Dorothy (Kate Keating) greets theatergoer Selah, age 4, of Nesconset, after a performance of “The Wizard of Oz” at the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport on Oct. 1. The children’s show runs through Nov. 6.
‘Wizard of Oz’ opens at the Engeman
Home Community
A labor of love: A community garden grows in Port Jefferson
By Ellen Barcel
Tucked among the quaint shops on East Main Street in Port Jefferson is an urban oasis.
A community garden came to Port Jefferson this past growing season. The new garden is located in front of the 1812 Captain Thomas Bayles House, right next to the Port Jefferson Free Library on East Main Street. The former home of the Scented Cottage Garden gift shop, the historic building was sold to the library last year. Erin Schaarschmidt, head of teen services for the library, said “there are no plans just yet” for the future of the building, and “public input is needed” with suggestions for its future use, but the front lawn of the property was quickly put to use.
The idea for the community garden came from Anthony Bliss, youth services librarian. Bliss, who works with children and teens, wanted something that the younger children could do. “And teen volunteers are always clamoring for community service,” said Schaarschmidt. “The teens started the seeds in the teen center in spring [which is across the street from the main building]. Then the children came with their families to plant [the seedlings]… the teens have been weeding it to keep up with it.” Even when school started, teens have been coming in the afternoons after school. Commenting on the dedication of the teen volunteers, Schaarschmidt noted, “The teen volunteers even came when it was 90 degrees or more and in the rain. It really was a labor of love.”
The garden featured several types of tomatoes and peppers in raised beds. Welcome Inn, a soup kitchen in Port Jefferson, was the recipient of the bounty. But vegetables were not the only plants raised in the community garden. Lots of annuals including sunflowers, impatiens, zinnia and salvia, many in colorful planters decorated by a local Girl Scout group, filled the garden, as well as herbs such as basil and mint. There was even an aquatic garden with water hyacinths and a fountain. Painted rocks placed carefully along the beds completed the picture.
The brightly colored birdhouses that adorn some of the larger perennials in the garden, such as the beautiful hydrangeas, are embossed with the letters PJFL. But what is more unique about them is that they were made using a three-dimensional printer that the library owns. A 3D printer makes objects from a digital file. So instead of printing out a photo of a birdhouse, the 3D printer produces the birdhouse itself. Using PLA, a type of biodegradable plastic, the teens created the colorful additions. The library owns the printer, but currently it is used only for special programs. “It takes one to two hours to print each thing,” said Schaarschmidt, so the process is time consuming, but “in the future [the public] will be able to use it.” She noted that the library is working out details, including the cost.
Now that autumn is just about here, plans include putting in a fall display of mums and corn stalks. Noted Schaarschmidt, “The Friends of the Library will be having a small sale of pumpkins to raise money for the library on Oct. 22.” She added, kids will be able to have their photos taken. “It will be a family event.” Check the library’s website, www.portjefflibrary.org, for specifics, or call 631-473-0022 closer to the date.
Community gardens have so many benefits: produce for those who can’t afford it, service for local volunteers and, of course, the beauty of the plants themselves. They increase local property values and they cut down on the distance food must travel, helping to control pollution, to name just a few. For further information on community gardens, especially if you are interested in starting, or taking part in one, can be found at the American Community Gardening Association website: www.communitygarden.org.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.
Photo of the Week
AUTUMN SUNSET
Elisa Hendrey of Sound Beach captured this gorgeous sunset over Mount Sinai Harbor on Sept. 26 using her iPhone 5.
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected].
Eye on Education: SBU strives for gender equality with new diversity plan
By Dr. Samuel L. Stanley
Implementation of Stony Brook University’s new Plan for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity is off to a great start, with several initiatives underway to take us to the next level in enhancing student, faculty and staff diversity and building an inclusive community.
Gender equality is one of the focal points of our plan. As one of 10 University IMPACT Champions worldwide for UN Women’s HeForShe movement, Stony Brook is committed to being a national leader in gender equality and serving as a model for other colleges and universities.
HeForShe encourages men and boys to become agents of change in achieving global gender equality by building on the work of the women’s movement as equal partners, crafting and implementing a shared vision of gender equality that will benefit all of humanity. For Stony Brook, HeForShe provides a visionary and sound foundation from which we can work to improve diversity and the human condition on our campus and beyond.
To highlight our commitment to achieving gender equality, Stony Brook University co-hosted the HeForShe second anniversary event, welcoming world leaders, activists, change-makers and celebrities to the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan on Sept. 20. At the event, we celebrated the launch of the first HeForShe IMPACT 10×10×10 University Parity report, which charts Stony Brook’s progress toward gender equality along with nine other leading universities from around the world.
Some of our progress includes building gender sensitization programming and gender equality themes into our mandatory freshman seminar class; forming a HeForShe Steering Committee of students, faculty and staff to oversee the implementation of our commitments; and hosting the first SUNY-wide HeForShe conference last March to work with all 64 SUNY campuses in developing programs to increase gender equality, giving us the potential to impact the experiences of more than 459,000 students and almost 90,000 faculty and staff.
Stony Brook is also now a leader in the field, offering the first-ever master’s degree program in masculinities studies within the university’s Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities led by Distinguished Professor of Sociology Michael Kimmel.
On Sept. 12, Stony Brook welcomed Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women and under-secretary-general of the United Nations, who delivered a timely and provocative lecture to our students, faculty and staff. To quote Mlambo-Ngcuka: “There aren’t enough universities in the world that have put this issue at the center of our work. It is in universities where we produce thought leaders and people who can truly change the world.”
Stony Brook is proud to be a pioneering university in our progress toward gender equality. Visit stonybrook.edu/diversityplan and stonybrook.edu/heforshe for more information.
Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr. is the president of Stony Brook University.
Splashes of Hope celebrates 20 years of healing with paint
By Wenhao Ma
Splashes of Hope, a nonprofit organization based in Huntington that provides murals for medical and social service facilities to create welcoming environments that facilitate healing turned 20 this past month.
Years ago Heather Buggee, creator of Splashes of Hope, was just an art school student with a close friend who was suffering from Hodgkin’s Disease. While he was being treated, Buggee said the two friends talked about how positive imagery and an appealing environment would help patients relax and support the healing process while they stayed in a hospital.
Her friend did not survive the illness— but Buggee decided to keep their dream alive.
In 1996, Buggee created Splashes of Hope.
“Environment is very much a part of the healing process,” Phil Rugile, president of Splashes of Hope board said in a phone interview. “Splashes fills that gap, and if nothing else gives a child a few minutes of respite from whatever scary event brought them to the hospital in the first place.”
Senior mural artist, project manager, and daughter of Buggee Sarah Baecher said the organization was started in her mother’s basement. Now Splashes of Hope is located inside Coindre Hall, a mansion built in 1912 that is now owned by Suffolk County, fit with an office and art studio. They have been there for the past 15 years.
There are four artists working daily in the office, but Baecher said the nonprofit has more than 50 volunteers on Long Island and more than 100 nationwide. With the help of volunteers, Splashes of Hope has worked on projects across the country and world.
“To date we have ‘splashed’ thousands of focal points and murals in children’s hospitals across the U.S., local Veteran’s homes, shelters, psychiatric clinics, cancer centers, nursing homes, orphanages in Ukraine and hospitals in Paris, Cairo, Nicaragua and Rome,” Buggee said in an email.
To create murals, artists would first visit the hospital or facility to see how their creation would best fit in the room. Then they can either paint directly on the walls in the facility or on removable panels in their studios, which are later installed in the facility.
“We work with the staff in the hospital and see what kind of theme they need for patients,” Baecher said. “In asthma centers, we want something where you can breath, like an open sky with some birds flying around. In psychiatric centers, you don’t want stimulus. We do a lot of open water scenes.”
Other than painting for public facilities, Splashes of Hope also does murals for the bedrooms of children with life-threatening illness, with artwork that shows off their favorite things.
Ethan Chang, 13, is one of the children who received a mural , Chang has degenerative brain disease, and five years ago, he was granted a wish by Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Dave Gussaroff, who was Chang’s “wish granter” at that time, called Splashes of Hope and asked if they could do a mural for Chang’s bedroom.
Since then, Chang and his parents, Thomas and Ann-Marie, have been involved with the organization. According to his mother, Ann-Marie, Chang loves painting with Baecher and Buggee, and several of his paintings are now hung in the organization’s studio.
“I’m here because of [Buggee],” Ethan’s mother said in an interview, who is now a volunteer for Splashes of Hope. “She got my son interested. Then he brought my husband and me in. You can feel her love and passion for what she does and it makes you want to be a part of it. There’s a million places that we could have chosen and wanted to spend time and volunteer for. And we have done volunteer work for other organizations. But when you come here, there’s a different feel.”
Original owner of Port Jeff bar sets record straight
By Billie Phillips
My name is Billie E. Phillips. Thirty-five years ago, my late first wife and I, borrowed every dollar we could and spent every dime we had to open up the Bar/Restaurant, Billie’s 1890 Saloon. Like every venture into the hospitality business, it was a gamble. We were very fortunate. Through the first years it became apparent that Billie’s was becoming a special place for the community, a place for stories to be told, laughs to be had, and new memories to be made.
Since then and after my sale of Billie’s it has maintained its standing as part of the fabric of the community. Unfortunately, as most of you know, Billie’s sustained a kitchen fire and has been closed since late June. Since then, the current tenant’s lease was cancelled for reasons many people have speculated about, but most people have no true knowledge of.
Rumors have spread to the point that petitions were started to save the building from being torn down. The building will not be torn down and the bar and restaurant you have grown to love will continue on in the tradition of Billie’s 1890 Saloon for as long as I have a say in the matter.
After a brief tour of the building by the landlord, I was asked if I would be interested in leasing the property, as a new lease would not be offered to individuals of the previous corporate tenant for reasons that were explained to me. After some contemplation, I felt the reasons were understandable.
At the end of the day, I could not stand by and watch Billie’s 1890 Saloon be taken over by anyone without ties to the Port Jefferson community. In a decision that was very difficult to me because of friendships I have with people connected to Billie’s, in many capacities, my family and I have assumed control of the space used by Billie’s 1890 Saloon. It is my hope people will begin to understand this could have been the end of Billie’s as they knew it, and to some it will probably still feel this way. However, to those that are skeptical, please know my family and I will endeavor always to maintain the intangibles that make Billie’s such a special place in the hearts of so many.
Billie Phillips is the original owner of Billie’s 1890 Saloon, located on Main Street in Port Jefferson.
Rainy run to the Port Jeff Brewery raises money for parks
The remnants of Hurricane Matthew made for a sloppy morning, but that didn’t stop more than a thousand runners who laced up their shoes and hit the streets of Port Jefferson for a good cause.
The 15K Run to the Port Jeff Brewing Company took place Oct. 9 to raise money for the Port Jefferson “Treasure Your Parks” campaign, an initiative created to help refurbish the more than 50-year-old Clifton H. Lee Memorial Park, which is commonly known as Rocketship Park.
The roughly nine-mile race began on West Broadway near Schafer’s restaurant, and concluded on Mill Creek Road near the Port Jeff Brewing Company, where participants celebrated the run with a cold beer. Runner Chris Steenkamer crossed the finish line first, and Chris Koegel came in second.
An event to kick off the refurbishing process, called the Rocketship Park Launch Off, will be held Oct. 13 at 4:30 p.m. at the park located behind Port Jefferson Village Hall about a half a block away from Port Jeff Brewing Company. For more information visit www.rebuildrocketship.org.
LIM to host day-long symposium on Long Island in the 1960s
On Saturday, Oct. 22 from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook will celebrate its blockbuster summer exhibition Long Island in the Sixties with a full-day symposium of the same name.
By the close of the 1960s, although the Long Island region had become more economically prosperous than 27 states, it was experiencing a wide array of social, political and cultural changes that went beyond demographic shifts and industrial development.
Five guest speakers will explore some of the most trenchant developments that occurred across the region during the 1960s. Join them to examine and more deeply understand the lasting impact that suburban and economic trends, the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, the local Civil Rights Movement, regional architecture and Long Island’s popular music made on this local area and in the United States at large.
Presenters will include Stephen Patnode, associate professor of history and acting chair of Farmingdale State College’s Department of Science, Technology and Sociology; Christopher Verga, professor of history at Suffolk County Community College and author of “Civil Rights on Long Island,” Arcadia Publishing Inc.; Caroline Rob Zaleski, preservationist and architectural historian and author of “Long Island Modernism, 1930-1980,” SPLIA and W.W. Norton; Lawrence R. Samuel, independent scholar and American cultural historian and author of “The End of the Innocence: The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair,” Syracuse University Press; and John Broven, music historian and custodian of the family-owned Golden Crest Records and author of the award-winning “Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans,” Pelican Press, and “Record Makers and Breakers,” University of Illinois Press.
Participants will enjoy Q-and-A sessions with all speakers, lunch break and optional self-guided tour of the Gilding the Coasts exhibition. Admission is $12 adults, $10 for students, seniors and museum members (there is an additional, optional $10 lunch fee). Preregistration and prepayment are required. All fees include general museum admission. For more information, call The Long Island Museum’s Education Director Lisa Unander at 631-751-0066, ext. 212.
One on One with Mike Meola
By Kevin Redding
For Mike Meola, owner of Darkside Productions’ Haunted House in Wading River, summer begins and ends in June. After that, he’s in full Halloween mode. While others are at the beach in July and August, Meola surrounds himself with hanging scarecrows and skeletons, working tirelessly every year since 1998 to build the props, animatronics and elaborate, horror movie-quality sets that turn a vacant potato barn and a quiet stretch of fields on Route 25A into one of the most popular and visited haunted attractions in the country throughout October.
The North Shore native and full-time carpenter lives and breathes the spooky season, and his passion for scaring — and entertaining — people of all ages has brought a lot of attention to Darkside, which was recently featured on Buzzfeed’s list of “25 Haunted Houses Across America That Will Scare the Crap Out of You.” What started out as a mere love of Halloween and horror as a kid has escalated to a booming family business that has now entered its 19th season.
What got you interested in haunts?
I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. I used to build these haunted walk-throughs in my basement. I love Halloween, I always have. And back when I was growing up, there was no Spirit Halloween or anything so you had to make your costume and scour all different places to find what you wanted to use to build your costume. You would think way in advance, because you couldn’t just walk in the store and get it. After Halloween, I was already starting to think “what do I wanna be next year?” and went to clearance sales and any place where you can find a mask or something, and then run around for the rest. So it just really came from a love of Halloween.
What were your favorite horror movies growing up?
I liked all the killer movies — “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” I thought Freddy was great for his interactions; most of the other ones didn’t speak or anything, but Freddy had really cool wise-ass phrases to say to everybody. The movie that scared me though when I was a kid was “The Exorcist.” That movie was terrifying. A killer getting shot a hundred times, getting up, getting burned, getting blown up, coming back isn’t scary to me. But the supernatural, that is scary.
What sets Darkside apart from other haunted attractions?
We’re a stand-alone haunt. We’re not a building that becomes a haunted house just for October. So when you get here, the moment you get out of the car, you’re in your own horror film. We’re in this deserted place in Wading River, so as soon as you exit the safety of your car, you get that sense of “Oh my God, I am in for a completely different experience!” because everything around you is haunted and in that foreboding atmosphere.
We don’t curse at you, we don’t grab you, we don’t touch you, we don’t do any of these “extreme” type things … because we don’t have to do that to scare you. We’re really good at setting up our scares, we’re really good at setting the scene and decorating, and our actors are phenomenal. Everything looks real! Once you enter the gates, you are in our world. The outside world completely ceases. And you won’t find a lot of off-the-shelf stuff here, because we build almost everything. It’s atmosphere. You have to have a great set, great lighting, great sound to build that tension. And the biggest challenge is creating this completely terrifying environment in the most safe environment [people] are in. They’re completely safe and yet they feel like they’re in imminent danger at all times.
How much work goes into Darkside each year?
People don’t realize the tremendous amount of work that goes into building an event like this. They think that it’s here, and little elves come and set it all up for me and I just come and open the door. Haunting is hard, hard work. We have to do repairs and maintenance, and come up with new room designs, build them. You’re doing that until the moment you open. On Friday at 6:59 p.m., there’s something I’m fixing or setting up before those doors open at 7. You’re never done.
Why do you think people love to be scared?
It’s exactly the same as riding a roller coaster. You know you’re safe, you know you’re strapped in and yet when you start going up and down and all over, you feel like you shouldn’t be there. It’s the same with a haunted house. It’s that adrenaline rush. It takes about 25 minutes to go through this place. Roller coaster rides are like two minutes long, but they feel like they’re five seconds. It’s the same thing here. People are screaming “I wanna get out! Is this over yet?!” and then they get out, and they’re so disappointed that it’s over. Even though they just want to get out, they don’t want it to end. I call it “vacation let down” the minute the door opens and they’re outside and safe.
Has the haunt more or less stayed the same over the years?
No, we change it every year. We’ve change the house completely in the last five years. We constantly change, add things, move things around, because we want to keep you guessing. If you came last year, we want to show you something different this year. Every year we say “how are we gonna top this show? There’s no way we’re gonna top this” and then every year we come up with something and add to that show, and it just makes it so much better.
What’s your all-time favorite room at Darkside?
One of the greatest things we’ve ever had was called “the falling wall.” We had this giant wall that came down right at you. It was just so unexpected, ya know? You walk in, and expect an actor or something, you never expect this 12-foot wall to come crashing down at you. That was a really cool effect and one of those things people still talk about. The fire marshall the other day was like “You have to bring that back! That was such a killer room!”
How many people do you hire every year?
During the season, we have about 40 [scare] actors. A lot of our actors come back every year, but we do interviews and auditions. We teach them how to be professional actors. They can work in any haunted house anywhere in the United States after working here. We teach them everything they need to know about timing, reading people, quick improvisation … we really try to personalize the show for each group that comes through. If we catch your name or something that you said, we’ll have a response. The actors have to be quick, have to pay attention, and it’s hard work. It’s physical activity, you jump and you move and you run. A lot of people don’t expect that.
How involved is your family?
We’re as grass roots as you can get. All my kids, my fiance, my mom, and my sister work here. My brother used to work here before he moved. It’s been a family business ever since we started. My son is an actor here but he also helps me build and set up, my daughter was an actor here but now she’s running our concession, my mom does tickets, my sister does the daytime show tickets, my other daughter is an actor here. Kathy, my fiance, is a manager. It’s great, it brings us all together. I’m surrounded by family and if they weren’t working here, I’d never see them in October!
What age group seems to enjoy Darkside the most?
I’d say our biggest fan base is older. We do get a lot of teenagers, but we have a lot of older people who love Halloween and love haunted houses. They know that this is a great show and if they’re coming to one, they’re coming here. You would think that it would be all teenage girls, but it’s not. It’s really a lot of 25 to 35, 35 to 40-year-olds. It’s an older crowd, which is cool because we’re scaring them! To me, a kid is an easy scare. I want to scare adults!
Darkside Haunted House, 5184 Route 25A, Wading River is open through Oct. 31. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.darksideproductions.com or at www.ScreamLI.com.
Mount Sinai Civic celebrates centennial milestone
The Mount Sinai Civic Association isn’t just a local organization — it’s an institution that has become part of the community’s fabric for the last 100 years.
On Oct. 6 at the Willow Creek Golf & Country Club, the civic association celebrated its anniversary with its board, community members and local politicians.
“It’s an amazing milestone,” Mount Sinai Civic Association President Ann Becker said. “We’re impressed with how dedicated people have been, always stepping up in Mount Sinai. It’s been a concretive effort. We’ve had strong leadership. It’s a community that pulls together when there are problems and tries to resolve those issues.”
Incorporated Oct. 5, 1916 as an outgrowth of the Mount Sinai Taxpayers Association, its initial objective was to construct better roads, improve the conditions of Mount Sinai Harbor and adopt means to protect against fires.
“Over 100 years, some of those principals remain,” Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) said. “The civic works hard to protect this community, to ensure that the zoning, the look of this community stays as a majority of the people in this community wants it to. They work hard to protect the harbor, the environment, and they do a tremendous job.”
Officers elected at the first organizational meeting were President Jacob Schratweiser; 1st Vice President Philip Scherer; 2nd Vice President JC Sheridan; Secretary William R. P. Van Pelt; and Treasurer Lorenzo Davis. Committees were established to focus on road improvements, fire safety, improving the harbor, taxes and bylaws. The dues were fixed at $1 a year.
Over its 100-year history, the civic association has worked tirelessly on quality of life issues for the residents of Mount Sinai and the Brookhaven Town. They’ve worked to protect the area’s coastal environment, establish community parks and preserves and maintain a balanced level of development — including recreational facilities, privately owned housing, residential opportunities for seniors and support for schools. A completely volunteer-based organization, the civic has always depended on local residents to step forward and actively work toward improving the community, protecting the environment and protesting against overdevelopment.
With Becker now at the helm, the civic association continues to strive to better the community, and Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) said Becker is the perfect person for the job.
“Ann and her civic board are wonderful advocates for the tiny little hamlet of Mount Sinai,” she said, adding that her husband, John Sandusky, was born and raised in the area. “People like Ann, and others in this community, keep a watchful eye, are paying attention and have the best goals for Mount Sinai — to maintain it’s quaint look and charm.”
During the 1960s and ’70s, the major civic issues included working to successfully stop the dredging of Mount Sinai Harbor, which was accomplished in the late 1960s, followed by the planning and management of Cedar Beach. The civic association also worked to preserve local wetlands, and the 1965 Mount Sinai Harbor Advisory Committee recommended limiting commercial use to the existing businesses.
Over the years, the civic has had some big accomplishments.
The association sued Brookhaven for overdevelopment in 1996, which resulted in a significant reduction in the number of houses built. They also helped in the establishment of the Willow Creek Golf & Country Club, which provided a $2 million tax windfall for the Mount Sinai school district.
Funding and installation for three welcome signs in the hamlet were also achieved with the help of the civic. In 1997, the Chandler Estate was preserved as passive parkland. With a grant received from New York State with the help of Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), 355 trees were planted along Route 25A the same year to beautify the community.
“The work that they do in the community and the difference that they make in the quality of life in Mount Sinai; the civic sets an example for all other communities,” Englebright said. “This is a shining beacon of civic activism and accomplishment. The association has continuity, initiative and history. I go to other district and I tell them to visit Mount Sinai and its park to see what a hamlet and a community can do when it comes together.”
The grant was also used to help purchase the nearly one-acre property that is known as Heritage Park. Preventing the sale of “The Wedge” to developers who planned to construct a Home Depot was also made possible with the help of Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), who persuaded the owner to donate the balance of the property.
In the 1990s the civic started many of the community activities still supported through the 501(c)3 nonprofit Heritage Trust, though many have since expanded. These include the community tree lighting that started at the post office and is now held at Heritage Park, along with the menorah lighting, family day at Cedar Beach, the Halloween Parade and festival [originally held at the middle school] and Breakfast with Santa, which began at George’s Handlebar Restaurant 21 years ago and is now held at Heritage Center.
“We have to keep up the inspiration,” Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) said. “We’re here to protect the Earth and we’re here to protect each other, and make sure that worries and concerns are addressed. There’s so much more that we can do, but what’s most important it that we take care of what we have.”
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