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‘Still Life with Peaches’ by Christian White. Photo courtesy of Gallery North

By Ellen Barcel

Gallery North will be presenting a new exhibit, one guaranteed to make the viewer both hungry and thirsty. Thirty artists will have their work on display in The Art of Eating opening Feb. 23 and running through Friday, March 17.

‘Mussels’ by Bruce Lieberman. Image courtesy of Gallery North

Judith Levy, executive director of the gallery, noted that the first time she curated The Art of Eating, six years ago, she had been reading food author M.F.K. Fisher’s collection of essays, “The Art of Eating,” when she got the idea to actually display paintings that focused on food.

In that first exhibit, an artist brought in five images of pizza, the last one showing only the leftover crust. “Some people had unique images,” she observed. This time, Levy said, some of the paintings would be “quirky, some extravagant, some really fun … Someone even did a painting of a wine cork. There’s a wide variety of paintings …. Hanging the show is so much fun seeing the pictures communicate with each other.”

Jackie Lima, one of the artists in the show, is currently in Asia. She was so interested in being in the show, she sent a painting, “Thali,” all the way from India when she heard about the upcoming exhibit. Thali, typical Indian fare, features various dishes served on a platter.

‘Carrots and Oranges’ by Denis Ponsot. Image courtesy of Gallery North

Three Village’s own Christian White will be showing two paintings including “Still Life With Peaches,” a tempting display of fruit and thick, crusty bread with beautiful flowers in the background. Setauket artist Eleanor Meier, well known for her still lifes, many with various food themes, will be showing three pieces, “Pepper Parade,” “Pears and a Blue Plate” and “Juicy Sweet.” Bruce Lieberman’s “Mussels” is so appropriate with Long Island’s seafaring history as is Joan Branca’s “Fish for Sale.” Then there’s Denis Ponsot’s “Carrots and Oranges,” and Tim Kennedy’s “Layer Cake,” the perfect ending to this visual meal.

Styles for the 30 artists vary as does the media from oils to acrylics and water colors as well as drawings and hand pulled prints. Expect realism as well as more abstract styles, all inspired by food and beverages.

There are two special events connected with The Art of Eating. An opening reception will be held on Feb. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. to which the public is invited. In keeping with the theme of the exhibit, on March 12, from 3 to 5 p.m. the gallery plans to have a tasting menu, A Little Taste of France, prepared by renown chef Guy Reuge of Mirabelle Tavern at the Three Village Inn. Referred to as “France’s gift to Long Island,” the award-winning chef will have his new book, “A Chef’s Odyssey,” available for purchase at the event and will sign copies. The book, described as “an insider’s tour” of restaurants, also includes some of his favorite recipes. Cost of the tasting menu is $45 per person. Call the gallery or email [email protected] to register (by March 8) and for further details.

Gallery North is located at 90 North Country Road in Setauket. It is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. For further information, call 631-751-2676 or visit www.gallerynorth.org.

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Protestors at the Not My President Rally in East Setauket Monday, Feb. 20. Photo by Kevin Redding

North Shore residents on both sides of the political spectrum made their voices heard during a local iteration of the nationwide “Not My Presidents’ Day” protest Monday, Feb. 20.

Those driving down Route 25A in East Setauket between 3 and 5 p.m. on Presidents’ Day found themselves caught in between the country’s most heated debate.

On one side of the road, a large crowd of diverse protesters rallied against President Donald Trump (R) and his policies, holding up signs that read “Trump is toxic to humans” and “Not my President,” and on the other side, a smaller but just as passionate group gathered to support the commander-in-chief, holding signs that read “Liberal Lunacy,” with an arrow pointed toward the group on the other side, and “Pres. Trump Will Make America Great Again.”

“Not My Presidents’ Day” rallies took place across the country including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Philadelphia, with thousands of Americans taking to the streets to denounce the president, just one month into his term.

Protestors at the Not My President Rally in East Setauket Monday, Feb. 20. Photo by Kevin Redding

The main group involved in East Setauket’s rally was the Long Island Activists for Democracy, an offshoot of MoveOn, which, according to its website, is the largest independent, progressive, digitally-connected organizing group in the United States.

Activists for Democracy founder Ruth Ann Cohen, from Lake Grove held a sign that asked “Why Is Not My President Adolf Trump in love with Putin?” She said she started the meetup in an effort to “uphold democracy” and stand up to the president, who she called a traitor.

“He refuses to show his taxes, he’s been monetizing the presidency left and right, he’s denigrated our country, he’s a coward, and a misogynist,” Cohen said.

Referring to those on the other side of the road, she said, “Those people don’t believe in anything, their minds are full of hatred…build a wall? We’re for a free shake for everybody. Everyone here is the child or grandchild of a refugee and they want to pull up the drawbridge and keep everybody out.”

Those on the anti-Trump side voiced their concerns of several issues regarding the 45th president, including his now overturned executive order to ban those from Muslim-majority countries, controversial cabinet nominations and what some called “a rise of fascism in this country.”

“I think there’s a general belief the man [Trump] is not competent to be president and that’s what’s brought all these people out,” Stony Brook resident Craig Evinger said.

Bill McNulty, a Setauket resident and Army veteran who served between 1957 and 1964, said he’s been rallying on behalf of anti-war and anti-violence for decades but with “the coming of Trump, it’s much more than that now.”

“We have to stand in opposition in every way, shape or form,” McNulty said. “With my military background, if I were serving today, I would not obey this commander-in-chief. I would say ‘no.’”

Across the road, American flags waved in the wind and patriotic songs played through a speaker, as members of the North Country Patriots — a military support group formed after the Sept. 11 attacks that meets at the corner every weekend in support of soldiers young and old — stood their ground with signs that read “God Bless American Jobs” and “Trump: Build The Wall.”

The group’s founder, Howard Ross of East Setauket, said he and the group “believe in our country, believe in serving our country and doing the right things for our country.”

Protestors at the Not My President Rally in East Setauket Monday, Feb. 20. Photo by Kevin Redding

Ross said those on the other side of the road remind him of the people who spit on him when he returned home from serving in Europe during the Vietnam War.

“I’m never giving my corner up,” he said. “I love to see that flag fly and those people don’t like that. I’ve never heard Obama in eight years get beat up like the press beats up Trump.”

A Tea Party member in the gathering, who asked not to be named, said he was there to support the current president, adding “the resistance to him is unprecedented everybody’s against him…this is an existential threat to our democracy to not let the man perform his duties.”

Jan Williams from Nesconset, wore a red “Make America Great Again” hat and held up a sign that read “We Support The President, The Constitution, The Rule of Law.”

“We’re here because it’s Presidents’ Day and the election’s over and this is not the way to get anything done, to get the points across,” Williams said. “You’ve got to support the president, the Constitution and rule of law. We’re here to show support, that’s all.”

The anti-Trump side chanted “this is what democracy looks like” and sang “This Land is Your Land,” while the Trump side chanted “Build the wall” and “God bless America.”

Throughout the rally, drivers passing the groups honked their horns and hollered out their window to show support for the side they agreed with.

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Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, on right, gets signatures from residents in support of the Community Protection Act outside Stop & Shop in Miller Place. Photo from County Executive Bellone's office

By Kevin Redding

In light of recent court rulings and pending lawsuits in favor of sex offenders, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) is urging the New York State Legislature to follow in the county’s footsteps and get tough on sex criminals by passing legislation that gives the county authorization to uphold its strict laws against them.

On Feb. 11, Bellone and Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) spoke with parents and residents in Miller Place about supporting and protecting the rules within the Suffolk County Community Protection Act — a private-public partnership law developed by Bellone, victims’ rights advocates like Parents for Megan’s Law and law enforcement agencies. It ensures sex offender registration and compliance, and protects residents and their children against sexual violence — much to the dismay of local sex offenders, who have been suing the county to try to put a stop to the act.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and Legislator Sarah Anker talk to residents about the Community Protection Act. Photo from County Executive Bellone’s office

“We’re encouraging people to go on to our Facebook page and sign the online petition,” Bellone said. “We want to get as many signatures as we can to communicate to our partners in the state that this is a priority that we pass legislation that makes it clear Suffolk County has the right to continue doing what it’s doing to protect our community against sex offenders.”

While the county executive said Suffolk representative have been supportive of the law, which was put in place four years ago, he wanted to make sure they’re armed with grassroots support to convince state colleagues they have a substantial evidence to prove it’s popularity and show it’s the right thing to do.

Since it was enacted in 2013, the Community Protection Act has been the nation’s strictest sex offender enforcement, monitoring and verification program, cracking down on all three levels of offenders when it comes to their proximity to a school facility or child-friendly area, and reducing sex offender recidivism in Suffolk County by 81 percent. Ninety-eight percent of Level 2 and more than 94 percent of Level 3 registrants are in compliance with photograph requirements, what Bellone said is a significant increase from before the law took effect.

Through its partnership with Parents for Megan’s Law, the county has conducted more than 10,000 in-person home verification visits for all levels of sex offenders, by sending retired law enforcement to verify sex offenders’ work and home addresses and make sure their registry is accurate and up to date. More than 300 sex offenders have also been removed from social media under the law.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the act is a critical piece of legislation.

“The program has been incredibly successful, which is why sex offenders don’t like it.”

—Steve Bellone

“The numbers don’t lie, there’s a lot of hard evidence and data that shows this act has done precisely what it was designed to do: monitor sex offenders and make sure they’re not doing anything they’re not supposed to be doing,” Deputy Commissioner Justin Meyers said. “To date, I have never met a single resident in this county who didn’t support [it].”

Besides the sex offenders themselves, that is.

The act has made Suffolk County one of the more difficult places for registered sex offenders to live and, since its inception, Suffolk sex offenders have deemed its strict level of monitoring unconstitutional, arguing, and overall winning their cases in court that local law is not allowed to be stricter than the state law.

In 2015, the state Court of Appeals decided to repeal local residency restriction laws for sex offenders, claiming local governments “could not impose their own rules on where sex offenders live.”

In the prospective state legislation, Bellone hopes to close the sex offender loophole that would allow high-level sex offenders to be able to legally move into a home at close proximity to a school.

“The program has been incredibly successful, which is why sex offenders don’t like it,” Bellone said. “This is what we need to do to make sure we’re doing everything we can to protect kids and families in our community. As a father of three young kids, this is very personal to me and I think that while we’ve tried to make government more efficient and reduce costs here, this is an example of the kind of thing government should absolutely be spending resources on.”

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, on right, with a community member who signed his petition urging state lawmakers to uphold the Community Protection Act. Photo from County Executive Bellone’s office

To conduct all the monitoring and fund educational resources offered to the community by Parents for Megan’s Law — teaching parents what to look out for and how to prevent their children from becoming victims — costs roughly $1 million a year, according to Bellone.

In addition to the residential restriction, Bellone is calling on the state to authorize the county to verify the residency and job sites of registered sex offenders, authorize local municipalities to keep a surveillance on homeless sex offenders, who represent less than 4 percent of the offender population in Suffolk County, and require them to call their local police department each night to confirm where they’re staying, and require an affirmative obligation of all sex offenders to cooperate and confirm information required as part of their sex offender designation.

“If people really knew this issue, I couldn’t see how they would oppose the Community Protection Act, because sex offenders are not a common criminal; there’s something fundamentally and psychologically wrong with somebody who commits sexual crime and we as a society have to understand that,” said St. James resident Peter , who held a “Protect Children” rally in the area last years. “Residents should know that the sexual abuse of children is out of control.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four girls are abused and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18.

“It is imperative that we, not only as a community, but as a state, make efforts to further ensure the safety of our children from sexual predators,” Anker said. “We must do everything in our power to ensure that this law is upheld and that’s why I’ve joined [Bellone] in calling on the New York State Legislature to consider an amendment to grant the county the ability to uphold it.”

To sign the petition, visit https://www.change.org/p/new-york-state-protect-our-children-support-the-community-protection-act.

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The owner of The Bench Bar & Grill in Stony Brook is bringing his experience and menu items to the Port Jefferson Country Club beginning in April. Photo by Alex Petroski

Members of the Port Jefferson Country Club and village residents alike may soon have a new favorite local spot to grab breakfast and lunch.

Port Jeff Village’s country club has reached an agreement with the owner of Stony Brook bar and restaurant The Bench Bar & Grill, located on Route 25A. He will take control of the operation of the club’s grill room beginning in the spring. The village has been searching for a proprietor for the vacant restaurant for several months, and after a thorough vetting process, according to village trustee and liaison to the country club Stan Loucks, The Bench’s owner Jeff Capri was the ultimate choice. The grill room will be called The Turn at PJCC after its grand opening, which Loucks said is expected to be April 15.

“He’s got a very successful background,” Loucks said of Capri in a phone interview. “I’m very confident … we’re pretty excited to have this guy on board.”

Loucks said the grill room has been renovated to get the partnership off on the right foot, as new flooring at a cost of about $7,900; tables and other furnishings for about $6,300 and new kitchen equipment have been installed. The village board also approved the purchase of a new bar top for about $4,000 and about $2,600 in electrical upgrades, during a meeting Jan. 24. General carpentry at a cost not to exceed $17,600 and plumbing improvements not to exceed $5,300 were approved Dec. 19.

“It’s the first time we’ve had this kind of a facility upgrade to make it more attractive and comfortable for the membership,” Loucks said. He said the agreement between the village and Capri is a three-year contract, which includes a minimal rental charge to be collected by the village that can go up based on success of the establishment in year one, but allows Capri to collect all of the proceeds from food sales. Loucks said the arrangement is meant to establish a service for members and village residents, not as a means to gain revenue for the club or village.

“We’re not looking to make money on this, we’re just looking to provide a good experience for membership — it’s not a revenue stream for us,” he said.

The menu has not yet been finalized, but Loucks said the plan is to serve burgers, sandwiches, French fries, wraps and more on what he referred to as an “extensive lunch menu,” available from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. most days. Traditional breakfast items will be served from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. He said he and a committee had lunch at The Bench to sample some of their best items during the vetting process, and he’s looking forward to having the food regularly available at
the club.

Loucks called Capri and his wife Barbara “true professionals,” and said they have been involved in the renovations and setup of The Turn at PJCC every step of the way.

“He and his wife Barbara have been dynamite,” Loucks said.

Loucks added Capri is in the process of getting a liquor license approved for the location, and happy hour deals a couple of days per week are being discussed. The grill room will not be open for dinner, because the club already has a contract established with Lombardi’s on the Sound for evenings.

Capri did not respond to a request for comment.

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Kiddie Academy hosts second annual Hop-A-Thon to raise money for the Lukemia and Lymphona Society

On Feb. 17, kids between the ages 5 and 12 turned the music up and busted a move for good reason: they helped to raise $575 for those with leukemia and those working to find a cure.

For the second year in a row, Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care in Wading River sponsored a fun-filled and awareness-driven Hop-a-thon for the Long Island chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding research, finding cures and providing treatment access for blood cancer patients.

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Campaign Specialist Alexa Landro speaks to kids at Kiddie Academy of Wading River. Photo by Kevin Redding

As part of the organization’s Student Series, which aims to involve young people in the fight against cancer through service learning and character education programs, the event is a dance celebration for kids who, along with their parents, contributed money to the important cause. As leukemia affects more children than any other cancer, the program lets kids help kids while having fun.

But before the academy’s school age kids took to the lobby to hop and bop to songs like Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” they sat down for a brief presentation about what they donated money towards, engaging in true-or-false questionnaires about blood cancers and learning about the “honored heroes” on Long Island — students from local school districts who have beaten cancer.

“Thanks to each and every one of you helping to raise money, kids like these are 100 percent better today and happy and healthy,” Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Campaign Specialist Alexa Landro told the energetic kids. “You’re dancing for them and I can’t thank you enough.”

Kiddie Academy of Wading River students danced during its second annual Hop-A-Thon Feb. 17 to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Socoety. Photo by Kevin Redding

Samantha Wooley, a Kiddie Academy staff member, said the Hop-A-Thon is a reflection of the values of compassion and community contribution the students work on every month.

“In dancing, and just having fun, they’re working as a team and doing this all together,” Wooley said. “It’s broken up into different ages and levels, some of them are more shy while others are outgoing, and we’re just mixing them all together to have one big dance off.”

Kiddie Academy of Wading River reached out to the society last year to participate in the program to support one of its students who had been diagnosed with leukemia, and is currently in remission.

Christina St. Nicholas, the director of Kiddie Academy of Wading River, said in a press statement that the Hop-A-Thon was “exactly in line with our curriculum” and the child care’s “strong emphasis on character education.”

“[It’s] an exciting program that will engage our preschoolers and school-age children to help others in a fun, educational way,” St. Nicholas said. “Joining in this program to fight leukemia is one of the many ways we strive to model the values of community, compassion and cooperation each and every day.”

Kiddie Academy of Wading River staff member Michele Boccia, on left, and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Campaign Specialist Alexa Landro, on right, talk to students about the lives they’re helping save. Photo by Kevin Redding

Nearly all 35 students in the school-age department of Kiddie Academy participated, with each classroom collecting bags of loose change. The childcare center also reached out to parents, who had the option to pay through a website or submit a check. Donations ranged from $25 to $75.

Kristin Lievre, a mother of two Kiddie Academy students from Wading River, said it’s important that the kids learn at an early age to give back to the community.

“I think it’s good to see there are ways we can help people through things like this,” she said. “This makes them feel good about what they can do for others.”

Sophia, 10, one of the star dancers of the day, echoed Lievre.

“It feels good because we can raise money for the people who are sick so they can get better,” she said, “and don’t have to deal with the sickness anymore.”

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MEET SHONA! Shona, one of several dogs from Thailand rescued by the SOI Dog Foundation, has recently arrived at the Kent Animal Shelter, 2259 River Road in Calverton. Instead of being brutally butchered in the Asian dog meat trade, she is now safe and sound. This sweet Shepherd mix is 6 years young, weighs 41 pounds, is spayed, microchipped and up to date on all her shots. Please come give this pretty girl the loving and caring home she so deserves! For more information on Shona and other adoptable pets at Kent, call 631-727-5731.

Update: Shona has been adopted!

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From left, Don Eckerle and Mark Waldron investigate The Whaling Museum’s archives. Photo courtesy of The Whaling Museum

Don Eckerle and Mark Waldron know a thing or two about history. They have poured through tens of thousands of marriage licenses, birth records, death certificates, military enlistments and even Titanic claims — and now, for the first time, through hidden records of Cold Spring Harbor’s whaling history.

The two Kings Park residents are trustees of the German Genealogy Group, an organization established in 1996 to provide genealogical research support. The group currently hosts a website (www.theggg.org) that indexes genealogical research aids freely available to its 1,100 members and the general public, assisting people from Long Island and beyond to find their roots. The records are chiefly centered in the New York metropolitan area and represent all nationalities.  Additional indexed records are continually being added to the website, many of which are not available on other sites.

The Whaling Museum’s collection is both a local and nationally significant resource for preserving our cultural heritage, but the archives are largely unknown to the general public. A generally untapped resource, the collections provide insight and documentary evidence of Cold Spring Harbor’s infrastructure and Long Island’s development not found in any other repository. The collections contain 95 percent of existing manuscript material from the Cold Spring Harbor whaling fleet, including photographs, correspondence, ledgers, scrapbooks, crew lists, ship logs, journals, deeds, poems and records that document the people, places and moments from the 18th to 20th centuries. A significant portion of the collection documents 44 voyages by nine local ships from 1836 to 1862.

Beginning in 2016, Eckerle and Waldron painstakingly examined the collection folder by folder, carefully lifting names into an index containing the name of the person or company, the year of the record, the type of record and its location in the museum. Their project resulted in gathering the names of 4,000 people.

“Long Island possesses a vibrant and fascinating maritime heritage. Periodically, we receive research requests from people exploring their ancestry or scholars investigating individuals, which up until now was a wild goose chase,” said Executive Director Nomi Dayan. “Don and Mark’s tedious work greatly enhances the accessibility of our archives to serve as a first level of research support. We are hopeful this project will result in an increase in public interest and build advocates of this important cultural heritage resource,” she said.

Waldron noted, “The records indexed for The Whaling Museum are a perfect example of what we try to do. It was surprising to see the wide variations in the types of documents: crew lists, ship owner lists, personal letters, obituaries, probate records, land deeds. Some of these records go back to the 18th and early 19th century. There was even a page that had the words to the song “Yankee Doodle” published for a July 4th celebration in 1803!”

Waldron has been researching his own family history for 22 years and belongs to several genealogy organizations. “When I first began, most of the research was done via microfilm, which was very slow and tedious.  The advent of on-line indexes and records has made genealogical research much easier. Creating digital indexes to records is very rewarding, especially when the archive tells you that they are receiving record requests due to the index we’ve created.”

Eckerle has traced one family line back to the late 1500s in France. “Through my research, I was able to even trace one daughter-in-law’s family line back to the Mayflower and connected her to a few very significant men in the Revolutionary War period.”

The index is available through www.theggg.org as well as www.cshwhalingmuseum.org.

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Free pre-K will replace fee pre-K at Nassakeag in September. Application deadline March 31. Stock Photo

By Andrea Paldy

The Three Village school district announced last week that it will launch a free prekindergarten program in the fall to replace the current fee-based program housed at Nassakeag Elementary School.

The school board meeting also brought up-to-date news about the tax cap and the district’s STEM program.

Speaking about the new, free prekindergarten program, Jeff Carlson, the district’s assistant superintendent for business services, explained that it will remain at Nassakeag. He also said the program will be taught by Three Village teachers and only be open to district residents. For the past two years, Three Village has been partnering with SCOPE Education Services to run a preschool for 4-year-olds at Nassakeag.

Under the new district-only program, there will be 200 spots for 4-year-olds in 10 classes — five in the morning and five in the afternoon. Carlson said both the morning and afternoon sessions will meet for two-and-a-half hours, five days a week. Children must be potty-trained to attend and must turn 4 by Dec. 1, 2017. If there are more applicants than spaces, students will be selected by lottery, Carlson said. The current kindergarten enrollment stands at 339.

While the preschool playground and classrooms are in place, the district would still have to cover the cost of staffing the program.  Carlson estimated it would cost about $450,000 in teaching salaries and benefits. However, because of declining
enrollment in the elementary schools, Three Village would have had to lay off three
elementary school teachers next fall. Now, though, the district will shift three teachers with early childhood education certifications over to the preschool. Two additional teachers will be hired.

The deadline for application is March 31, and the lottery drawing will be held April 21.

The budget

With new numbers in from the state, Three Village has a clearer picture of its finances for the coming school year. With those figures in place, Carlson said the new projected limit on the tax levy increase is 3.40 percent. That is up from an initial projection of 1.46 percent in January.

The baseline for what is commonly referred to as the tax cap is set at 2 percent, or the consumer price index — whichever is lower. In addition, each district’s maximum allowable levy increase is calculated using a formula that includes criteria such as a district’s tax base growth factor, capital projects and bond payments, Carlson said.

Three Village can expect an increase in state aid of about $247,000, based on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) executive budget for 2018. The amount does not include building aid. Last year, the district received a $3.5 million bump because of the end of the Gap Elimination Adjustment — funds taken from school aid packages to assist the state in balancing its budget. The district will not need to cut any programs for budget reasons.

Computer science

With STEM careers growing at a rate of 17 percent — compared to 9.8 percent for other fields — according to a report from the district’s computer science faculty, Three Village students have the opportunity to stay abreast of a rapidly changing field.

Stan Hanscom, a math and computer science teacher at P.J. Gelinas Junior High, said because district students are exposed to coding through the elementary STEM program, the district’s junior high computer classes offer a bridge between early exposure and offerings at the high school. Hanscom’s students learn Scratch and TI Basic for calculators, which introduce code sequencing, trouble-shooting and problem solving.

In grades eight and nine, students focus on logical thinking and learn programming using Python. Ward Melville High School offers AP computer science A, an introductory, college-level course in Java programming. Next year, students will also be able to take AP computer science principles, which focuses less on programming and more on the foundations of programming, with an interdisciplinary approach, said Katelyn Kmiotek, who teaches eighth- and ninth-graders at Gelinas Junior High. She will teach the new course in the fall.

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Barbara and Herman Lee with Barbara’s mother Ethel Lewis. Photos from Geral Lee.

By Geral Lee

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is unquestionably synonymous with Black History Month. He courageously confronted social inequities and racism in the midst of an adverse anti-black administration largely due to J. Edgar Hoover who had been appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation, renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935. Few could compete with Hoover’s power and he went virtually unchallenged for half a century.

Hoover opposed making Dr. King’s birthday a national holiday. His smear campaign attempted to label Dr. King as a communist and a homosexual. He ordered illegal wire taps of Dr. King’s hotel room to try to justify his stance and used the power of government to satisfy his own bigotry toward blacks. Dr. King persevered.

Herman Lee in his Navy days (circa 1941). Photo from Geral Lee

There were many other individuals way before Dr. King who challenged the system in the name of justice. I am certain their actions helped define his political strategies. These people — and God bless them — were not just slaves, demonstrators or rioters.    

I must include Glenn Beck in this article. I am not suggesting he is an authority on black history. As the colorful conservative that he is, his question as to why the many contributions of black people continue to remain hidden from the mainstream is a legitimate one — and yet another reason to celebrate Black History Month.

In one of his tapings, “Glenn Beck Founders’ Fridays Black American Founders” (Fox News), that I listened to on YouTube, he mentioned Peter Salem, a hero in the Battle of Bunker Hill who saved scores of American lives. During the Battle of Lexington, white and black parishioners who worshiped together were commanded to fight. James Armistead served as a double spy. And is that Prince Whipple, the black crewman, in the painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware? I am not so sure because many blacks fought in the American Revolution. Freedom was not an automatic option.       

There have been unsung black heroes making all kinds of contributions throughout American history. The members of the 333rd Battalion, for example. The Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company of Baltimore, Maryland, which was one of the largest and most successful black businesses in America in the 1870s.   

“Dirty Little Secrets About Black History: Its Heroes & Other Troublemakers” by Claud Anderson reveals that in the late 1800s, blacks invented and filed for patents on a number of transportation-related devices. Andrew J. Beared invented an automatic train car coupler. Albert B. Blackburn invented a railway signal. R.A. Butler invented a train alarm. Although many inventors were fresh out of slavery and the literacy rate among slaves was 50 percent, black inventors filed hundreds of patents for transportation devices. The Safe Bus Company was a black-owned city-chartered bus line in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, from 1930 to the 1960s.   

Black history celebrates regular people engaged in positive activities. Here are some examples:

My father Herman Lee resided at 34 Christian Ave., Setauket, between 1956 and 2011. He was employed at the Setauket yard of the Brookhaven Highway Department in the 1960s and promoted to foreman in the 1970s. He did carpentry/home improvement projects for Three Village homeowners; among his regular clients, the Windrows and the Strongs. In World War II he served on the USS Hornet CV-12. After he became a chaplain for the VFW along with his wife Barbara Lewis Lee who was a practical nurse and historian in her own right. They sent all of their four children to college: Barbara, Herman, Geral and Peter.

Barbara, Herman, Geral and Peter Lee. Photo from Geral Lee

Uncle Sherwood Lewis was an employee of Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO). He came up with an idea that saved the company more than $100,000 a year according to a Newsday article dated April 23, 1977. He, too, was raised on Christian Avenue and now resides in Massachusetts.

Grandmother Ethel Lewis, valedictorian of her high school graduating class, resided at 32 Christian Ave. with her husband Howard Lewis. They subdivided their property so my parents could build their house on Christian Avenue.

Aunt Hazel Lewis, salutatorian of her graduating class, was employed at Peck & Peck in New York City back in the day — a high-end boutique clothing store for women.   

Aunt Pearl Lewis Hart received an associates degree in accounting in her 40s, was promoted to supervisor of the payroll department at SUNY Stony Brook and, until her death last month at age 92, was living in her own home on Christian Avenue.

Uncle Harry Hart, Pearl’s husband, owned his own excavation and contracting business from the 1940s to the 1980s. He acquired land on Christian Avenue and rented to many local folks.   

Remembering a few of Dr. King’s principles of nonviolence can help provide the foundation for a healthy society: “Nonviolence is a way of life for brave people; attack problems, not people; know and do what is right even when it is difficult.”     

I know there are many individuals who believe in these principles.

Black History Month means different things to different people, but if it can fill in the gaps, identify injustice, encourage positive dialogue and provide a platform for people to work toward understanding one another, it is a valuable ongoing process.

Geral Lee returned to her Setauket home in 2013 to be with her father after living in Rhode Island for 12 years. She taught physical education and health in Hempstead early in her career and received a personal invitation from her primary school coach Jack Foley, who later became athletic director for Three Village schools, to teach at Ward Melville. She served in the Peace Corps in Senegal, loves dogs and cats and currently relieves stress as a reflexologist.

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