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TBR Staff

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TBR News Media covers everything happening on the North Shore of Suffolk County from Cold Spring Harbor to Wading River.

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Dr. Walter John Henry

Dr. Walter John Henry of Port Jefferson passed away on March 23, eight days before his 98th birthday. Henry was born in Brooklyn, to Walter William and Elizabeth Henry on March 31, 1927. He attended Boys High School in Brooklyn. After completing his high school education, he entered the medical program at Columbia University, went on to graduate from New York Medical College in 1952 with a specialty in thoracic and vascular surgery.

He had a love of music, playing the saxophone and clarinet in the Columbia University marching band. His memory of Columbia’s unlikely victory over the U.S. Military Academy at West Point was a favorite he liked to regale.

He took his musical talents, formed a band and played the resorts in the Catskills and various venues in New York City.

He began his surgical career as a ship’s surgeon, working on two ships and was honorably discharged from his duties from the Santa Rosa in 1955. While working at the New York V.A. Hospital in 1962, he met the love of his life, Nurse Nancy Medor. They married two years later and ultimately built their forever home in Belle Terre, NY. They had two children, Walter John Henry Jr. (Wally) and Susan Elizabeth Prewitt.

Henry is survived by his wife, Nancy; two children, Wally and Sue; grandchildren, Jordan, Caroline, Zachary, Ella and Walter John Henry III; and his sister, Patricia Godfroy.

Patricia Godfroy had interests in writing, history, fishing, travel and sailing. He taught his son to sail. When Wally took an interest in racing, they took to racing their sailboat together. The racing bug really caught on and in 1992, Wally was on the crew that won the America’s Cup.

Henry retired after 31 years as Chief of Surgery from St. Charles Hospital. As to how he felt about retirement, he said, “what I do miss is daily contact with patients, doctors, nurses and office/hospital personnel”. During his tenure at St. Charles Hospital, both he and wife, Nancy were bestowed the Theodore Roosevelt Award by the hospital for outstanding and exemplary service.

As to the patients he touched in his lifetime, he was very proud to receive the gift of the following words:

Doctor’s Hands

I never knew that hands could be

So gentle, kind and true

Until I watched their skill perform

The blessed tasks yours do.

No artist ever plied his brush

With love of art so pure;

No sculptor ever used his tools

With strokes so deft and sure.

I think God blessed your kindly hands

From ages past and dim

Because he loves the work you do

In partnership with him.

Henry’s greatest joy came from spending time with family. He and Nancy sailed in New England and at their second home on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. They played tennis and took many cruises. Retirement allowed ample time to spend with their children and grandchildren.

Visitation took place on Sunday, March 30 at O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Port Jefferson Station.

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Rev. Fr. Andrew Garnett 

Each spring, as daffodils bloom and days grow longer, Christians around the world gather to celebrate the most profound and joyful day in our faith: Easter. This holy day marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead—an event that transformed history, shattered despair and opened the gates of hope for all humanity. For followers of Jesus, Easter is not simply a commemorative holiday; it is the heartbeat of our faith, a celebration of life conquering death, love triumphing over hate, and divine mercy extending to all people.

In the Christian story, Jesus, the Son of God, is crucified—an innocent man executed by the powers of his day. His death was brutal, and for his followers, it seemed the end of everything they had hoped for. But then, on the third day, something happened that no one expected: Jesus rose from the grave. He appeared to his friends, not with vengeance or judgment, but with peace on his lips and love in his wounds. The resurrection of Jesus is not just about his life continuing—it is about a new kind of life that breaks into the world. It is God’s promise that sin, suffering, and death will never have the final word.

Easter proclaims that God is doing something new, not just in the life of Jesus, but in our lives as well. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work among us, bringing hope in our despair, light in our darkness and courage in our fear. In a world still plagued by division, violence, loneliness and injustice, Easter is a bold declaration that love is stronger than hate and that life will always rise again.

For the Episcopal Church, Easter is not only a theological truth but also an invitation to live differently. We believe in a risen Christ who welcomed the outcast, forgave his enemies, and broke bread with the stranger. We seek to follow in his way by practicing a radical welcome—one that mirrors the wide embrace of the empty tomb.

In our congregations, you’ll find people of every background, race, political view, orientation and identity. We believe that God’s table is big enough for everyone. Whether you are a lifelong Christian, someone who’s been away from church for years, or someone who has never stepped into a church before, you are welcome here. Not just tolerated—welcomed, honored and loved.

The Episcopal Church does not claim to have all the answers, but we are committed to asking the right questions in the community. We read Scripture thoughtfully, take tradition seriously and engage with the world with compassion and humility. We hold a faithful tension between being traditional and having a modern approach. We do this not because it’s easy, but because we believe it’s faithful to the radical love Jesus showed on Easter morning.

In this season of renewal, many are searching for meaning, connection and hope. Easter meets us in that longing and reminds us that no matter how lost or weary we feel, resurrection is possible. There is no grave too deep, no failure too final, no sorrow too heavy for the risen Christ to meet us there and lift us up. Easter is not only about what happened long ago in a garden tomb; it’s about what God is still doing—here and now—in the lives of real people and communities.

So if you’re reading this and wondering if church is for you—if God is for you—know this: the answer is yes. Easter is for you. Grace is for you. The door is open, the light is on, and the feast has been set. Come as you are.

This Easter, may we all encounter the hope that rolls away every stone and find ourselves drawn into the joyful mystery of life made new.

Rev. Fr. Andrew Garnett is the rector of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Northport.

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Maureen McCormick

Maureen Teresa McCormick, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt and dear friend, passed away peacefully on April 21 at home in Northport. She was 91 years old. Maureen grew up in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. She loved being surrounded by her family and dancing on the weekends. Right after high school, she met her husband, Harold McCormick, who quickly swept her off her feet and they were happily married surrounded by friends and family. They had three sons, Steven McCormick, Michael McCormick and Russell McCormick. During this time the family had moved out to Commack and they started building their forever home in Northport. 

Maureen proudly worked at Carvel as a manager. She also worked at A&S, a local department store. Maureen always had a great eye for fashion. They loved going to New York City and catching Broadway shows. They also enjoyed traveling and went to Hawaii, Germany, Italy, France and, of course, Ireland. One of their favorite places to go was Disney World in Florida. This was a tradition shared with their sons and grandchildren. After having three boys, Maureen and Harry were overjoyed to have four granddaughters, Sherri, Stephanie, Christina and Alyssa. Maureen spoiled her granddaughters by taking them on vacations and trips to the city, treating them to nail and hair appointments, and buying them dresses and clothes. Her granddaughters loved spending time at her house in the pool.

Maureen and Harry were great entertainers. They often had parties in their home and hosted many friends and family. Holidays were also a special event that ended in front of the fireplace. Due to their love of travel, Maureen and Harry organized a trip to the Catskills (Friar Tuck) every February for the PBA. Maureen was the ultimate organizer and everyone raved about the trip. After the trip ended, Maureen and Harry would organize trips for family and friends to Woodloch Pines, Cranwell, Gurneys and Mills Falls. Maureen and Harry also celebrated major birthdays and events by inviting family and friends to local restaurants. As Maureen got older, she never lost her partying spirit. She would go out to eat whenever she could and was always ready for Happy Hour. Maureen and her oldest granddaughter continued to see shows at the Engeman Theatre in Northport up until her passing. Maureen was a pillar of the Northport community. Everyone knew her name and she loved spending time and talking with everyone in the village. All who knew Maureen loved her joy, warmth and generosity. 

Most importantly, Maureen was very spiritual. One of her treasured memories was meeting the Pope at the Vatican. She went to church every Sunday, including this past Easter Sunday. She invited Father Walter to Cranwell to celebrate her and Harry’s wedding anniversary every year. As we celebrate her amazing life on Earth, there will be another celebration in Heaven as our loved ones welcome her home.

Visitation will be held at Nolan Funeral Home, 5 Laurel Avenue, Northport, on Monday April 28 from 2 to 5 p.m. and  7 to 9 p.m. Funeral Mass is on Tuesday, April 29 at 10 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport. Entombment to follow at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Center Moriches.

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File photo by Raymond Janis

SBU visa revocations demand official action, not platitudes

As a proud Stony Brook University alumnus (M.S. 2005), I was deeply troubled by the recent report detailing the revocation of student visas for 11 international students at SBU. No explanation or evidence has been provided to justify these revocations. This lack of transparency leaves us to assume that these revocations — along with the roughly 1,500 others reported at over 250 institutions nationwide — are either arbitrary or motivated by an unconstitutional intent to suppress free speech. (Visiting students are entitled to the same free speech protections as U.S. citizens.) While the federal government does have the authority to revoke visas, exercising that power arbitrarily constitutes a clear abuse of power.

Some may disregard the educational value of a diverse student body or the fact that smart international students elevate academic standards in the classroom. But even skeptics should recognize that international students pay higher tuition than domestic students, effectively subsidizing SBU’s operating budget. Considering that SBU, Brookhaven National Lab and Cold Spring Harbor Lab are leading Long Island employers with globally diverse workforces, even pragmatic business leaders should be concerned. A climate of fear could prompt many of the approximately 3,800 international students at SBU to transfer, and discourage future applicants altogether.

Vague affirmations by university officials are welcome, but appear toothless. SBU is a public institution of New York State. What actions will the state take to protect its residents and universities from federal overreach? Has the university president sought support from the governor, or the New York Civil Liberties Union? Will SBU provide legal representation to the students or join wider lawsuits to contest these revocations in federal court? If not, why? And if this situation escalates, will university police intervene to prevent warrantless ICE arrests, or will they stand aside as masked, unidentified agents in unmarked vans seize students on campus?

Blame for all this must be placed squarely on Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY1) and his fellow House Republicans. As majority members of a co-equal branch of government, they have failed in their constitutional duty to perform oversight. Their role is to ensure the executive branch faithfully enforces laws enacted by Congress — not to stand idle as policy is dictated by executive fiat. While LaLota may disregard the voices of his Democratic constituents, perhaps his Republican supporters and donors can impress upon him the long-term consequences of his inaction.

John Hover

East Setauket

Solar and wind power will not fulfill energy needs

In his letter of April 10 [The realty of renewable energy on Long Island] Peter Gollon recommended a document entitled “Long Island Solar Roadmap,” which is basically a sales brochure for solar panels. It would be a simple matter, we are told, to install 10 to 15 million solar panels on various locations, including flat roofs, carports, industrial land and brownfields.

The largest source, however, 49%, will be from offshore windmills. In addition, there will also be a network of lithium-ion battery installations, which will be charged when the solar arrays and windmills are generating power in excess of the user demands. Then, when the sunlight and offshore winds are absent or diminished, the required power will be provided from the energy stored in the batteries.

The problem with this scenario is that, for a given amount of solar, wind and battery installations, the required power can be guaranteed for only a limited period of time, if the sun and wind do not cooperate. In this unfortunate situation, a total blackout will occur, and it will not end until adequate sunlight and wind levels have returned.

With the technology of today, we have systems that use “fossil fuels” (oil and gas), nuclear fission and solar/wind technology. Of these, only solar/wind systems are likely to experience blackouts caused by a lack of fuel. For a known solar/wind/battery design, and known sunlight and wind profiles, based on recorded meteorological records, it should be possible to generate computer simulation software to calculate the probability of a blackout for given periods of time, such as 3 days, 4 days, 5 days, etc. Possibly Peter Gollon and his colleagues have already done this. If so, it would be most helpful for them to share their results with us. I am sure they are not simply trying to get as many solar panels and windmills as they can, and hope to get lucky.

In an interesting related development, Microsoft is in the process of reactivating the Three Mile Island nuclear energy plant in Pennsylvania, with a capacity of 800 MW, for the purpose of powering their upcoming artificial intelligence computers. Here on Long Island, in Shoreham, we have the sleeping Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, and it has a capacity of 820 MW. If we activate the Shoreham facility, and build two or three modern copies of it, we can have all of the power we could ever use, with zero carbon emissions, no possibility of a blackout, no thermal runaway and plenty of extra power for Connecticut and New York City during times when their sun and wind resources are in short supply. What is wrong with that?

George Altemose

Setauket

WRITE TO US … AND KEEP IT LOCAL 

We welcome your letters, especially those responding to our local coverage, replying to other letter writers’ comments and speaking mainly to local themes. Letters should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style, good taste and uncivil language. They will also be published on our website. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include an address and phone number for confirmation. Email letters to: [email protected] or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

 

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One in 36 children aged eight in the U.S. were diagnosed with the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One in 36 means that around 32 students are affected by ASD in a high school of 1238 students–the number of students enrolled at Smithtown High School West from 2023-2024. It means that 76 students from kindergarten to sixth grade in the Three Village School District may have trouble socializing, communicating and learning.

The number of adults impacted is less defined, with some adults going undiagnosed, though the CDC estimates 1 in 45 adults in the U.S. have ASD. These individuals are artists. They are educators, technicians, writers, engineers and leaders. They helped make our community, but our community was not made for them. 

Often people with ASD have to “mask.” According to the National Autistic Society, people with ASD sometimes mask in order to appear non-autisitic. Autistic people have described masking as “tightly controlling and adjusting how you express yourself based on the real or anticipated reactions of others.” 

ASD causes the person to have trouble communicating in social situations. They may exhibit repetitive behaviors called “stimming” or strictly adhere to a fixed routine. They may get overstimulated by certain sensations or experiences. Autism is a spectrum, so it affects everyone in varying degrees. 

People with ASD have helped shaped our society in significant ways. Greta Thunberg, for example, is a 22-year old environmental activist who inspired thousands to advocate for environmental protections. She is also on the autistic spectrum. 

Renowned actor Anthony Hopkins is also reportedly on the autistic spectrum and was diagnosed late in his life. 

Most people have some connection to a person who has ASD. Expanding consideration to the different needs and preferences of autistic individuals does not take much work. Offering different resources and services, like Father Andrew Garnett is doing in holding a sensory-friendly church service, is a great way to show that people with different abilities are valued. We can ask questions–what can we do to help? Perhaps we can communicate differently and avoid sarcasm. We can be cognizant of sensory issues. Most importantly, we can listen. Let’s make an effort to be more considerate to those with ASD and to learn about how we can make our community more inclusive, not just this April during Autism Awareness Month  but always. 

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The Amusement & Music Owners Association of New York, Inc. has chosen Scott Avery to be the “Guest of Honor/Man of the Year” at its Annual Gala on Monday, April 28 at 101 Park Avenue.  Avery, 45, is the president and chief operating officer of Apple Industries, Inc of Greenvale, New York.  He began with Apple Industries in 2011 as a director of operations.  He was promoted to president in 2021.

Prior to joining Apple, Avery held key operational management roles at the United States Central Intelligence Agency and Raytheon. He holds an MBA from Northeastern University and a BS from the University of Maryland where he majored in supply chain management and marketing.

According to Apple Industries Chairman/CEO Allen Weisberg: “Scott’s leadership has been instrumental in guiding Apple to unprecedented heights.  Under his stewardship, the company has continued to innovate and expand its product line which features FacePlace Photo Booths and related products.  He has helped to solidify Apple Industries’ position as a global leader in the amusement industry.  His strategic vision, coupled with a focus on culture and sustainable growth, has positioned Apple as a company that not only delivers cutting-edge, profitable products to operators but also delivers memorable experiences to millions of consumers each year.”

AMOA-NY President Ken Goldberg describes how recognizing Scott Avery at the 2025 Gala occasion will translate into making this event the most successful one so far.  “Throughout his tenure, Scott has cultivated enduring relationships with the most influential brands in entertainment, retail and technology industries including Disney, Major League Baseball, Regal Cinemas and, most recently, Hasbro.  He consistently provides inventive business solutions and enhances business capabilities by expanding Apple’s reach into new markets.” 

Scott Avery resides in Smithtown, New York, with his wife, Vanessa and their two children.  He is a past board member of American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation and a past member of the fundraising committee for Sunrise Day Camps.   Walt Disney Parks & Resorts presented him with a Merit Award for 2022.

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Pixabay image

By Hon. Gail Prudenti, Esq.

Hon. Gail Prudenti, Esq.

An annual report — especially from a government entity — tends to be a dry, statistic- driven tome that only a bureaucrat could love. And that’s what makes the 2024 annual report of the Unified Court System so different and distinctive.

The report, submitted by March 15 as required by statute, is less a story of numbers and more a story of people. In the report by Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, we meet several people whose lives were transformed, and even saved, through their interaction with the courts.

Ashley, a first-generation American, utilized the Scales of Justice initiative as the initial step toward earning a law degree. She is now an associate at a prominent Manhattan law firm.

Keisha was addicted to drugs and alcohol and looking at seven years in prison when she was diverted to a treatment court. Today, she’s clean, sober and prosperous.

Christopher is a Marine who was twice deployed to Iraq and seriously wounded. He became addicted to opioids and alcohol and found himself in jail. His predicament and clear PTSD caught the attentive eye of the local Veterans Court representative, who interceded. That encounter, he says, changed and likely saved his life.

Ronette suffered abuse and homelessness as a child, and enduring physical and mental issues haunted her well into adulthood. She drifted from homeless shelter to homeless shelter, racking up a string of misdemeanors and then a felony that could have landed her in state prison. Instead, she was rescued by an Alternative to Incarceration Court, which steered her to extensive therapy. Now, she’s a successful artist.

Court Officer Steven Byrd interceded when he encountered traumatized children in Family Court, guiding the family through a trying experience.

Yenifer, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was exiled by her family for getting pregnant at 16, and spent the rest of her youth in foster care. The judge monitoring her placement became her mentor. Yenifer, who had been on a fast track to nowhere, graduated from the City College of New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

And Anthony, a young man with no criminal record but living in a dangerous neighborhood, procured a gun for his own safety. He was looking at a felony conviction and several years in state prison when he was diverted to U-CAN, a court-based mentoring program. Today, Anthony is proudly and honorably serving his country as a recently promoted United States Marine.

We also hear from the people in the trenches who, Chief Administrative Judge Zayas humbly acknowledges, know more about the day-to-day/ hour-by-hour functioning of the courts than he does. Among them are Warren Clark, the District Executive in Suffolk County, who writes of the human trafficking crisis and the way the Family Court is helping exploited children. 

Lisa Courtney, director of the Division of Alternative Dispute Resolution, discusses mediation, arbitration and other ways of resolving disagreements quickly and effectively without protracted litigation. James Tardy, the Statewide ADA Coordinator, explains the court system’s commitment to accommodating people with disabilities.

These stories and essays illustrate, in a way that statistics never can, how the courts help people. They don’t merely “process cases” or kick the can down the road. Our criminal courts protect victims. Our civil courts provide a forum for the peaceful resolution of disputes. Our family and surrogate’s courts guide families through what may be the most traumatic experience of their lives.

Today, courts and judges are under relentless, and dangerous, attack and I wish that the public and press would remember all the good that comes out of the courthouse and do what judges do: tune out the noise and base their opinion on facts and evidence rather than who yells the loudest.

Hon. Gail Prudenti is the former Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of the State of New York, former Presiding Justice of the Appellate Department, 2nd Division, former Dean of The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and present Partner at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C.

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The Ward Melville JV girls golf team. Photo courtesy the Three Village School District

By George Caratzas

After the closure of the Heatherwood Golf Club in 2020, the Ward Melville Patriots JV girl’s golf team played their matches at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Coram. Now, the Patriots have found their newest home.

In May of 2024, the Spy Ring Golf Club opened on the same plot of land that Heatherwood once occupied in Centereach. With Ward Melville in the market for a new place to play, the match was an easy decision.

“I feel like this is a perfect fit,” head varsity coach Nicole Connelly said. “I think with Spy Ring, this is going to be a much smoother season for a variety of reasons.”

One of the reasons that Connelly mentioned was the course itself, as Spy Ring is the latest course to open on Long Island. Designed by Tyler Rae — a well-known golf course architect — Spy Ring is half the size of what Heatherwood was, only having 9 holes as opposed to the full 18. Nonetheless, Connelly was impressed by her team’s introduction to its new home turf.

“It’s a really great course,” Connelly said. “We got to play it on Thanksgiving Eve this past year and it was awesome. It’s such a great track, the layout is really fun to play and it’s really well maintained. I think the girls are going to have a really great experience.”

A key benefit of Spy Ring is its proximity to the high school. At Ward Melville, JV golf does not get access to a bus for practice or games, meaning that players are responsible for their own transportation to and from team events. While Pine Ridge was about a 15-minute drive from the school, Spy Ring cuts that travel time by two-thirds with the drive clocking in at just about five minutes.

Photo courtesy the Ward Melville junior varsity golf team.

“Not to bash Pine Ridge, but for us it just was not convenient at all,” Connelly said. “I had expressed interest to Spy Ring’s general manager Jimmi Conway and we started to lay the groundwork for the move. The convenience of having it in our own community was huge.”

As indicated by the name, Spy Ring pays homage to the Setauket Spy Ring — a spy network during the Revolutionary War which was based in the Three Village area. While Connelly is a native of Chicago, she has become immersed in the area’s history as she enters her fourth season at the helm of the golf program. She hopes the change will bring educational value to her over 20 student athletes that will have access to the course.

“Spy Ring is all about the community and its history,” Connelly said. “They get to learn about American history in seventh and eleventh grade so I definitely think this will expand their educational experience beyond that curriculum. It’s important to me that they learn about the history of their community and make that connection to their new golf course. Being a team from the Three Villages and being called the ‘Patriots,’ I think this change gives them a little bit of empowerment.”

In a statement provided to Connelly, Conway echoed a similar excitement for the new partnership.

“We are so proud to have our Three Village School Districts girl’s golf team represent our golf course,” Conway said. “We feel this team will be proud to host a match with visiting schools. We are very thankful for the support the local communities have had in regards to having a great impact on our success. We are looking forward to the ’25 season starting and my staff and I will be available to helping and grooming the growth of the game,” he said.

Aside from the Patriots, Connelly is pleased with what Spy Ring has done to the surrounding neighborhoods. 

“I think it’s going to have a really positive effect on the community,” Connelly said. “The course seems to be really working on establishing itself as a place where people can come together and even from the earliest conversations [Conway] told me that he wants to make it a gathering place for locals.”

With the JV team on the move, both the boys and girl’s varsity teams will continue to play at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in East Setauket.

George Caratzas is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.

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By Luciana Hayes

Recently, a trunk belonging to Captain Joseph Tyler was returned to Smithtown after being stored in Minnesota for the past three decades.

In an interview with TBR News Media, Cemetery Committee Chair for the Three Village Historical Society Robert von Bernewitz spoke about the significance of the artifact and its return. 

Captain Joseph Tyler’s trunk.

Bernewitz grew up in Smithtown along with his friend Scott Peirce, who lived on a farm known as the Peirce Farm, which is where his family acquired the trunk that belonged to Tyler, who was captain of the Mary A. Tyler ship, which was built by Nehemiah Hand in the Setauket shipyards and named after his wife, Mary A. Tyler. Throughout its career, the ship went up and down the eastern seaboard before meeting its fate around 1890 off the coast of Cape Cod. It is believed the ship sank on a sandbar and according to legend can be seen at certain times of the day where it sank.

Around 35 years ago, Peirce moved to Minnesota, bringing the captain’s trunk with him. In the trunk, there lies the captain’s log, which contains abundant information about the ship’s travel history. When Peirce explained to Bernewitz that he wanted him to have the trunk he said, “Rob, I want you to have this trunk because it doesn’t belong in Minnesota. Find a good home for it, wherever it — the history of it — belongs.” Shortly after that conversation, Peirce drove the artifact from Minnesota to Smithtown where he met Bernewitz and some other friends to find a new home for the trunk. Bernewitz explains how one of his friends mentioned the Tyler family house, a historical farmhouse built in 1790 in Smithtown. 

The Tyler House has been home to many generations. For more than 100 years, this was a farmhouse on an active farm with many out-buildings. In the Tyler House, there is a desk from Benjamin Tyler, Joseph Tyler’s brother. Bernewitz speaks about the reunion of the relics saying, “These two pieces of furniture were repatriated together after 175 years.”

The graves of Captain Joseph and Mary Tyler.

Joseph and Mary Tyler are buried in the Smithtown Cemetery, while Captain Tyler’s trunk sits on the balcony of the Smithtown Landing Methodist Church. The church is also a historic landmark built in 1834 and is right in the neighborhood where the Tylers lived. Bernewitz closes by saying, “I’m just very happy that it came back from Minnesota and it’s where it belongs in the same neighborhood that it came from.”

Bernewitz dedicates his time to restoring gravestones and cemetery grounds. He has actively worked to address conditions of 20 cemeteries in the area. This includes correcting leaning or fallen gravestones and using professional methods to clean gravestones. In addition to his role as committee chair for the TVHS, Bernewitz is also vice president of the Davis Town Meeting House in Coram, a circa 1750 house which was a town hall in the 1800s where citizens voted.

For more information visit the TVHS website: www.tvhs.org.

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Scene from the 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest. Photo by Joshua Kim
Scene from the 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest. Photo by Joshua Kim
Scene from the 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest. Photo by Joshua Kim
Scene from the 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest. Photo by Joshua Kim
Scene from the 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest. Photo by Joshua Kim
Scene from the 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest. Photo by Joshua Kim
Scene from the 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest. Photo by Joshua Kim

By Joshua Kim

The 16th annual Port Jefferson Health & Wellness Fest was held Saturday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Meadow Club, on Rte. 112 just off the 347. The event was organized by the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and supported by 12 sponsoring institutions, including the three major hospitals in the area: Stony Brook Medicine, John T. Mather Hospital and St. Charles Hospital.

The many attendees who parked in the adjacent Port Plaza’s parking lot were directed across the street and into the venue by Suffolk County Crossing Guards in bright neon yellow raincoats. Inside the Meadow Club, the glistening crystal chandeliers, marble floors, and bright, lively atmosphere struck a sharp contrast with the cold, gloomy weather outside.

The Fest was supported by over 50 local health providers, businesses and organizations that filled over 90 tables where they could distribute brochures, merchandise and, in some cases, massages. The standard rate for a table was $250, while Chamber of Commerce partners paid $200 and nonprofits $100 – some organizations, like Hope for Cleo Animal Rescue, which brought along puppies, attended for free; “animals are a draw,” said Barbara Ransome, the director of operations at the Chamber.

Stony Brook Medicine commanded the largest presence with 11 different tables dedicated to several health topics, including obstetrics-gynecology, urology and chronic kidney disease. Dr. Soo-Jin Lim of the Stony Brook Medicine Heart Institute spoke of the opportunity that the event provided to screen people who might typically ignore their health, saying that they had referred at least one person with high blood pressure to treatment.

Mather Hospital had the next largest presence with eight tables arranged along the side of the room, also dedicated to similar health topics.

St. Charles Hospital had fewer tables, but, as in years past, they provided the refreshments for the fest. The head chef at St. Charles Hospital Mohamad Saleh, or “Chef Mo,” who typically makes sure that “the patients in the hospital are getting food they like and eating healthy food,” made healthy muffins and Açaí bowls.  “[We’ve] had a great experience with everybody–some of them are actually patients in the hospital,” said Chef Mo.

The event also was not limited to only organizations or businesses traditionally associated with health and wellness: everyone from the Port Jeff Free Library to Port Jeff Bowl to, Moloney Family Funeral Homes had a table set up, seeing the event as an opportunity to “put their name and face out there.” However, many of these groups used the event to highlight health-related services they offered that were less well-publicized, such as the Port Jeff Free Library’s “huge range of programs, from nutrition facts to stroke awareness, to a workshop on knee and shoulder pain.”

People from all over Suffolk, and even Nassau County, attended the fest. Some had seen the promotions in the paper or on Facebook; some had “just been passing by” on the road and decided to pop in and still others had attended the fest other years and were coming back.

Two friends, Kim and Marianna, had heard about the event on Instagram and came from Nassau County and Babylon to “understand and better [their] own health” as they neared retirement age. “It’s great to see that they have so many supporters, people who are willing to come out on a Saturday to help other people understand the importance of taking care of yourself,” said Kim. “It’s much bigger than I had expected.”

“We really feel that the Village of Port Jefferson has become a mecca for health and wellness services,” said Ransome. “And we do this event – that’s how we support it.”

She concluded, “The turnout has been exceptional. The weather wasn’t so great, but I think we did really, really well.”

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