Members of the Stony Brook community are invited to attend a brief “Service of Thanksgiving” on Saturday, August 24 in front of Historic All Souls Church, 61 Main Street, Stony Brook beginning at 1 pm. Clergy and members of the community will share their reflections and prayers. All are welcome.
The ten inches of rain that fell on Stony Brook Sunday night/Monday morning burst the dam separating the Duck Pond and Stony Brook Harbor, drained the pond, and destroyed Harbor Road and Old Mill Creek Road. Although the dam broke in 1750, again in the 1800s, and in 1910, this is the first time the village has seen such a catastrophe in our lifetimes.
Amidst all the destruction and loss, no one died, and the village we all love will survive and recover.
Arrive early for easy parking.Please call 631-678-6232 or email Rob Taylor at [email protected] for more information.
Douglas Valente Pleaded Guilty to Three Counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced that Douglas Valente, 57, of Florida, the former principal attorney at the Valente Law Group based in Stony Brook, was sentenced Aug. 22 to one and one-third to four years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from three former clients by taking their money from his escrow account.
“An attorney’s duty is to protect their clients’ interests, not exploit them for personal gain,” said District Attorney Tierney. “We will not tolerate crime committed with a law degree any more than we would when committed by violence or deception. This office remains committed to vigorously prosecuting any individual who abuses their position of trust, regardless of their status or profession.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, from April 14, 2020, to May 31, 2020, Valente stole proceeds from the sale of his elderly client’s home in the amount $181,201. The proceeds of the sale were put into Valente’s escrow account. Valente was required to send half of the proceeds to his client and the other half was to be sent to her matrimonial attorney to be held in escrow until her divorce was finalized.
Although Valente did send half of the proceeds to his client, he failed to send the remaining half of the proceeds to her matrimonial attorney. As a result, when his client’s divorce was finalized, she was unable to obtain the remaining proceeds from the sale of her home.
Additionally, from September 28, 2020, through October 13, 2020, Valente stole $248,027 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender. Valente represented the mortgage lender as their attorney and settlement agent in a refinance transaction. Guaranteed Rate Inc. wired money to Valente’s escrow account to be dispersed in the transaction. Valente then failed to send a portion of the money of the refinanced mortgage to the prior mortgage company.
Lastly, between May 14, 2021, through September 30, 2022, Valente stole nearly $400,000 from a client who had sold a home during a pending divorce proceeding. Valente was to hold the proceeds of the sale in his escrow account to be dispersed when the divorce was finalized. Instead, Valente used the funds for business and personal expenses.
On May 18, 2022, the New York Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District disbarred Valente, making him ineligible to practice law in New York State.
On December 6, 2023, Valente pleaded guilty to three counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Class C felonies, before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro.
On August 22, 2024, Justice Ambro sentenced Valente to one and one-third to four years in prison. Justice Ambro also signed Restitution Judgement Orders totaling $826,525 on behalf of Guaranteed Rate Inc. and The Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, who reimbursed two of the victims. Valente was represented by William Keahon, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Donna M. Planty of the Financial Crimes Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Deputy Sheriff Investigator Yvonne Decaro, and Detective Investigator Vincent Neefus of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
It warmed my heart to read Father Francis Pizzarelli’s moving tribute honoring Father Gerald Fitzsimmons, who passed away in July [“Plain Talk: The loss of a bridge builder,” Aug. 8, Arts & Lifestyles, TBR News Media]. Father Fitz, as he was known, was our pastor at St. Mary Gate of Heaven R.C. Church and grade school in Ozone Park, Queens, during my childhood. He was known to be kind and understanding. Years later, he performed our wedding ceremony there in 1986 and, coincidentally, passed away on our anniversary.
I met Father Pizzarelli in junior high school when he was still “Brother Frank” at SMGH. My grade made our holy confirmation under his guidance where we forged unbreakable bonds between our classmates. We were challenged to “dare to be different” as we make our way through life, and we all took that very seriously.
I’m happy to know that these two extraordinarily compassionate faith leaders were able to spend many years working and supporting each other. Their work has been a blessing to those in need and an inspiration to many more.
Father Fitz will be missed and I feel fortunate to have known him.
Joan Loscalzo Dickinson
Lake Grove
Setting the record straight: the real story behind West Meadow Beach cottages
I would like to address John Hover’s response to my letter to the editor regarding the West Meadow Beach cottages [“Gratitude not complaints,” Aug. 8, The Village Times Herald].
While Mr. Hover is entitled to his perspective, his characterization of the cottage community as one of privilege and exclusivity is not only inaccurate but also deeply unfair to the families who cherished this place for generations.
The cottages at West Meadow Beach were not the domain of the privileged or politically connected. They were a special place for ordinary families who built memories and passed down traditions. To dismiss their attachment as mere privilege is to overlook the genuine love and dedication these families had for West Meadow Beach, whose loss is profound and personal. What’s truly strange and sad is the lack of appreciation, compassion and sensibility toward the pain caused by an extreme and unnecessary legislative action led by political activists, contrary to the narrative used to justify their actions. More troubling is the fact that these people are still doing victory laps two decades later, without any appreciation for the history.
Originally private property, the land at West Meadow Beach was settled in the 17th century as part of the larger Setauket settlement, one of the earliest communities on Long Island. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, West Meadow Beach had become a popular area for summer cottages, where families built seasonal homes and enjoyed the natural beauty of Long Island. Over time, the Town of Brookhaven began acquiring this land, and by the mid-20th century the cottages were on town-owned land leased to families under long-term agreements.
However, starting in the 1960s and 1970s, legal battles emerged over the ownership and use of the land, often framed as environmental concerns. While some pushed for expanded public beach access, which could have been a reasonable compromise, the political activists were not satisfied. They pursued the complete removal of the cottages, pushing for the land to be reclassified as public parkland, which paved the way for the destruction of the cottages. This reclassification was achieved in 1996, when the New York State Legislature passed legislation under the guise of environmental preservation.
However, the true intent of these activists was not to protect the environment but, in fact, to destroy the cottages. This represents a clear case of political lawfare and abuse of office as the actions taken were not for the public good but to satisfy their political agenda. This counters the narrative that the cottages were occupied by a well-connected elite when, in fact, it was the well-connected activists who orchestrated this outcome. Yet somehow, Mr. Hover suggests that those who lived in the cottages should be “quietly grateful” for the time until their land was seized.
The scarcity of these cottages should not be mistaken for exclusivity. Anyone who was interested was eligible to secure a cottage for a modest price. This was not a community of elites but of everyday people who found solace and joy in a simple, beautiful place.
It’s important to remember that the value of heritage and tradition cannot be easily quantified. The families who occupied these cottages did not view them merely as their property but as a legacy, a connection to the past that is increasingly rare in today’s transient, Airbnb-driven culture. The cottages, unlike the opulent mansions in neighboring Old Field, were humble homes that provided a retreat for everyday people. The families who occupied the cottages were stewards of this land, not exploiters of it. Contrary to the false narratives used to justify the actions taken, it’s about more than land — it’s about losing a place that held the stories of their lives. The loss was not because they felt entitled to it, but because a beloved piece of their history was taken from them.
The cottages were rare and precious, and the people who loved them were not motivated by privilege, but by a deep connection to the community and their family heritage.
From left to right: County Legislator Robert Trotta, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, TOB Supervisor Dan Panico, TOB Superintendent of Highways Daniel Losquadro, Representative from the Governor's, office Thalia Olaya, and in front, Gloria Rocchio, Ward Melville Heritage Organization President, at a Stony Brook Village press conference. Photo by Toni-Elena Gallo
By Toni-Elena Gallo with contributions by Lynn Hallarman and John Broven
Photo gallery to come.
According to the New York State Weather Risk Communication Center, Stony Brook recorded 9.4 inches of rain, in the 24 hours between Sunday, Aug. 18, and Monday, Aug. 19, amounting to a rainfall that is not just a once in a lifetime event —but a one-in-a-thousand year-event.
At a Monday press conference, County Executive Ed Romaine (R) spoke about the shock many Long Islanders experienced.
“This storm was not predicted for northern Suffolk,” he said. “This storm was over Connecticut and probably traveled south. When you get almost 10 inches of rain, that’s a once [in a lifetime event]. Unfortunately, these once-in-a-lifetime events seem to be coming more than that. I don’t think we’re going to have to wait another hundred years for another storm like this.”
“It tells you the impact that climate change is having on our weather,” the county executive added.
Stony Brook
In Stony Brook village, Harbor Road was split in half, and the pond at Avalon Nature Preserve ran off into nearby Stony Brook Harbor, taking dead fish and turtles with it.
“We have put drones up to document the before and after. We believe the damage will [amount to] $25 million, minimum. A minimum, between cleanup that’s required [not just here, but] other parts of the county, like Rocky Point,” Romaine said.
“We will document everything that we do, and all the expenditures that will be made, because we will be seeking some hope of state [and] federal reimbursement, because this is a huge hit on local government, on the town and on the villages along the North Shore,” he added.
At the press conference, Gloria Rocchio, president of The Ward Melville Heritage Organization, expressed her sadness and frustration, but was able to provide a small glint of hope.
“We did have a structural engineer come already, to check the [historic] Grist Mill … and it is, [fortunately] structurally sound. It was built in 1699. In 1750 the dam broke for the first time, and then once again in the 1800s, and the last time it broke was 1910,” she said.
Over at Stony Brook University, Judy Pittigher, an office administrator at the Renaissance School of Medicine, suffered an office full of water damage and a collapsed ceiling, forcing her to work from home for, at least, the remainder of the week.
“The squares of one doctor’s tile roof collapsed; the floor is disgusting, covered in mush. By the time I got there, half the rugs had already been pulled up … anything on them was destroyed, like boxes. One box had this past graduation’s programs, and someone picked it up and put it on my desk, and it was sopping wet,” she said.
Smithtown
In Smithtown, the Nissequogue River dam broke from the nearly 10 inches of rain. Two residents were saved by members of the Smithtown Fire Department, as they were trapped on the second floor of their home.
This is despite the town’s recent stormwater and drain infrastructure upgrades. However, Supervisor Ed Wehrheim (R) said that Smithtown was lucky, in comparison to the nearby villages, as a result of these proactive measures.
Rocky Point
Rocky Point was extensively impacted, as well.
“I tried to take a tour of most of the damage this morning … and several catchment basins overflowed,” Romaine said. “I went down Hagerman Landing Road, and the tops of all the cars in sight had mud. The mudslide that came down Hagerman Landing Road was, easily, 7 to 9 feet. It left its mark on the trees, and the houses, right up to the windows. We had to rescue someone down there from their rooftop.”
Port Jefferson
At about 3 a.m., Monday, a rush of stormwater cascaded down Main Street, past CVS, affecting local property and flooding the Port Jefferson fire station.
According to Fire Commissioner Thomas Meehan, the flooding rose to about 36 inches in the station, bringing sewage and other debris into the building.
“We were just recovering from the flooding we had three years ago,” he said.
Port Jefferson village officials assisted the fire station in the initial cleanup in the early hours of Monday morning.
Several businesses along the Main Street corridor were impacted, including Theatre Three [see editorial].
Huntington
According to a Town of Huntington press release, “The Highway Department took to the roads at the early onset of the storm. After surveying the town, they reported approximately 10 sink holes and minimal trees down. Flooding, however, was the predominant issue, with the town reporting heavy flooding in a few areas.”
All areas will be rebuilt
The Town of Brookhaven’s superintendent of highways, Dan Losquadro (R), explained how the topography of the North Shore created a disastrous alignment of storm conditions.
“Water picks up velocity, as it travels down into these natural drainage points,” he said. “Many of these areas were built a very long time ago. They just have catch basins, and do not have sumps recharge basins, as we call them. [Even so] recharge basins, optimally, can only store 8 inches of water, and a catch basin, no more than 2 to 3.”
“This exceeded even the capacity of a modern sump. So, we saw our systems completely overwhelmed by this volume of water in such a short period of time,” he elaborated.
As for what’s next, Losquadro said, “We will get into the engineering and estimating phase, throughout the day, and, probably, for days to come. We have, unfortunately, been through this process with FEMA, and the state before, even back to the recovery from [Hurricane] Sandy. We will do our best to secure funding, from the higher levels of government, to ease the burden on our local taxpayers because as the county executive and the supervisor [Dan Panico (R)] rightly pointed out, many of these projects are beyond our ability to fund on a local level.”
“This process will take a great deal of time,” Romaine said. “[This damage behind me] will require permitting, not only from D.C., but from the EPA, and from the Army Corps of Engineers as well.”
Both Losquadro and Romaine expressed that the parts of the county hit by this storm will be built back “stronger and better.”
“We will clean this up, whatever it takes. These are our communities, these are our friends, our neighbors. We’re one county, one people and we will work together,” Romaine said.
Fear sells. It’s as true when companies are urging people to buy products to protect themselves, families, homes and cars as it is when politicians are trying to scare youinto voting for them or, just as importantly, voting against their opponent.
Sure, they make some effort to suggest that their policies will help you, but they spend considerably more time showing unnerving images of what might happen if you vote for the other team.
One side suggests that a vote for the other candidate could mean the end of democracy, elections and a host of freedoms, while the other suggests that a vote for the other side could mean an end to the world.
Whatever you believe, we have clearly reached an extreme of brinkmanship.
On top of that, the news is filled with stories and images of murder and mayhem.
These days, all you need to do is turn on your phone and someone, somewhere, is struggling, threatened, or dying.
On top of that, people are sharing concerns about existential threats to the future, with global warming and declines in the food and water necessary to sustain the population.
Regardless of where people check in with the information of the day, threats lurk around every corner.
It’s no wonder that mental health has declined. The world is a place with dark shadows and horrifying possibilities.
Happily ever after has become the launching pad for fractured fairy tales, where couples can’t find affordable homes and, even if they did, couldn’t carry the mortgage.
This mental health strain and the difficulty of disconnecting from a phone that shares these bad news bulletins in constant alerts may be contributing to the record low fertility rate for the country reported this spring in the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC.
Specifically, the rates declined for women aged 20 to 39, hitting a record low for women between 20 and 24.
There are numerous other reasons people are foregoing the spectacularly rewarding and challenging decision to have children. Yes, men and women are pursuing careers.
And, yes, people may be more confident and comfortable having children later, putting off the life-altering decision until after a set of vacations, a work milestone or other goals.
But to know exactly why any one or group of people are making the decisions they do requires more than statistics or even surveys. When people answer questions in a survey, they sometimes offer the kinds of replies that look good or that the questioner expects.
I spoke anecdotally with a few 50’ish parents and some children around 30 and got a range of responses about the decision to have or not have children.
Both sides suggested that developing careers made it tougher to start a family. Parents, some of whom seemed eager to have grandchildren, expressed some frustration and, perhaps, judgement, about the decisions of their children and step-children.
Some of the younger crowd said their friends didn’t receive much parenting help from their partners, making the task of raising children more difficult and exhausting and dissuading them and their friends.
They also shared concerns about the high cost of raising children.
One of the younger set added that her mother had been dealing with a lifelong illness and that she had caretaking responsibilities from the time she was young. Her mother continues to need medical and family attention, which she said has made caring for a child less appealing.
One of the younger set asked me what I thought about being a parent. It has filled me with unbelievable joy, affection, love, and laughter and has helped me understand my own parents and grandparents better. Of course, we’ve had our share of challenges interspersed with stomach dropping moments.
Not to blame the media entirely, as I work and live inside that profession, but I feel like the nonstop stream of information, stories, videos, and social media shaming has left people feeling vulnerable and exhausted.
Parenting requires energy and optimism. When people lose sleep, they don’t have much energy and, if they look at their phones, they risk losing their hold on optimism.
If we want to encourage this generation to continue the chain, we should let them know when they’re ready and when they ask, about the amazing and fulfilling moments, large and small, that make parenting the role of a lifetime.
Maine is a beautiful state. It is also a long drive from my house, as we knew before we started the drive. We were heading to a wedding in the Camden area, and the nice thing about going by car was that we didn’t have to fit all the special clothes into a suitcase. We could just hang them up in the back seat, put a few basics into a small suitcase, and we were off.
This was to be a unique wedding in our experience: no ceremony. We were going to party all weekend with relatives and dear friends and a bride and groom that had married the week before.
Guests came from all over the United States to party. They came from the northwest states, the Rockies, the Midwest and the South to wish this modern couple well and witness a truly modern event.
It began with invitations via email. When you consider that traditional snail mail wedding invitations from save-the-date to breakfast the day after run a couple about to tie the knot an average of $530, this was a clever cost-saving move. It should be said, though, that this couple is not average.
For one, they are 36 years old, late to the party, which averages 29 for the groom and 27 for the bride nationally. So they have learned a thing or two about wedding costs.
Second, she is an event planner and was able to put her considerable experience helping other couples spend their money to saving for a leaner wedding, notwithstanding the guest list of some 140.
While we did not witness the solemn event during which they would pledge their everlasting love, we did hear remarks from the siblings, cousin, mother and father of the groom, mother and father of the bride in a kind of spontaneous fashion rather than according to ritualistic assignments. We didn’t know who was to speak next until they gave their prepared remarks.
The setting along the shore was both bucolic and rustic. Indoor activities, like dancing and hors d’œuvres, were in a barn-like structure that boasted chandeliers. The building was set on a long, grassy lawn that led to the beach, and guests enjoyed walking its length to the water and, since it was early evening, watching the sun set.
Dress, as you might have guessed, was Maine Cocktail. Many of the men wore trousers and sports jackets. Not many of the younger men wore suits. The women‘s attire was varied, from long dresses to cocktail length and pants, mostly adorned with flowered patterns and lots of summer colors.
The food was as varied as the dress. Appetizers included pastrami knishes, egg roll hot dogs and crab Rangoon. The Maine course included a buffet, offering brisket, mac and cheese, BBQ chicken, a vegetarian dish and copious salad —all happy food.
As original as this wedding may sound, it is something of a trend today. Just as dating apps and zoom weddings have become accepted, so have text message and email invites joined the era of digital romance. It is all part of a post-pandemic culture shift toward more casual gatherings. Some folks like it better. As Vogue magazine wrote, “The non-wedding wedding with less traditional clothing, casual food and spontaneous photography are growing in popularity.”
And of course, this movement is prompted by increasing wedding costs. This more relaxed type of wedding is more affordable than the traditional highly structured wedding of yore. And a lot of fun.
PS: I thank Jeff Crilley, who publishes digitally “The Rundown” for journalists, for sharing the above observations.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate four people who allegedly stole merchandise from a South Setauket store.
Four males allegedly stole food and bath products from Target, located at 265 Pond Path, on August 15 at approximately 11 a.m. The stolen merchandise has a value of approximately $565.
Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.
Michelle Schindler receiving the proclamation, from Supervisor Dan Panico. Screenshot
By Katherine Kelton
At the Aug. 8 Brookhaven Town Board meeting, council members officially recognized Aug. 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day. They also dedicated the month of September as National Recovery Month. Councilmember Johnathon Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) spoke briefly about the Brookhaven Goes Purple initiative that began in the 1st Council District he represents.
He introduced the co-founder of the initiative, Michelle Schindler, who also delivered an address. She said, “Our aim is to unite the community to achieve a safe, healthy and drug-free environment.” She also works as a prevention director for YMCA family services, where evidence-based prevention is key.
Schindler claimed, “Research nationally and locally on Long Island demonstrates communities with active prevention coalitions experience a lower rate of substance use compared to those without such coalitions.”
She was presented with a proclamation by Supervisor Dan Panico (R) and the council members.
Town board business
Before the ceremony of dedication, many resolutions were passed. One such resolution involved the application of a Sephora in Port Jefferson Station on Route 112 replacing a former CVS. The popular makeup store will now be brought to the Port Plaza as the plans for application were passed.
In East Setauket, a proposed change of use application was passed for Setauket Law, located on South Jersey Avenue. The space was labeled as vacant, however, Setauket Law has been running from the office space. The firm also applied for a variance of parking, which was also passed.
A vacant space in the South Jersey Avenue office complex is looking for a new tenant as well. The available space, which used to be a day care, is looking for either a new day care proprietor or something the community needs.
The owner of the building, Shimon Ohana, revealed that a playground structure for the previous day care was removed before he came into ownership of the space, which was turned into about 65 parking spots.
Kornreich asked Ohana about the limited parking and how that could affect what type of business takes the vacant space.
Ohana stated that he has a few daycares, looking at the space, which would be ideal for parking: “The majority of people coming to the day care are children, so they obviously don’t drive. It would primarily be staff and parent drop-off.”
The next meeting is Aug. 21 at Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville, and will be a zoning board meeting.
The original book cover, showing Fats Domino, and the 1970s New Orleans skyline. Courtesy John Broven
By John Broven
My first book, “Walking to New Orleans: The Story of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues,” was published Aug. 9, 1974. That’s 50 long years ago. The anniversary has triggered memories of my original research, the book’s impact and my subsequent journey from England to live in the United States.
The title was inspired by Fats Domino’s big 1960 hit — although his most famous record was “Blueberry Hill.”
An Englishman walking to New Orleans? It had a nice surreal ring.
Importantly, I discovered early on there was an untold story ready to be documented, namely the rise and fall of New Orleans R&B in the rock ‘n’ roll era (1945-70). The city’s vibrant R&B scene was a successor to its proud jazz heritage. My coverage extended beyond the artists, to include record people, session men, disc jockeys, distributors, jukebox operators, clubs and the musicians’ union, to give a rounded picture of the local music industry.
With the passing of time, very few of the original interviewees are still alive, which makes the preservation of their stories even more satisfying. The interview tapes and associated files are now lodged with my record collection, at the Library of Congress.
I had made my magical debut journey to the United States in April 1970, when transatlantic travel was an expensive luxury. Mike Leadbitter, my mentor and co-founder of Blues Unlimited — the first international blues magazine — and Robin Gosden, of Flyright Records, completed our small party.
We started out in New Orleans, then traveled through south Louisiana, up to Shreveport, Louisiana, across to Jackson, Mississippi, and then north, to Memphis, Chicago and New York. All locations had strong blues, (and more,) connections, as we observed the cultural and social conditions, firsthand. It was the time of good old-fashioned, shoe-leather journalism, when pen and notebook ruled.
Writing the book
On our return home, Leadbitter inquired pointedly if I was going to write a book. After asking on what subject, he retorted, “You’ve just been to New Orleans, haven’t you?”
The fuse had been lit.
And so, in the early 1970s I began assembling material for a first draft while, still, working full time in bank management. With the notable exception of Charlie Gillett’s seminal, “The Sound of the City,” there were few books covering any genre of rock ’n’ roll at the time.
The big breakthrough came in 1972, when Leadbitter arranged an interview in London for us with Dr. John, then making waves as the “Night Tripper” of voodoo rock.
The good doctor proved to be a walking encyclopedia of New Orleans R&B, much preferring to shed light on forgotten artists and musicians, as well as discussing hallowed sessions at Cosimo Matassa’s recording studios, than promote his own career.
With the first draft completed, I made another trip to New Orleans, for further interviews, to consolidate my initial research. It was spring 1973, just when the Nixon Watergate scandal was brewing.
In the introduction to the first edition, I recorded my excitement at approaching New Orleans by plane and thinking, “Could it be down there, that Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Huey Smith, Allen Toussaint, Earl King, Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey and a whole host of talented musicians, made their names and actually live?”
Pre-Hurricane Katrina, most original, New Orleans R&B performers were still living in town so it was relatively easy to track them down — aided by my New Orleans friend and driver, James La Rocca, of course. The interviewees willingly told their rich stories into what was a, comparatively, new invention — a tape recorder.
Publication
On my return, I set about transcribing the interviews, and incorporating the best bits into the existing draft.
Simon Napier, the other co-founder of Blues Unlimited, suggested that the magazine should publish “Walking to New Orleans.”
We ordered an optimistic 3,000 copies, including 500 hardbacks, from the magazine’s professional printer. Our marketing strategy — if it could be described as such — was that Blues Unlimited had just over 2,000 subscribers, who were so interested in Black music, that half of them would buy the book to cover the outlay.
Amazingly, it worked.
John Broven at a book signing. Photo by Diane Wattekamps.
We sold a thousand copies by November 1974 and easily recouped our investment. That was the month Mike Leadbitter, such a visionary blues researcher, died of meningitis, at the tragically young age of 32.
The book’s reviews were universally favorable, (almost).
For promotion, I was a guest on two BBC radio shows, including “Honky Tonk,” hosted by Charlie Gillett, on Aug. 4, 1974. I nervously asked Gillett what his first question was going to be, to which he replied, “I don’t know, whatever comes to my head.” Luckily, the New Orleans records we played spoke for themselves.
A year or so later, out of the blue, Milburn Calhoun, owner of Pelican Publishing Co., in Gretna, Louisiana, asked if he could license the book for the U.S. We knew he would be able to hit markets that we ourselves could not possibly touch, such as the New Orleans tourist shops, and the Louisiana educational system.
But Calhoun insisted that the title be changed in spite of the self-explanatory subtitle — to my regret.
He said that “Americans” would not understand the title, “Walking to New Orleans.” And so the book became the simplistic “Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans” (1978.) In the pre-internet era, it wasn’t a problem, but over time, there was modest confusion about the same book having different titles.
The great thing is that Pelican has kept the book in print until now. Its reception was good enough for Pelican to commission another book, “South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous” (1983,) detailing the local Cajun, zydeco, swamp blues, hillbilly and swamp pop music scenes.
In 2016, Pelican published an updated third edition of “Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans,” and followed with an updated “South to Louisiana,” which won a 2020 ARSC award for “Best History in Recorded Country, Folk, or Roots Music.”
Oh, and yes. “Walking to New Orleans” was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011, as a Classic of Blues Literature. The various editions of the book have sold in excess of 25,000 copies.
The book’s legacy
It is hard for me to be objective about the legacy of “Walking to New Orleans.” What I can say is that by documenting and preserving stories, it brought a spotlight on many overlooked artists and musicians. Quite a few enjoyed resurrected careers. With the record reissue market in its infancy, the book helped to open up a back catalog of New Orleans R&B recordings on LP, and then, compact disc.
Remember, this was decades before music was just click away on Apple, Spotify, YouTube and the like.
I was delighted when local researchers Tad Jones, Jeff Hannusch and Rick Coleman, took up the challenge to explore the New Orleans R&B scene, in even greater depth, with their later books.
Further support in the city came from Wavelength, and then Offbeat magazines, not to mention Radio WWOZ, the Jazz & Heritage Festival and the Ponderosa Stomp.
“Walking to New Orleans” and “South to Louisiana” led me to write many liner notes for record companies — first for LPs, then for CDs. The books served as calling cards that led to my commission as a compilation consultant for Ace Records in London, from 1991 to 2006.
This experience paved the way for writing “Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock ’n’ Roll Pioneers,” (University of Illinois Press, 2009), where I interviewed influential record men and women, who launched the indie record business in the post-World War II years. Again, almost all the interviewees are dead, but oh what stories they had to tell.
Over the years, I have spoken at conferences from New Orleans to Los Angeles, and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The cherry on the cake was meeting my wife, Shelley, through the Ace Records connection — her father owned Golden Crest Records, out of Huntington Station — and starting a new life on Long Island.
I was living the English Dream and American Dream at the same time. What a journey it has been — and to think, it all started 50 years ago!
John Broven of East Setauket is a copyeditor with TBR News Media. In celebration of the book’s 50th anniversary, Jasmine Records in the U.K. has released a double CD “Walking to New Orleans: An Aural Accompaniment” (available on Amazon).
Downtown Port Jefferson flooded during Superstorm Sandy. File photo
This week’s Port Jefferson Civic meeting devoted a great deal of time to all things flood-related.
Now, of course, flood prevention is not unique. It is something all communities think about — especially, a port town.
But, why did the Village of Port Jefferson feel so strongly about a little bit of water falling from the sky, that they have decided to implement a two-phase plan, to build infrastructure designed to aid areas “[vulnerable] to flooding, associated with individual and co-occurring flood drivers?”
There are a few reasons. The first one is that this problem is not small, at all. It is much more dire than the flooding of yesteryear. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Long Island’s sea level has risen 13 inches from 1880. Just to put that figure into perspective, the global average is 8-9 inches. Secondly, warming temperatures have created hurricanes, with intense conditions, putting our island at increased storm surge-induced flooding, (for this factor, the South Shore is at a much higher risk.) And, lastly, Port Jefferson’s unique geography. Being situated on the harbor front, the village becomes susceptible to the strong flooding a confined harbor can induce.
Additionally, the area’s high groundwater table means that the soil does not have much capacity for additional water, thus exacerbating surface runoff, on an already small watershed. The geography of Port Jeff is, truly, unique, as it is a valley, which creates the imperfect opportunity for water to run down, from all directions — affording it the nickname “Drowned Meadow.”
So, what can we, as a community, do to prevent floods from disrupting our livelihoods? While this issue requires the careful care of our local government, as it is a truly serious issue, here are a few general suggestions:
• Consider purchasing a sump pump, to prevent basement or crawl space flooding.
• Ensure new building and development does not occur in flood-prone areas, or historic hurricane tracks.
• Merge nature-based solutions and infrastructure, to enhance resilience. An example would be improving upon infrastructure in need of flood safeguards, or replenishing beaches, to avoid erosion, and ensure the land’s natural slope and profile stays intact.
• Minimize your greenhouse gas emissions, to reduce the risk of severe storms. Starting is as easy as purchasing home appliances that are Energy Star — products approved by the EPA — certified, and lowering the thermostat.
• Bolster awareness. Talk to neighbors about the dangers of climate-influenced natural disasters, and generate community action. We need it
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