LUCKY DOG
Gladys Siegel of East Setauket took this adorable photo of her dog on July 13. She writes, ‘This is Scout. She is 8 1/2 years young. She loves having me home during this strange time and especially loves taking car rides down to Stony Brook Harbor in the early morning or at the end of a beautiful day. She is easy to photograph, too, because she knows how to hold a pose!’
Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci joined Huntington historian Robert Hughes and volunteers from Jephtha Masonic Lodge #494 in Huntington on Saturday, July 18 for a cleanup of The Old Burying Ground, Huntington’s oldest cemetery.
The event was one of several projects the local Masons were involved in during the recent pandemic shutdown. Although the lodge is comprised of mostly Huntington residents, members from other lodges from as far as Port Jefferson volunteered in this important preservation project. Armed with work gloves, pruning shears, weed trimmers, a cooler of cold bottled water and a bit of determination, the team went right to work after a brief historical lecture by the Town Historian.
The crew trimmed shrubs, pulled overgrown weeds, raked leaves, and removed debris from the cemetery which is just a short walking distance from the Jephtha Lodge building on New York Avenue.
“Our historic cemeteries tell the story of not only of the establishment of our Town but of the critical role Huntington played in the founding of our nation,” said Supervisor Chad A, Lupinacci. “As we recognize and preserve other aspects of Huntington’s history, we must continue to protect these sacred grounds to honor the souls of generations of Huntingtonians buried here.”
“These volunteer efforts are critical to preserving the Town’s historic cemeteries. Eternal vigilance is the price of preservation,” said Town Historian Robert Hughes.
“I have been a Freemason and member of Jephtha lodge #494 for around 8 years now and have been fortunate to recently take on a leadership role. I’m proud to have been able to coordinate with town historian Robert Hughes and the brothers and family members of Jephtha lodge, in effort to clean up the old cemetery,” said Anthony Colonna, Grand Master, Jephtha Masonic Lodge #494.
“The rich history of this burial site must be carefully preserved. I propose to make this an annual event, perhaps starting this fall. Jephtha’s benevolence committee has gotten off to a terrific start and we seek to do more for the community this year and the ensuing years to come. Helping make a positive impact on the community is just one part of what freemasons are all about,” he added.
“The Brothers of Jephtha Lodge have anticipated this event for some time,” said Ronald Seifried, Trustee Chairman and Lodge Historian. “The lodge is grateful to the Town for being receptive to the lodge’s ongoing effort to give back to the local community by utilizing Jephtha’s benevolence committee for this important preservation of this designated historic landmark. The members look forward to future projects with the town to preserve our local history. Jephtha Lodge is proud to call Huntington home since 1860.”
The Old Burying Ground has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981. The earliest surviving marker is over 300 years old, but many of the early wooden and fieldstone markers were lost over the years and never replaced. Located on a hill that once had a clear view of Huntington Harbor, the site was originally chosen because of the difficulty to farm on the hilly terrain.
There are 1,246 marked graves on the 4-acre site, but it is estimated that there may have been up to 8,000 interments since the founding of the Town of Huntington in the mid-17th century. The first legible marker is dated 1712 and the final burial was Russell F. Sammis in May 1957. Mr. Hughes explained to the group the variety of markers that can be seen in the cemetery, including local fieldstones, slate, sandstone, marble, iron, zinc and granite.
In 1782, the last year of the American Revolution, occupying British troops destroyed the nearby Presbyterian Church and constructed Fort Golgotha on the highest point of the hill with timbers removed from the church. The British desecration of the church and cemetery is the first recorded act of vandalism in Huntington. Up to 100 tombstones were destroyed and some were used as bake ovens where, according to local legend, the baked bread had reverse inscriptions of the tombstones readable on the lower crust.
With the opening of Huntington Rural Cemetery on New York Avenue as the Town’s main cemetery in the mid-19th century, the Old Burying Ground was used only occasionally. Regular maintenance of the cemetery is conducted by the Town’s Department of General Services. In 2004, the Town received grant funding from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for the restoration, conservation and preservation of the grounds.
This project between the Town Historian and Jephtha Lodge, which has called Huntington home since 1860, is the latest of several coordinated efforts. Other projects include the installation of an historical marker in front of the lodge building on New York Avenue; participation in the Huntington Historical Society’s historic village walking tour and pub crawl; sharing of archives between the lodge and the Huntington Historical Society; and invaluable assistance in the newly published book “Long Island Freemason,” by Ron Seifried.
Photos from Town of Huntington
Suffolk County Legislator Robert Trotta (Fort Salonga) has invited Arline Goldstein of St. James to serve as his appointee to the Suffolk County Citizens Advisory Board for the Arts. Established in 1978, the board suggests, reviews and recommends policies and programs for the arts. A major function of the board is the allocation of grants to various artistic and cultural organizations. The position is voluntary.
“Ms. Goldstein brings an incredible wealth of talent to the board as she is an artist who has had her work exhibited throughout Long Island and Manhattan. She is a past president of the Smithtown Arts Council and a retired teacher of Art and Gifted Children at the Longwood School District. In her studio on Lake Avenue, she teaches drawing and painting to adults, and in this pandemic holds classes on Zoom,” said Legislator Trotta.
In addition to her artwork, Ms. Goldstein is a founding member of “Celebrate St. James,” a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and promote the culture and arts of St. James. As vice president of the organization, she initiated “Art Walk” on Lake Avenue in St. James.
Dogs and cats can suffer from the same problems that humans do in hot weather. These health concerns include overheating, dehydration and even sunburn. By taking some simple precautions, you can keep your companions healthy and happy in higher temperatures.
▶ Never leave your animal alone in a vehicle. Even with the windows open, a parked automobile can quickly become a furnace.
▶ Limit exercise. Your pet may slow down when the weather heats up, so the best time for exercise is in the early morning or evening, but never when it’s especially hot or humid.
▶ Take care not to let your dog stand on hot asphalt, his body can heat up quickly and his sensitive paw pads can easily burn.
▶ Never trim your pet’s coat to the skin, which can rob your dog of his protection from the sun.
▶ Always provide plenty of shade and cool, clean water for animals when outdoors.
▶ Bring your cat or dog inside during the hottest part of the day.
▶ Make sure your pet always wears a collar and identification tag.
▶ In Suffolk County tethering a dog outside in temperatures over 90° is against the law.
If you see a dog in a hot car, record the information about the vehicle (make, model, color, license plate number), alert the management of the business and call 911 or the Suffolk County SPCA at 631-382-7722.
A barn that has stood for more than a hundred years may not seem like the location for modern learning, but at the Smithtown Historical Society, the Frank Brush Barn is just that.
Every other Friday the historical society is offering free workshops called Technology Savvy Seniors. Executive Director Priya Kapoor said the classes are a way to help elder residents, especially during the pandemic as many are turning to Zoom to talk to loved ones or even take a gym class. Others are finding entertainment options through streaming services such as Netflix.
“This is a way to be able to give back to the community and tell them we appreciate their support, and if we can have this for you and help you in any way that would be great,” she said.
Kapoor said with the seniors attending the classes together they don’t need to be hesitant if they feel they have a lot to learn. The executive director said the barn provides plenty of space to practice socially distanced learning.
The instructor is her son, Rohan Kapoor, who works as a tech consultant. He said when he was a teenager he worked in Staples and was responsible for the mobile department selling phones. When customers didn’t know how to use smartphones, he offered to show them. He said he noticed once people became more familiar with those types of phones, they were more apt to buy them..
The 25-year-old said at the end of every class he asks participants what they want to learn during the next session. While the first class focused on the basics of operating smartphones, the next class July 24 will be about how to use Amazon Prime and Netflix.
“I can go in and teach cryptocurrency but they may not be into it,” he said.
During another workshop, the attendees learned how to use Zoom and spread out into different areas of the historical society and took turns starting meetings, joining one and using other functions of the virtual meeting platform.
Kapoor said he also covers cybersecurity with members from password management to online banking and identity theft. He advises people not to use Social Security numbers or family members’ birthdays as passwords. He said while participants are open to the advice, some say they aren’t comfortable using some of the applications.
“What your comfort level is, I’m not going to tell you; but I’ll tell you about what the technology is,” he said. “I’ll tell you what Apple Pay does, but it’s up to you if you want to use it.”
St. James resident Joan Harris has been a regular at the classes. She said she appreciated the first workshop for smartphones because when she would go to turn on her iPhone, she would enter the six-digit unlock code but wasn’t sure how to use the fingerprint option until taking the class.
“That was a big thing for me,” Harris said. “I was just entering the six digits.”
While she said she already uses Zoom, she is looking forward to getting advice about Netflix after her grandson gave her and her husband, Brad, a BluRay.
“I have no clue how to set it up,” Harris said.
She said it’s nice being in a class with those on the same level, and the small size allows for more personal attention not only from Kapoor but Victoria Del Vento, who helps him out. She said any bit of information she picks up is helpful.
“We didn’t grow up with this,” she said. “Kids now — they know everything.”
For more information on Tech Savvy Seniors, visit www.smithtownhistorical.org.
Some good news: The Heckscher Museum of Art will reopen on Aug. 1.
Visitors will finally be able to see the incredible artwork from Long Island’s Best: Young Artists at the Heckscher Museum and Amanda Valdez: Piecework in person (through Heckscher at Home, the museum had presented these exhibitions virtually) as well as a new installation titled Balancing Act: Three Sculptures by William King. The mini-exhibition features whimsical works by Long Island sculptor William King who was known for his ability to breathe life into static sculptures, especially these stainless steel pieces that at first glance look precariously balanced.
“This is the first time that all three of King’s sculptures from the museum collection are on view together,” noted curator Karli Wurzelbacher. “The themes they address are central to our shared human experience and strike me as especially timely. The need for social distancing means that the gatherings and activities that usually take place in the museum’s lobby are on pause. I’m thrilled that King’s freewheeling figures can populate the space and greet our visitors as they return!”
To ensure all visitors’ safety, admission will be by advance reservation and timed ticketing only. Frequent cleaning schedules are in place and the museum will be a touch-free experience. New modified hours, updated admission policies, and complete health and safety guidelines can be found at www.heckscher.org/reopening. For the time being, admission will be free. To reserve your ticket, visit www.heckscher.org or call 631-380-3230.
MESSAGES OF HOPE
Fred Drewes of Mount Sinai came upon this colorful scene on July 10. He writes, ‘The pilings at Satterly Landing on Shore Road in Mt. Sinai Harbor have been decorated with interesting and pleasing art work. Each conveys a hopeful message and hope for the future.’
By Ellen Mason, Stony Brook
Civilization awakens.
The weather is warm.
We’re eager to mingle.
We’ve weathered the storm.
We’ve made such adjustments,
In the wish to resume.
Now it’s time for a haircut
And examining room.
We’re forever grateful
To workers out there,
Who stayed at their posts,
Through this horrible scare.
We welcome the changes
But with caution, at last
To face life in the future,
With somber thoughts of the
past.
Save the date! The Ward Melville Heritage Organization continues its Master Class series with Forces of Nature: Travel, Conservation and Love, on Wednesday, July 29 via Zoom at 1 p.m.
Forces of Nature brings you internationally renowned conservationist, Endowed Professor of Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University, and Macarthur Genius recipient, Dr. Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia Paladines, a photographer, naturalist and writer.
The couple will engage you with powerful stories of travel, their drive to conserve the environment near and far, and their love of nature and each other. With each story, they will challenge you to see the natural world, how humankind is responsible for changing it, and what those changes mean for us and the nonhumans we share it with.
To register for this free event, please email [email protected] or call 631-751-2244.
While there were times when people would meet at the post office or corner store to discuss local happenings or gossip, much of that has been transferred online, specifically, for many communities, onto Facebook.
Facebook, which was originally designed for college students to judge the attractiveness of coeds, has since morphed into a social media giant. Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, is worth over $54 billion. In that time the site has gained that popularity; the population of the over 2.3 million Facebook users has also skewed older as now the average user is between the age of 25 and 34.
In a 2017 report by Pew Research Center and Elon University, experts in the technology world generally said they believe online discourse will be shaped even more by trolls and other bad actors. Anonymity, experts said, is a leading cause of the general negativity seen with online communication.
“The most you can do with a forum is provide guidelines of what’s appropriate and what’s not and try and induce some level of civility.”
— Rob DeStefano
But what should happen if that negative communication is with the person living down the street, or with a mother or father in the same grade as your own child?
It’s hard to estimate just how much work goes into maintaining these community pages, and even more so, keeping individuals’ posts from spilling over into name calling, anger or worse. Community group admins, some of whom asked not to be named in this article due to the sensitivity of their jobs or their work with the community, spoke with TBR News Media about the difficulty of keeping topics online from spiraling out of control, especially those that deal with politics. It is something many admins of pages who wish to keep talk civil deal with on a daily basis.
Karen Sobel Lojeski, a professor in the College of Engineering at Stony Brook University, has talked about the impact social media has made on the professional world, but she also coined the name, The Threshold Generation, or effectively the last generation of people, aged in their 20s and upward, who knew what it was like to live both with and without these connective technologies.
Many of those who run these community groups are a part of that so-called threshold generation, and have noticed what has happened to the general discourse over time. Rob DeStefano, a member of the Comsewogue school board and lifetime member of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville community, created and has run the Comsewogue Community Facebook page since 2010. What started as a group of just a few hundred members looking to talk about what was working or not working in the school district and local community has become 5,400 members posting about everything from local happenings to medical advice to politics, though one’s mileage may vary on the last one.
“It’s certainly gotten harder because of the different ways social media is used compared to how it was then, but you just try and hold true to what the intent of the page is,” DeStefano said. “The goal is to make sure everyone in the community knows of things that are happening locally or beyond.”
The “beyond” is where things get complicated. Every year the community is notified of the Terryville Fire Department’s carnival or route for Santa during Christmastime, but when neighbors start discussions on topics, for example, about recent police protests and rallies, the dialogue becomes rough, to say the least.
“Your heart hurts hearing the way some people talk to each other on social media because you know it’s very different than how they behave in person,” he said. “The most you can do with a forum is provide guidelines of what’s appropriate and what’s not and try and induce some level of civility.”
Worse, is when these groups where admins try to stay nonpartisan deal with rumors, or worse, conspiracy theories. In early May, a video called “Plandemic” made its rounds on social media. In a video that called itself a trailer for a larger documentary, former chronic disease syndrome researcher Judy Mikovits talked about a large organized effort of global elites to profit off infectious diseases, despite there being no tangible evidence of this widespread conspiracy.
“Then, even walking down the street or watching my kids games with other parents you could feel the hatred and tension.”
— Brenda Eimers Batter
The Pew Research Center released a report June 29 with a survey of 9,654 U.S. adults about how many people see conspiracy theories in COVID-19 news. The report said one in five of those who often rely on social media for coronavirus news say they watched at least part of the “Plandemic” video, while a comparative 10 percent of respondents who said they don’t get COVID news through social media saw it. Among those who have heard of this conspiracy, a reported 36 percent said they think it is either definitely or probably true.
“Plandemic” spread to multiple Facebook groups in the local area, and though many admins delete posts sharing the video, it wasn’t before likely hundreds of members saw it.
Usually, the most volatile discussions revolve around politics, but sometimes, even cases of a local school district issue can devolve into vitriol. What’s worse is when that animosity leaps the screen and starts impacting normal life. Brenda Eimers Batter, who admins the nearly 2,500-member Facebook group UNOFFICIAL INFORMATIONAL Port Jeff Villagers, said she has seen how online dialogue can have a real impact on normal life. In 2017, with the Port Jefferson School District asking residents to vote on a $30 million bond, Eimers Batter said things got “really ugly.”
“Then, even walking down the street or watching my kids games with other parents you could feel the hatred and tension,” she said. “That’s when I stepped in and tried to clean it up.”
That specific Facebook group, the most popular of a village with a real-world population of just over 8,100 residents, has seen changes over time, including a recent name change to add the word “Informational.” Smaller splinter groups in the village have broken off from the most popular page specifically for politics or for more hot button issues. It still does not stop some from regularly posting about such issues anyway.
For DeStefano, the objective is never to silence community residents, though he has felt he has had to delete posts when they seem incendiary. He says he tries to remind people that despite the digital divide, they remain neighbors.
“You wouldn’t talk to each other like this if you were standing on line next to a person in your local supermarket — so why do it here?” the Comsewogue school board trustee said. “People tend to isolate their behavior on social media as being separate from their identity, but it’s not.”
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