibit was an opportunity to bring all those pieces together and to see what kind of portrait it makes,” he said.
There’s a lot to take in.
As you enter the exhibit you are immediately greeted by William Sidney Mount’s most famous work, “Eel Spearing at Setauket,” on loan from the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown. Last seen at the LIM in 1998, “It’s come home for a brief visit,” said Olly during a tour.
Commissioned by George W. Strong, the 1845 genre painting, depicting a young white boy and female slave by the name of Rachel Holland Hart fishing for eels with the Strong family estate in the background, is a fitting starting point for this important lesson in Long Island’s history.
“It’s a painting of a memory that Strong had as a child,” explained Olly. “The story is the relationship between African-Americans and English-Americans but with a warm glow over it. So it is a slavery painting, but it is a pleasant memory of that time told through this family (pointing to the boy) as opposed to this family (pointing to the woman) which I’m sure would have a very different perspective on that.”
‘The Slaves Grave,’ undated, oil on canvas, by Shepard Alonzo Mount
Long Road to Freedom is told in sections, from when slavery began in New York in 1626 and follows its story for the next 200 years. In a stroke of brilliance, the exhibit is essentially split in half, with one side painted in a dark blue depicting the time of slavery, while the other is painted a light blue to represent freedom.
Visitors can view a door that came from the attic of the Joseph Blydenburgh home in Smithtown labeled “door to slave pen.” Notices from local newspapers offering rewards for runaway slaves line one wall, next to legal documents including bill of sales selling enslaved families and wills specifying what is to happen to the slave, who was part of the estate, after the owner’s death.
The exhibit also highlights the accomplishments of slaves, including poet Jupiter Hammon, whaler Pyrrhus Concer and author Venture Smith, and pays homage to the Quakers, the first group of people who decided that owning people was morally wrong. “The New York Quakers were really the first to question the institution of slavery and basically said, ‘If you want to be a Quaker in good standing you have to free your slaves,’” explained Olly, adding that they protested by not wearing cotton.
Two vignettes, located on either side of the room, reveal a full-size replica of the below-deck quarters of a slave ship complete with leg irons and a replica of what a typical African-American church would look like.
Two headstones retrieved from a former slave burial ground on the Mount property in Stony Brook are on display, engraved with loving epitaphs.
The entire experience can get quite emotional. “This is very heavy stuff,” agreed Olly.
Before leaving, visitors are invited to write down their thoughts. One card reads, “They were stripped of their name, their culture, their families, wholly opposite of any of our beliefs. This was an eye-opening exhibit.” It’s music to the curator’s ears. “That’s the best case scenario. The worst thing would be if people come through [this exhibit] and it doesn’t phase them at all,” said Olly. “You want it to touch people, to have something here resonate with them, and it looks like that is happening.”
The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook will present Long Road to Freedom: Surviving Slavery on Long Island through May 27. In conjunction with the exhibit, the museum will host a symposium on March 9 (see below) and a special screening of the documentary “Emanuel” on April 15 at 7 p.m.
Regular museum hours are Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for students 6 to 17 and college students with I.D. Children under 6 are admitted for free. For more information, call 631-751-0066 or visit www.longislandmuseum.org.
Accompanying Symposium
‘Portrait of Tamer,’ 1830, oil on panel, by Shepard Alonzo Mount. Image courtesy of LIM
Want to learn more? On Saturday, March 9 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the Long Island Museum will present Long Road to Freedom: Surviving Slavery on Long Island, an all-day symposium exploring the experiences of African-Americans on Long Island across two centuries – from the travails of slavery to the blossoming of free black communities. Scholars will discuss the integral role of slavery in our region’s history and how African-Americans navigated between slavery.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and topics of discussion include developing free black communities on Long Island; slavery, freedmen and the Quakers of Long Island; Setauket’s mixed heritage Native-American and African-American communities; gendered experiences in East End captivity and freedom; and lessons learned through Eastville, the Sag Harbor community formed largely by freed people of color. There will be a Q&A session immediately following the morning and afternoon sessions.
Presenters for the symposium include Jonathan Olly, curator of the museum’s Long Road to Freedom exhibition; Mary Elliot, museum specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Jennifer L. Anderson, associate professor of history at Stony Brook University; Lynda Day, professor of Africana studies at Brooklyn College; Christopher Matthews, professor of anthropology at Montclair State University; Allison McGovern,senior archaeologist at VHB Engineering, Survey, Landscape Architecture and Geology, P.C.; and Georgette Grier-Key, executive director and curator at the Eastville Community Historical Society and professor of Africana studies at Nassau Community College.
Those wishing to attend the symposium are asked to preregister by calling 631-751-0066, ext. 211 or email [email protected]. Registration fee is $12 per person plus $10 (optional) for lunch. Lunch is also available off-site at Stony Brook area eateries at participant’s expense.
Follow the yellow brick road to Theatre Three! The theater, located at 412 Main St., Port Jefferson will hold an open cast call for children ages 8 to 17 (no taller than 4’10”) for the roles of munchkins on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. for its upcoming production of “The Wizard of Oz” from May 10 to June 22. Auditions for adult roles and ensemble tracks for ages 15 and up will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. All roles are open. Be prepared to sing and dance. Bring picture/resume if available. For further details, call 631-928-9202 or visit https://theatrethree.com/auditions.html.
Harbormen Chorus’s Antiquity Quartet, Fred, Dave, Gary and Vic, visited the Times Beacon Record News Media’s home office in Setauket on Feb. 14 to serenade the staff for Valentine’s Day. The group sang “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “Don’t Be a Baby, Baby” and “Love Me Tender” to a group of adoring fans.
This week’s shelter pet is Carmel, a 2-year-old Chihuahua. Cute as a button, Carmel is a very loving, devoted dog. She attaches very quickly and loves to sit on laps. Carmel was surrendered to Kent Animal Shelter by her family due to personal problems and is now in search of a forever home.
She is spayed, up to date with her vaccinations and is microchipped. Come down and meet her!She would love to go home with you for Valentine’s Day!
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. For more information on Carmel and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
Peter Jackson’s latest endeavor has been a labor of love. The award-winning director, best known for the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies was recently enlisted to create a unique documentary, “They Shall Not Grow Old,” featuring many never-before-seen archive footage of the Great War, a four-year conflict that claimed the lives of over 16 million soldiers.
Produced by WingNut Films and released by Warner Brothers, the project, which took five months to complete, was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum and BBC, who gave Jackson access to over 100 hours of footage and 600 hours of audio, including interviews with hundreds of veterans in the 1960s and 1970s.
Jackson chose to focus on the daily lives of British foot soldiers who had been sent to the Western Front – from their experience at boot camp to being shipped to France and living in the trenches, to a few days of rest and then off to the front lines where they are told to hand over any personal effects to their officers before heading off into no man’s land.
The documentary reveals many of the soldiers were mere children, volunteering at the age of 15 and 16 out of patriotic duty, and how many were excited to serve. By the end of the film, however, all romantic ideas of war have completely vanished. “History will decide in the end that this war was not worthwhile,” you hear a retired soldier say.
Every scene is accompanied by narration from army veterans who describe their uniforms and complain about their heavy boots; the food they ate; dealing with rats, lice and dysentery problems; coping with trench foot and mustard gas; capturing German soldiers; and the constant smell of death.
The genius that is Peter Jackson then goes two steps further, (revealed about 20 minutes into the film) when suddenly the black and white film comes to life in a myriad of colors and sounds. The soldiers’ personalities are revealed as they speak and laugh and you hear the shells being loaded into the cannons, artillery fire and the tanks rolling along the open fields. The sudden transformation takes one’s breath away.
The stunning effect was achieved using digital technology, researching uniforms and locations, recruiting forensic lip-readers who studied the original film, and actors who then voiced the parts in various dialects. “Smile! You’re in the pictures,” one man tells his mates as he points excitedly to the camera.
For Jackson, who has long been interested in World War I, (the film is dedicated to his paternal grandfather who was wounded in the Battle of the Somme) the spectacular documentary slowly evolved into capturing the human experience of war.
He described his vision best in a recent interview with BBC-owned HistoryExtra magazine. “We let them tell their story, of what it was like as a soldier,” adding that these experiences would’ve been similar to those of many other troops. “And the men saw a war in color, they certainly didn’t see it in black and white,” Jackson explained. “I wanted to reach through the fog of time and pull these men into the modern world, so they can regain their humanity once more.”
Rated R, “They Shall Not Grow Old” is now playing in local theaters.
This week’s shelter pet is a very handsome cat named Nugget. This one-year-old love bug was found outside as a stray and clearly belonged to someone at some point. He is now safe at Kent Animal Shelter but would rather be curled up in your arms for Valentine’s Day.
Nugget is neutered, up to date with vaccinations, has tested negative for feline AIDS and leukemia and is microchipped. Come on down and meet Nugget!
Kent Animal Shelter is located at 2259 River Road in Calverton. The adoption center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. For more information on Nugget and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731 or visit www.kentanimalshelter.com.
What is bourbon whiskey? Bourbon whiskey is a distinctive whiskey of Kentucky made from a grain mixture of a minimum 51 percent corn and aged in new, charred oak barrels.
Where is it made? Technically, bourbon whiskey can be produced anywhere in the United States, although in practice over 90 percent is made in Kentucky. Bourbon is also produced in 48 states, but not in Hawaii and South Dakota.
Is bourbon made in Bourbon County, Kentucky? Yes, even though Bourbon County is a “dry county,” where alcohol can’t be sold, Bourbon whiskey can be made there.
Where did the name bourbon originate? Back in the 1700s practically all of Kentucky was a part of Virginia and a large part of the region was called “Bourbon County.” In 1785, it was named by settlers in honor of the French royal family — the Bourbons, who helped the colonists win the American Revolutionary War.
However, another account says the whiskey was named after Bourbon Street, the entertainment district in New Orleans. Bourbon whiskey was being shipped to New Orleans and eventually people asked for the whiskey sold on Bourbon Street.
When was the first bourbon whiskey made? In 1783 at the Old Evan Williams Distillery, a Welshman named Evan Williams, an early Kentucky settler and pioneer earned his permanent role in American history when he built the area’s first commercial distillery on the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville.
In 1789, a Baptist minister, Elijah Craig, made a distilled spirit by combining spring water, corn, rye and barley malt. Craig is often erroneously credited as the inventor of bourbon whiskey.
What are the ingredients? Federal regulations require that bourbon whiskey be made from a minimum of 51 percent corn; however, 65 to 75 percent is generally used. The blend of other grains is dictated by the distiller’s own private formula; barley, oats, rye and wheat can be used.
How long is bourbon aged? There is no minimum amount of aging for non-straight bourbon whiskey, and technically a distiller could pump the clear distillate into a new charred oak barrel and then immediately empty it.
What about straight bourbon whiskey? For bourbon to be labeled “straight,” it must be aged a minimum of two years. If it is released before the fourth year of aging, it must be stated on the label. In addition, no alcohol, caramel coloring or flavoring can be added.
Bob Lipinski is the author of 10 books, including “101: Everything You Need to Know About Whiskey” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple” (available on Amazon.com). He conducts training seminars on wine, spirits and food and is available for speaking engagements. He can be reached at www.boblipinski.com OR [email protected].
Jackson chose to focus on the daily lives of British foot soldiers who had been sent to the Western Front – from their experience at boot camp to being shipped to France and living in the trenches, to a few days of rest and then off to the front lines where they are told to hand over any personal effects to their officers before heading off into no man’s land.
The stunning effect was achieved using digital technology, researching uniforms and locations, recruiting forensic lip-readers who studied the original film, and actors who then voiced the parts in various dialects. “Smile! You’re in the pictures,” one man tells his mates as he points excitedly to the camera.
Prev
