Library

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Suffolk County Police Department’s Fourth Precinct presents Operation Medicine Cabinet at the Smithtown Library, 148 Smithtown Blvd., Nesconset on Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to noon. Have any unused or expired medication at home? Drop it off for safe disposal. No syringes, auto-injectors, creams or liquids will be accepted. Please remove pills from packages and bottles and place loose medications in a Zyploc type bag for collection. Don’t let your medication fall into the wrong hands. For more information, call 631-469-0989.

Middle Country Public Library will welcome more than 75 authors during its Bagels and Books: A Local Author Fair on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 10 a.m, to 1 p.m., at its Centereach branch located at 101 Eastwood Blvd.

The community is encouraged to visit and meet these talented writers who reside on Long Island. Several different genres will be represented in categories of adult, young adult and children.

Adult authors expected to attend include Edna White of “Publish for Profit: A Journey to Publish and Promote Your Book for Profit” and “The Love Manifesto: The Unstoppable Way to Love Yourself” and “Remnants of A Dark Secret: Poetry Through the Pain.” Others include Effie Kammenou (“Evanthia’s Gift,” “Waiting for Aegina,” and “Chasing Petalouthes”) and Elyse Salpeter (“The Hunt for Xanadu,” “Flying to the Light” and “Nowhere to Run.”)

Krista Legge of “A Real Lion Story” and “The Comfy Spot,” and Paul Rodriguez of “The Sandwich Boy Rescue” and “The Magical Song of Sona and Dora” are among the children’s authors who will be in attendance. Others include Debra Scala Giokas (“Claire: The little girl who climbed to the top and changed the way women dress” and “Ladies, First: Common Threads”) and Jean Derespina (“The Famous Phoebe of Long Island” book series).

Randall Lombardi, who wrote the young adult book, “The Ascension,” will be in there as well.

Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase books and get their books signed. No registration required.

For more information, please call 631-585-9393 x296.

Middle Country Road. Photo courtesy of MCPL

Written by Middle Country Public Library staff

Middle Country and Horseblock Roads

Driving along Middle Country Road today, it is hard to imagine that only 100 years ago, this busy four- lane highway with its many intersections, signs and streetlights started out as little more than a hard packed dirt road. Go back 100 years more, and you’d only see a narrower, rutted path. We take our nicely maintained, hard-paved roads for granted today, but it wasn’t always such a smooth ride. Today’s network of streets and highways have their origins in simple trails which were used by people and wildlife leading to sources of water and shelter. These paths measured only two to three feet wide in places, but they were sufficient for the needs of the times. Early English settlers began to use these footpaths as they established homesteads on Long Island, widening and improving these paths, using them as cart-ways to allow for easier travel between their farms. The cart-way needed to be wide enough for a livestock-drawn cart to traverse with ease. In those days a cart would be hauled by cattle, ox or horse power.

Those paths were the only way to travel around Long Island until 1703, when the NY General Assembly appointed highway commissioners in King’s County (Brooklyn), Queens County and Suffolk County to direct the building and maintenance of roads “four rods wide.” The early measurement of “a rod,” equals approximately 16.5 feet or 5 meters in today’s terms. These highways were simply packed earth, hardened over time by travelers. It took some time for conditions to improve, and eventually drainage systems were constructed, and logs or planks were laid across some roads to pave them. These log-covered roads were known as “corduroy roads” because of their bumpy surface. Thirty years after the highway commissions laid out the routes, arranged rights-of-way between existing properties and physical construction took place, Long Island boasted three major thoroughfares: North Country Road, parts of which follow today’s Route 25A; Middle Country Road, now known as Route 25 or Jericho Turnpike; and South Country Road, portions of which serve as Montauk Highway. 

An organized system of roads was needed for many reasons as the population grew. Though most homesteads were self-sufficient at that time, people would barter for goods and gather together to socialize. Mail needed to be delivered across the Island, and prior to the establishment of the U.S. Postal Service in 1775, England’s Royal Mail System was utilized. Before reliably passable roads were built, that mail was delivered from Connecticut by boat. It was faster and easier to travel 19 miles by water than 120 miles over land from New York City.

As the farmland was cultivated and enriched over time, it produced more than one family or village could use and farming became a burgeoning industry. Means to transport the surplus produce was required. Farm to Market Road (also called Horseblock Road) filled this need. Farm owners would load their wagons full of fruits and vegetables to ship by rail to New York City. 

The term “horseblock” refers to a block of stone or wood used to help a person climb high enough to mount a horse or to enter a stagecoach with ease. With many homes, farms and taverns located along these miles of roadway, horseblocks were a familiar sight. We call this same Farm to Market Road by its old nickname, Horseblock Road to this day. 

Through the years, several popular taverns and rest stops were located on Horseblock Road. As far back as Revolutionary times, Sam “Horseblock” Smith owned and ran a tavern at the intersection of Horseblock and Middle Country Roads in Centereach. A Smith genealogy relates that on March, 2, 1806 Sam sold the inn and land to Lake Grove resident, Titus Gould. It appears that part of the tavern was dismantled and moved to another location. Generations later, Alfred Elsmann ran Al’s Tavern, at the corner of Horseblock and Granny Roads. It was advertised in the Patchogue Advance of March 7, 1946 as specializing in home cooking and “the best in beer, wines and liquors,” and was a popular destination for local festivities for several decades.

The Homegrown String Band

The Homegrown String Band will be celebrating their 28th anniversary performing as a family with a concert on Sunday, Jan. 12 at Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, 120 Main Street, Setauket at 2 p.m. 

Twenty-eight years ago, the Homegrown String Band went to a Long Island Traditional Music Assoc. (LITMA) member’s concert and found out there was only one other person signed up to perform. Rather than a 15-minute slot, they had 45 minutes to fill up. They had so much fun, they continued performing and have since played at such venues as The National Theatre in Washington DC, the AFBA Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival, Musikfest, and the Festival of American Music in Branson, MO.

A family band with a unique repertoire of original and traditional music, the Homegrown String Band brings an American folk tradition into the twenty-first century. Comprised of mother, father, and daughter, the trio adds their own musical DNA to an American tradition, performing original acoustic arrangements of the traditional music that has become part of the popular roots and folk rock canon. All the songs the band presents have stood the test of time by not only surviving, but thriving and flourishing for hundreds of years via the folk process and oral tradition.

Listen to songs by the likes of the Carter Family, the Delmore Brothers, and Jimmie Rodgers, along with a tasty sprinkling of original material inspired by the rural American string band and folk traditions of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. 

Registration is preferred, but walk-ins are welcome. To register, please call 631-941-4080.

 

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Local libraries are invaluable resources for residents, including students and their families. The value of libraries has been recognized for far longer than many may realize. The Franklin Public Library, opened in 1778 in Franklin, Massachusetts, is considered the first lending library in the United States. Since then, libraries have become integral components of communities across the nation and even the globe.

It’s easy to overlook a local library, but residents who resolve to make the most of these venerable institutions can do so in the following ways.

• Get or renew your library card. The first step to making the most of a local library is to sign up for or renew your library card. Each member of the family, including children, can get their own card, which affords access to books on site and often additional texts and offerings the library can request from other branches.

• Acquaint yourself with all the offerings at your local library. Books may be the first thing people think of when pondering local libraries, and modern branches still maintain extensive catalogs of books spanning the genres. But libraries also offer more than books. Film fans may be surprised to learn libraries typically have extensive catalogs of films that can be borrowed on DVD, and some even allow movies to be streamed through library-affiliated streaming services. Libraries also offer services to adults, including seniors, and children that can range from tax preparation tips to passport application assistance to craft projects for youngsters.

• Utilize the research capabilities of local libraries. Card members have access to a wealth of resources at their local libraries, and that includes research databases like JSTOR that might require paid subscriptions if users try to access them on their own. These databases can help individuals grow their knowledge about the world they live in and prove invaluable to students young and old who are conducting research for school projects.

• Open doors to new career opportunities. Many libraries offer career counseling services free of charge. These can be particularly useful to prospective small business owners, recent graduates looking to get a foot in the door in their chosen field, and even mid- and late-career professionals who want a change but aren’t sure where to begin.

• Grow your social network. Not all social networks are grown online. Community-based events and programs sponsored by and hosted at local libraries can be great places to meet neighbors with similar interests. Local libraries are more than just places to borrow a book. Residents can utilize an array of services to make the most of their local libraries.

Source: MetroCreative Connections

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Overwhelmed by the thought of having to pick the best preschool for your child? Emma Clark Library’s Preschool Fair is back on Saturday, January 11 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.  This is a great opportunity to speak informally with many local preschools all in one room, ask questions, and help narrow down your search and choose which schools you’d like to tour.  This event has no registration and is open to the public.

Representatives from preschools in Three Village and the surrounding area will be at the event, including

– Children’s Community Head Start
– Faith Preschool
– Harbor Country Day School 
– Kiddie Academy
– Laurel Hill School
– North Shore Montessori
– Our Savior New American School
– Play Groups School
– Setauket Presbyterian Preschool
– Smithtown Nursery School

Emma Clark Library is located at 120 Main Street in Setauket. For more information, email [email protected] or call 631-941-4080 ext. 123.

Robert Lusaka. Photo by Sabrina Artusa

By Sabrina Artusa

Smithtown Library Director Robert Lusak continues to work tirelessly to repair the immensely damaged library after the Aug. 19 storm. From arranging various reparations to meeting with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimagining the damaged basement, Lusak’s days are packed. His devotion exceeds simple career obligations and has made him a 2024 TBR News Media Person of the Year.  

Talking to the director of almost 25 years, it is clear that the library is in capable hands. 

About 17 years ago Lusak renovated and expanded all four library buildings under his jurisdiction. Back then he planned and replanned, sought approval, held meetings and consulted residents. 

In August, when the basement of the Smithtown building was drowned in 8 feet of water, sludge and debris; when the windows were pushed inward and propelled almost 20 feet away; when the doors wouldn’t open due to the water pressure; and when it would have been easy to give up, Lusak climbed to the roof with volunteer fire fighters and descended the ladder to determine what was next. 

What followed were phone calls to cut the power, meetings with staff, the salvaging of archives, interviews, fundraising and a high level of coordination that wouldn’t have been possible without Lusak. 

“[Lusak’s work] is all for the people and preservation of history and you need to have the discipline for that, and Rob possesses that quality,” said Vinny Puleo, the vice president of the Rotary Club of Smithtown Sunrise, where Lusak sits as president.

“It was rapid-fire decisions,” Lusak said. “We set up a team, almost. We had our local history librarian come over and she was so composed and professional when she saw what happened to her collection. She treats it like her child. We had janitors and custodians bringing it up here to rescue it, to protect it. Obviously, you don’t learn this in library science school.”

Lusak has sympathy for employees who lost their offices and personal belongings and for community members who lost their library. 

“The first week was a blur almost,” he said. “This is home to us, all of us.”

As Lusak walks around the building, that fact couldn’t be more apparent. The affection with which he indicates subtleties are proof of his care and attentiveness. Partial to Disney, Lusak points out that the artwork of the Smithtown library card contains a hidden Mickey Mouse. Evidence of Lusak’s impact and passion for his job is inextricable from the library itself.

The basement is now gutted and cleaned. There is still over a year before the main floors can be opened — a permanent electric line will need to be established and a new HVAC system installed —but Lusak is optimistic and already thinking of ways he can improve the library’s layout and services. 

Smithtown Library Assistant Director Eileen Caulfield lauded Rob’s “exceptional leadership, commitment to service and impactful contributions across different sectors.”

In addition to his work as Smithtown Library director, Lusak is president of the Rotary Club of Smithtown Sunrise. Club members, who meet Thursday mornings, frequently organize donation events and partner with local charities. Recently, club members volunteered to purchase gifts for children whose families may not have the money for luxuries. 

Lusak also makes time to fulfill his duties as a major with the 11th New York Infantry Regiment, a volunteer honor guard program that performs services to honor veterans and their families. 

“When I heard it was honoring families and their loved ones who passed away, I was attracted to that. It is letting the families know that their loved one represented our country well. That’s why when [the unit] was brought to my attention I said ‘I’m in. I want to do this,’” Lusak said. 

Lusak’s consistent consideration for his fellow community members is inspiring. The strength, perseverance and grace he has shown make him a valuable leader.

Photo courtesy of Emma Clark Library

Emma Clark Library, 120 Main St., Setauket will be collecting new or handmade mittens, scarves, hats, gloves, or socks for local charities in our community during its annual Share the Warmth Drive from Dec. 2 to Jan. 12. All sizes are welcome. There will be a table located in the Library lobby. Anyone (residents or nonresidents) are welcome to donate during Library hours. 631-941-4080

Opportunity for Customers to Speak Directly with Their Water Provider and Learn More About Their Water and Service

The Suffolk County Water Authority will host the next installment of its WaterTalk series of educational forums on Wednesday, November 13th at 6:00 pm at the Huntington Public Library in Huntington. This event provides an opportunity for customers to learn more and ask questions about their drinking water. Those who are interested but cannot attend in person can view the event virtually, with the link available on SCWA’s website.

“It’s important that we continue to have a dialogue with our customers,” said SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeff Szabo. “Our WaterTalk series provides our customers with the opportunity to ask us questions and it gives us a chance to hear about their concerns.”

The WaterTalk series features a panel of experts that will discuss important topics, such as the quality of drinking water, the ways in which SCWA is implementing new infrastructure to improve water service and quality, the importance of conservation and more. During the discussion, attendees are invited to ask questions. Water is Suffolk County’s most precious natural resource and SCWA officials hope attendees walk away from this event with increased knowledge about their water and increased trust in the product being delivered to their homes.

Residents who are interested in attending SCWA’s WaterTalk can register by emailing [email protected]. Residents who would prefer to attend virtually can do so at www.scwa.com.

About SCWA:

The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.

Emma Clark Library, 120 Main St., Setauket will present a Shed the Meds event on Wednesday, Nov. 6 from noon to 4 p.m.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office hosts this safe way to properly dispose of unused medications, essential to protect the environment and ensure that old drugs don’t end up in the wrong hands.

Please note: The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office cannot accept any liquids, needles, creams, or ointments of any kind. They are only accepting unused or expired medications from individuals (not large quantities from a doctor’s office or health care facility).

This service is open to the public.  There is no need to register or to be a Three Village resident to participate. Questions? Email [email protected]