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The Heckscher Museum of Art presents The Lockhorns Meet Howard Huge

by TBR Staff - October 6, 2017

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llhowardshade1 — Promotional image from The Lockhorns Meet Howard Huge

By Jennifer Sloat

With just one cartoon panel and a few words, comic creator Bunny Hoest of The Lockhorns can deliver a zinger that can prompt a knowing smirk in most anyone that counts themselves as married, cohabitating or part of a couple.

What started as The Lockhorns of Levittown (yes, that Levittown) in 1968, grew into a comic strip loved worldwide and published in more than 500 newspapers. The bickering couple along with the sweet, supersized pet, Howard Huge, are part of a new exhibit at The Heckscher Museum of Art titled The Lockhorns Meet Howard Huge: Comic Cartoons by Bill and Bunny Hoest, which will be on view from Oct. 6 to Nov. 5. Bill Hoest is being honored in memoriam for his work.

‘Mother’ by Bill Hoest ©Wm Hoest Enterprises Inc., 2017

“It became popular very quickly,” said Bunny Hoest, speaking from her home studio in Huntington. Her husband was a returning GI when he created the strip after observing the interactions of couples settling down in Levittown. “He thought it was a great source of humor.”

The couple met in the early 1970s while playing tennis at the Huntington Racquet Club, during the same time Bill was compiling the cartoons into a book. He took notice of Bunny’s wit and soon asked her to become the book’s editor. The two married in 1973 and formed William Hoest Enterprises and co-created several more cartoons, including Laugh Parade and Howard Huge.

Bill was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1986. The couple then hired John Reiner to become Bill’s assistant and apprentice. After Bill’s passing in 1988, Reiner and Hoest kept the strip going, preserving her husband’s legacy. Still published in Newsday, the comic is translated into 22 languages and is seen by 100 million people worldwide.

Loyal readers may notice the occasional local landmarks thrown in by Reiner, a Stony Brook University alum. Nostalgic fans that have moved away often write Hoest after they spot an Aboffs paint store or other local reference in the strip.

The cartoons, according to Hoest, are social commentary and social criticism, not political. “We do it all in one cartoon. It has always been in one panel,” said Hoest, a former English teacher and graduate of Adelphi University.

Times have changed since the inception of the strip’s characters, Leroy and Loretta. Punch lines like “Leroy has joined the anti-social network,” keep the humor current but stay true to Leroy’s grumpy nature and Loretta’s sarcasm.

“We aren’t social workers but we are helping,” said Hoest. “Marriage counselors say they use it in therapy. If you can laugh at yourself it helps with the problems. But that is not why we did it; being therapeutic was a bonus! We are delighted. Isn’t that nice that people can get a laugh and resolve something with humor?” Hoest also notes that Leroy and Loretta are not Bill and Bunny. “We were crazy about each other,” said Hoest of her marriage to Bill. “A lot of times resolution is humor and that worked for us.”

After 40 years in print the comic still touches a cord with its readers. “Our fans say to us, ‘You are hiding in my closet or peering in my window,’” said Hoest with a laugh. “We seem to be hitting the nail on the head. That’s makes me feel very good.”

Several programs related to the exhibit will also take place, including Take a Selfie with Howard Huge and Children’s Art Activity happening on the terrace. Kids can also create a dog puppet to take home. The event takes place Oct. 8 from noon to 4 p.m. There is also a Celebrate Achievement Benefit honoring Pien and Hans Bosch, Bunny Hoest and the memory of Bill Hoest for their contributions to arts and culture on Long Island, taking place on Oct. 28.

While the amount of print publications has diminished, the syndicated strip still thrives. The nearly 85-year-old Hoest has five years left of a 10-year contract with King Feature Syndicate, distributors the The Lockhorns, with a 10-year option to renew. This would make Hoest a remarkable 90 years old when the contract comes up for renewal.

The very lively Hoest shows no signs of stopping. In addition to writing the cartoon, she is a member of the Berndt Toast Society (named after Smitty cartoonist, Walter Berndt), where she keeps in touch with fellow cartoon writers. They meet monthly for lunch, which may sometimes include a visit from some other famous cartoonists such as Mort Walker who pens Beetle Bailey and Mort Drucker, who is best known for his work at Mad Magazine or Mort Gerber of The New Yorker.

“I will do it as long as I can do it,” said Hoest. “I hope I can keep on.”

The Lockhorns Meet Howard Huge: Comic Cartoons by Bill and Bunny Hoest is on view at The Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington from Oct. 6 to Nov. 5. For more information, call 631-351-3250.

The sounds of jazz to take over Huntington this weekend

by Victoria Espinoza - July 20, 2017

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Roy Haynes CD 2016 — A scene from last year’s Coltrane Day in Huntington. Photo from Ron Stein

By Victoria Espinoza

Huntington is set to get jazzy this upcoming weekend with the third annual Coltrane Day — part of Huntington Summer Arts Festival’s Jazz Week.

The Coltrane Home in Dix Hills in conjunction with the Huntington Summer Arts Festival and the Huntington Arts Council is set to entertain hundreds of residents this Saturday, July 22 from 2 to 10:30 p.m. at Hecksher Park for an all day festival of live music and music workshops. The event is intended to be a celebration of the legacy of jazz legends John and Alice Coltrane, who lived in Dix Hills.

“This is a one of a kind event — there is nothing else like it,” Ron Stein, director of Coltrane Day said in a phone interview. “The people who attend this event absolutely love it.”

Stein said what makes this event so unique is that it’s more than just a day filled with musical performances, there are also music classes and workshops offered throughout the day for kids of all ages to practice their craft.

Classes range from music improvisation, song writing, vocal music, hip hop, electronic music, drum circles and more.

Stein said what really makes Coltrane Day shine is the community jam session.

“This brings young musicians on stage to play with professionals,” he said. “It’s my favorite part of the day because it creates such a feeling of camaraderie. To see the faces of these young kids when they walk on the stage and get to play with the pros is really special. It creates such a spirit of community — which is really the theme of the event.”

Stein said the community jam is also great for parents to get an opportunity to see their kids shine on stage in a very different setting.

This year the Kenny Garrett Quintet is headlining Coltrane Day. Kenny Garrett, a saxophonist, has played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and has been nominated for six Grammy Awards. Long Island harpist Brandee Younger will be opening for the quintet.

All workshops are free and are about 45 minutes in length, but a $5 donation is recommended. Coltrane Day also offers a variety of foods, activities for kids, and art from local artists. Admission is free for children, and a $10 donation is suggested for adults.

For more information about Coltrane Day or the Coltrane Home in Dix Hills visit thecoltranehome.org or call 631-223-1361.

Artist of the Month: Winn Rea

by Irene Ruddock - July 14, 2017

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Above, front and side view of ‘Topo Shift: MacIntyre Range, 2015.’ Its blue/white coloration is derived from winter hiking.

By Irene Ruddock

Winn Rea addresses environmental themes in her sculptures, installations, videos and works on paper. She has exhibited in galleries and museums, both nationally and internationally, being awarded many prestigious grants and awards. Presently, her work is being shown at the Heckscher Museum of Art in an exhibit aptly titled Earth Muse: Art and the Environment. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rea about her latest venture.

The exhibit at the Heckscher describes its exhibit as ‘presenting the work of artists who view the earth as muse for contemplation of nature’s beauty and diversity.’ Can you tell us what works you are showing there?

At the Heckscher Museum you can see examples of my topographic relief paintings. They are based on my time in the Adirondack Mountains. I love going to the Adirondacks because I can unplug from the wired world and reconnect with nature.

How does your time in nature translate into your artwork?

While hiking I “collect” shadows by photographing them. Back in the studio, I construct topographic reliefs based on U.S. Geological Survey maps of the area. They are built out of 1/8-inch Russian birch plywood that I paint using colors and shadow patterns from the woods. People are fascinated because the reliefs are not solid, they are hollow like sea shells, and the shadow almost fools you into looking over your shoulder for the tree that cast it.

What other ways do you use art to express your interest in the environment?

All of my works are a meditation on where I fit into the greater scheme of things on the planet. When I make videos, they are about the passage of time in the short term, like how the flow of water in a stream changes over the course of a day, or the long term — as in geologic time — which is explored in my works on paper that are made by evaporation.

In your works on paper, you say that you do not paint in the traditional sense, but tend to them as you would a garden. Can you explain what you mean by that?

Well, it helps to know my process for the works on paper: first, I sculpt the paper, crinkling it into folds like mountain ranges. Then I flood the paper with pigment, which slowly evaporates leaving marks much like contour lines. So, in effect, instead of pushing pigments here or there with a brush, I work in synchrony with the natural process of evaporation. In gardening terms, I prepare the “soil” (sculpted paper), “water it” (pour pigments), and “harvest” the result — a three-dimensional painting on paper.

You are an associate professor of art at Long Island University C.W. Post. What do you wish to get across to your students about how art and the environment are related?

I want to give students confidence in their own creativity and help them cultivate their problem-solving skills through the design process. The reality is, their capacity to imagine and realize new, sustainable ways to thrive is the answer to our planet’s future.

In your world exhibitions, is there one country that you enjoyed the most?

I most enjoyed my travels to Korea especially to the tea farms in the mountains. Here the tea bushes are planted along contour lines that accentuate the form of the mountains. I felt most at home there.

Many artists are looking for longevity in their work, yet you describe much of your work as ‘temporal.’ Why?

I want people to enjoy my work and even collect it in order to have it in their lives, if it brings pleasure to them. But I am not interested in making a commodity. I want my legacy to be longer lasting in terms of the way my work helps people to think about the world differently and to become more aware of the impact of their everyday choices on the planet.

Above, front and side view of ‘Topo Shift: Cliff Mountain, 2015.’

‘Falling Water’ appears to be one of your most influential and popular installation sculptures. What effect were you trying to achieve?

In “Falling Water,” I made use of the sculptural and material qualities of our ubiquitous disposable water bottles. Cutting them on a curve releases the energy of a spiral. The clear plastic refracts the light, de-materializing the plastic. In a way, their beauty seduces us into ignoring their treachery — the needless use of petroleum products to package and transport a resource that we have as close as our tap.

What are you working on now?

I am working on a series of small topographic reliefs that include bodies of water. I am curious about bathometry (contours of the earth under water) and am exploring that margin between land and sea.

Do you have another exhibit coming up?

Yes, I have works hanging at Gallery 46 in Lake Placid. As part of the visual arts extension of the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, it is a great location for people to see my work in the context of the land that inspires it.

Can you tell us about your philosophy of life that influences your art?

The philosophy behind my work can be traced back to time spent hiking with my dad as a young girl. I loved the smell of the decaying leaves and movement of air amongst the trees. (I think of it now as the woods breathing.) My dad taught me to read the contours of the land while on the trail; back home he showed me where we had hiked on a 3-D topographic map. My dad also taught me about the natural cycle of things, of how the decay of one body feeds the life of another. This informs all my life’s work!

Winn Rea’s work is on exhibit at the Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Ave., Huntington through July 30. For more information, visit her website at www.winnrea.com.

Super-charged celebration honors Nikola Tesla

by TBR Staff - July 11, 2017

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Electric Dream Expo at Tesla Science Center in Shoreham brings hundreds

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It’s no shock that the legacy of Nikola Tesla, the man responsible for alternating current electricity, resonates so profoundly in Shoreham, given it’s where the Serbian-American inventor’s last remaining laboratory sits.

So in honor of his 161st birthday, more than 600 residents of all ages and from all over the map journeyed to the historic Shoreham site, the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, for a supercharged celebration of the prolific pioneer.

Under sunny skies Saturday, July 8, the center kicked off its Electric Dream Expo, an all-afternoon event for all things Tesla-inspired.

From interactive exhibits of 3-D printers, high school robotics and old ham radios to demonstrations of the Tesla coil and Tesla-oriented augmented reality, to science-based activities for kids, the event carried a theme of technological innovation of the past, present and future.

“We’re just so thrilled to see so many people are interested and incredibly humbled knowing what Tesla represents to people.”

— Jane Alcorn

Vibrant Tesla cars were also on display throughout the grounds with raffles for 24-hour test drives available to the public. A Tesla impersonator, in full Victorian-era garb, walked around the premises and was photographed with attendees.

The grand event was even broadcast live to more than 50,000 people on Facebook with the help of a hovering drone.

While the center has held birthday celebrations for Tesla in the past, this one was the biggest yet and was also in acknowledgement of the 100th anniversary of the dismantling of his legendary and ahead-of-its-time wireless transmitting tower, which sat on the Shoreham property before being torn down July 4, 1917.

“It seemed important that we do something with a little more bang,” Jane Alcorn, Tesla Science Center board president said of this year’s event, the funds from which would go toward the development of the long-awaited Tesla museum and science center in the laboratory. “It’s exhilarating and humbling. We’re just so thrilled to see so many people are interested, and incredibly humbled knowing what Tesla represents to people.”

Dozens of vendors, including Brookhaven National Lab, North Shore Public Library, Museum of Interesting Things, Custer Institute & Observatory and Long Island Radio & TV Historical Society, set up at tables as people wearing Tesla shirts and pins browsed and bonded over their shared interest in the man who paved the way for several modern gadgets like cellphones. TVs and radios.

“He’s the father of just about everything we use … the hero of modern science,” Manorville resident and longtime Tesla researcher Axel Wicks said.

“He’s the father of just about everything we use … the hero of modern science.”

— Axel Wicks

Rachel Zyats, of Rocky Point, said she was excited that Tesla was finally getting the credit he deserved, as somebody who was greatly overshadowed by rival Thomas Edison

“Tesla was the real inventor,” Zyats said. “I think it’s great that more people are starting to learn about [him].”

Lynbrook mother Leeanne Chiulli and her 11-year-old daughter Kate, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan, “Never underestimate a woman who loves Nikola Tesla,” said the creator is their idol. James Angell, a retired engineer from Commack, pointed to Tesla as a hero in the field of science.

“Tesla is one of the greatest geniuses in the last 100 years in engineering and electrical theory,” Angell said, noting his early development of quantum mechanics. “One hundred years before anyone started talking about it today, Tesla was talking about it. [He] had a concept years and years before anyone thought of it. [So] it’s very encouraging to see so many people who now have an interest in Tesla and his inventions.”

Standing at one of the booths was Joseph Sikorski, a Babylon-based filmmaker who made a documentary entitled “Tower to the People” about the history of Wardenclyffe and Tesla’s accomplishments there.

“Tesla is a great unifier and it’s awesome to see him opening a lot of doors for people of all types,” he said.

Several speakers took to the podium in front of the historic brick building where Tesla built his laboratory in 1901 with the help of renowned architect Stanford White.

“[He] had a concept years and years before anyone thought of it. [So] it’s very encouraging to see so many people who now have an interest in Tesla and his inventions.”

— James Angell

William Terbo, Tesla’s grandnephew, was also in attendance, recounting memories of his great-uncle.

With Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) alongside, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) presented Alcorn and Marc Alessi, executive director, with a proclamation for their work in keeping Tesla’s legacy alive. “Long live Tesla, long live ideas, long live science,” Romaine said.

At the end of the ceremony, young Kyle Driebeek, of Connecticut, performed “America the Beautiful” and “Happy Birthday” on the theremin, a Russian electronic instrument played without physical contact. Tesla-decorated birthday cake was also served.

Rock Brynner, professor, author and son of famous actor Yul, read Tesla-related excerpts from his book about the New York Power Authority’s origins and expressed his joy in seeing so many people in attendance.

“I expected to see maybe three kids and a sullen nanny, and instead there’s this enormously enthusiastic crowd … it’s wonderful,” Brynner said. “In the 1930s, a journalist asked Albert Einstein what it was like to be the most brilliant genius in the world and Einstein replied, ‘I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Nikola Tesla.’ I urge all of you to learn more about Tesla. His story is enthralling and tragic, beautiful and terribly moving.”

Two Republicans vying for Legislator Sarah Anker’s seat

by TBR Staff - July 7, 2017

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Sarah-Anker-2015-29_Glowatzw — Sarah Anker talks local issues at a debate at Times Beacon Record Newspapers. Photo by Elana Glowatz

By Kevin Redding

As Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) gears up to run a campaign in the hopes of serving the 6th District for a fourth term, two political newcomers — Republicans Gary Pollakusky and Frank Vetro — also each hope to occupy the seat in November.

Anker, who assumed office in 2011 and won her last election by a total 19 votes, said the most important part of running for public office is knowing the community. As someone who’s lived in the area for more than 30 years, she said her experience “literally trumps the [predominantly Republican] political system.”

“I will continue to do my job working for the people and not for the party,”
said Anker, who founded the Community Health and Environmental Coalition, advocated to build Heritage Park in Mount Sinai
and created the Jobs Opportunity Board connecting graduating seniors with local jobs. She has also provided sports safety forums to local schools to prevent deaths and serious injuries among student-athletes, helped reduce county government costs by streamlining services, and takes pride in being heavily involved with civic groups and always being accessible to constituents.

The legislator said she wants to build a stronger economy by revitalizing our communities, sustaining the district’s environment and continuing her work in the prevention and intervention of those addicted to opioids.

“I think I’ve proven myself through my past experience [through] community advocacy and by getting the jobs done,” she said. “I’m here to serve for our quality of life and environmental legacy.”

Gary Pollakusky

Pollakusky, 41, a Rocky Point resident who served as campaign manager for Anker’s 2015 Republican challenger Steve Tricarico, and recently secured the Republican nomination, said he believes Suffolk County is in the greatest physical crisis it has ever faced in our history.

“After 10 years of Democrat control … we have an opioid problem that is out of control, and gangs and drugs are pushing into our community like they belong here,” he said.

If elected, he said he aims to fix the county’s outstanding debt, eliminate excessive fees, make the area more affordable to its seniors and young people, stamp out the opioid problem and do more to support small businesses.

As the self-starter of Media Barrel LLC, a Rocky Point-based marketing and advertising business that strives to solve problems for companies and various local organizations, Pollakusky said his business experience and community activism will support his candidacy and ultimately his election.

“Beyond the barbecues and concert series are very important issues that need to be addressed,” Pollakusky said. “How are we going to get out of debt? How are we going to inspire companies to stay in Suffolk and on Long Island? This is what I do for a living. I help businesses solve problems by giving them solutions. I will bring business into the county, and work on our debt and balance our budget.”

On his opponent, Pollakusky said while Anker is well meaning, he said he thinks she’s misguided and ineffective.

“I help businesses solve problems by giving them solutions. I will bring business into the county and work on our debt and balance our budget.”

— Gary Pollakusky

“We’re in a pretty sad state,” Pollakusky said. “Not a lot has changed in our county since 2015. You know we’ve hit rock bottom when our county legislator is more concerned with making a pocket park surrounding a boulder than figuring out ways to actually retain the structural deficit. We’re drowning in debt and she wants to sink us with a rock.”

Upon graduating from Cornell University with a bachelor of science degree in industrial labor relations, Pollakusky ran the human resource department of AHL Services before working at Columbia Business School as assistant director of admissions.

Outside of his small business, he said he created the nonpartisan North Shore Community Association in 2013 to tackle community problems through transparency and advocacy, including educational drug forums. He was recently among Long Island Business News’ 40 Under 40 Awards list.

A former resident of Long Beach, Pollakusky and his wife, Jeanine, moved to Rocky Point after Hurricane Sandy destroyed their home. He said he loves the hamlet’s close-knit community.

“We love our open space, our beaches, our main street, small-town lives and the people,” he said. “We have such amazing people here that would do anything for their neighbors. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”

Frank Vetro

Vetro, 45, the host of a LI News Radio show, a real estate agent and longtime educator from Miller Place, is currently in the process of gathering petitions to run against Pollakusky in the September primary. He said although he isn’t used to the political world, speaking publicly to residents on the radio for years pushed him to throw his hat in the ring.

“My listeners, after hearing me day in and day out, would always say, ‘Why don’t you run? You should run, you’re passionate, you really care,’” said Vetro, who wants to stamp out county corruption. “I have always fought for underdogs.”

He also discussed keeping the area affordable to those young and old.

“A last straw for me was that me and my family are so close, and a lot of my family is moving off Long Island because of the cost of living and better opportunities elsewhere,” he said. “I’m losing them and I can’t take it anymore — the taxes, the mismanagement, people being in office and leadership positions not on their merit but because they knew somebody. When is enough, enough?”

Vetro said his daily experiences, educating and rehabilitating young gang members and drug addicts, give him an advantage over other politicians.

“I think when you have your finger on the pulse and you’re in the trenches doing it, it gives you a better understanding of what’s going on,” Vetro said.

“A last straw for me was that me and my family are so close, and a lot of my family is moving off Long Island because of the cost of living.”

— Frank Vetro

As a principal at Hope House Ministries School, Vetro said he works with youth in great crisis, some of whom have been kicked out of school, and he helps them get reacclimated to a “normal” life. He said working with recovering addicts puts him in close quarters to what he sees as a major problem in New York.

“My body of work sits hand in hand with what’s going on on Long Island,” he said of the opioid crisis.

His job as a realtor, he added, gives him hands-on knowledge of the housing market.

In 2006, while principal of Hampton Bays High School, Vetro was arrested for alleged phone harassment of several women. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges, which were later reduced to violations. Ever since, he has been fighting corruption in the court system and rebuilding his life, and even wrote a book last year called “Standing on Principal,” detailing his arrest and injustices he faced.

“I know about Suffolk County corruption better than anybody and what I do to help people and what I stand for … I really, in my heart, believe that I’m the most qualified,” he said.

Nonprofit donates bench in memory of Thomas Cutinella

by TBR Staff - June 19, 2017

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By Kevin Redding

Since the untimely passing of Tom Cutinella in October 2014, the memory of Shoreham’s beloved student-athlete has lived on within the district, from the dedication of the high school’s athletic field in his name to a life-size bust and memorial wall close to it.

But perhaps no remembrance captures the kindhearted spirit of the fallen football player quite like the newly built “buddy bench,” to be installed on the playground at Wading River Elementary School.

“Character is what sets us aside from one another. This ‘buddy bench’ will inspire you all even more to be like Thomas and Kaitlyn … to do the right thing, even when no one is looking.”

—Kelli Cutinella

Adorned with the inscription “Be A Friend Make A Friend” underneath the dedication “In Loving Memory of Thomas Cutinella,” the bench serves to eliminate loneliness and promote friendship among children — when those feeling alone or bullied sit on the bench, other students are encouraged to take a seat next to them and ask if they want to be friends.

It was donated in Cutinella’s honor by Kait’s Angels, a North Fork-based non-profit started just weeks after Mattituck resident Kaitlyn Doorhy, a 20-year-old college student at Sacred Heart University, was struck and killed by a car in August 2014.

So far, the organization has installed more than 10 benches in her memory at every elementary school on the North Fork, including Cutchogue East and Greenport, as well as a senior center in Southold. This is the first one built in someone else’s name.

“This bench defines what Tom stood for,” Kelli Cutinella, Tom’s mother, told students, administrators and parents packed into the elementary school’s gym for the bench’s ribbon-cutting ceremony June 16. Speaking directly to the students, she said, “character is what sets us aside from one another. This ‘buddy bench’ will inspire you all even more to be like Thomas and Kaitlyn … to do the right thing, even when no one is looking … have that character that sets you aside from everyone and always let your peers know they have a friend and are never alone.”

“Their legacy has come together for a special reason and Kaitlin and Thomas will always be remembered here. Even though they’re not here in the flesh, their spirits live on.”

—Darla Doorhy

It was during his years at the elementary school that Cutinella started being recognized as someone special, who took the school’s teachings about trustworthiness, respect and caring to heart.

He was a kind, selfless kid who was quick to help others and make friends with anyone he crossed paths with, no matter who they were.

“[Tom] was a friend to everyone, and I mean everyone,” said Cutinella, who was joined at the event by her husband, Frank, and their children. “He was a natural helper and a best buddy.”

Cutinella’s life was was tragically cut short nearly three years ago following a head-on collision with an opposing player on a football field during a high school game.

Darla Doorhy, Kaitlin’s mother, reached out to Kelli Cutinella around Christmas time to discuss collaborating on the dedication, which took about six months to come to fruition. The bench was purchased by Kait’s Angels from Belson Outdoors in Illinois.

She said Tom and her daughter — who had been a Girl Scout ambassador, National Honor Society member, multi-sport athlete, musician and organizer for countless fundraising efforts — were very similar in their generosity towards others, right down to being registered organ donors.

“Their legacy has come together for a special reason and Kaitlin and Thomas will always be remembered here,” Doorhy said. “Even though they’re not here in the flesh, their spirits live on.”

“The truth is that every one of you has the power to transform the world in the decisions you make. If you see anyone sitting on that bench, that means you go up and ask, ‘Hey, can you come and play with me?’

—Louis Parrinello

Cutinella agreed there’s a special connection between their children, and said she was humbled to be approached by Doorhy and Kait’s Angels.

“Certainly there’s a commonality of the tragedies,” President of Kait’s Angels, William Araneo, said. “Although physically there will always be an empty chair, her presence remains strong … she continues to find ways to bring us together and this is one example of that. And just like Tom, Kaitlin reserved a place in her heart for those who may not have been popular, and persevered to make friends with those who might be developmentally challenged.”

Wading River Elementary School Principal Louis Parrinello called on a few students from each grade, starting with second, to place notes they wrote earlier in the day into a large basket next to the bench.

Scribbled on the notes were ways in which a student could make friends with another; one student wrote, “I can make a friend by playing with them,” while another student’s note said, “I can make a friend by talking to them about what they like.”

A small group of students who knew Cutinella personally were called up to cut the ribbon and be the first to sit on the bench.

“We learn about people in history, like Abraham Lincoln and Betsy Ross … people who have transformed the world,” Parrinello said to the room of students, “but the truth is that every one of you has the power to transform the world in the decisions you make. If you see anyone sitting on that bench, that means you go up and ask, ‘Hey, can you come and play with me?’ It’s about opening up and starting something new.”

Poquott homeowners, historian hope to save history

by Rita J. Egan - June 8, 2017

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BENNERw — The owners of a historic mansion in Poquott, above, are doing their best to prevent land developers from purchasing it. Photo from Chris Ryon

The owners of a historic mansion in Poquott are hoping history won’t be lost when they sell the home which their family has maintained for more than 70 years.

Located on Van Brunt Manor Road, the mansion, which was built in 1893 and is part of the Benner-Foos-Ceparano Estate, was added to both the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places in August 2016 along with a neighboring farmhouse built in 1895 on Osprey Lane. The first homes in Poquott to be added to the registries, they are surrounded by houses constructed in the mid-to-late 20th century.

Rosemarie Sabatelli, who owns the mansion along with her sisters Felicia and Christina, said it has been difficult to find a buyer. In addition to interested parties offering less than the nearly $4 million asking price, Sabatelli said another factor is the family doesn’t want to sell the mansion to a land developer who may tear down the home, which is structurally sound. Most recently, she said she was wary of a potential buyer who wasn’t concerned with securing a house inspection, which led her to believe he was a developer who had no intent in keeping the home intact.

Chris Ryon, village historian for both Poquott and Port Jefferson, said while the mansion is on the registries for historic places, the recognition only protects it from various types of federal construction such as a new roadway, but not developers.

“It was my grandmother’s dream house so I feel like it’s ours,” Sabatelli said. “My mission is to make sure her legacy and the house go on.”

Ryon said local historians as well as representatives from the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities have come to look at the mansion.

A photo from the early 1900s of the Poquott mansion when it was used as a summer home. Photo from Port Jefferson Village archive

“We want as many eyes on it as we can,” he said. “We want people to know that this house is here and it’s significant.”

When the mansion was built in 1893, Charles Benner, a New York City lawyer, was searching for a summer retreat where he could spend his days fishing and yachting, according to Ryon. It was a time when Long Island was less hectic than the bustling city. Two years later the farmhouse was constructed where the Benner family’s servants lived.

The historian said the house is architecturally significant as Charles Alonzo Rich and Hugh Lamb designed it. The duo were known for their work with President Theodore Roosevelt’s Sagamore Hill in Cove Neck near Oyster Bay as well as many of the buildings at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

A shingle-style structure with asymmetrical elements such as end gables, the mansion features a bowed footprint that overlooks Port Jefferson Harbor.

“I haven’t found anything with that shape to it,” Ryon said. “So it’s unique.”

A banker by the name of Ferguson Foos bought the property in 1909 and maintained ownership until 1944 when Sabatelli’s grandparents, Joseph and Rose Ceparano, bought it. She said the life of her grandmother, who was a seamstress, was a rags-to-riches tale.

After hearing stories about America, Rose married so as to be able to emigrate from Italy to the United States in 1928, since she would not be able to come here as a single woman. When the marriage failed, she married her second husband, Joseph. Soon after they bought the Benner home, Rose opened the original Schooner Restaurant in Port Jefferson, the eatery known for being a converted sailing vessel, and owned it for a few years.

Sabatelli and her sisters would visit from Flushing, Queens in the summers and play and run around the three floors of the mansion as well as the 18 acres of land. She said coming to her grandmother’s home in the 1970s was like being in a sanctuary. In 1980 after her father’s death, Sabatelli, along with her sisters and mother Mary moved in with her grandmother, who died in 1989.

The mansion remained in the family after Rose’s death, and Mary became known in the area as a philanthropist, humanitarian and businesswoman, who organized many events at the home including fundraisers for John T. Mather Memorial Hospital and the Suffolk County Police Emerald Society Pipe Band.

Sabatelli and Ryon said they think the mansion represents a time when the affluent would vacation on Long Island, and it’s important to save the reminder of a simpler time. They believe that many feel the same way.

“We love looking back at the past,” Ryon said. “Once it’s gone, that’s it. It was the past, and you just erased a piece of it. Part of it is that we can’t get it back, and people love houses like that. It takes them back in time. A time that they remember or time they would like to remember.”

Three Village remembers jazz preservationist

by Rita J. Egan - May 15, 2017

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With great admiration, many in the area are remembering a jazz music preservationist who recognized the importance of the American-born genre from its early days. Ann Sneed, 87, formerly of Stony Brook and founder of the nonprofit foundation International Art of Jazz, died in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 21, from cancer.

Sneed founded the International Art of Jazz foundation in the 1960s and organized concerts in the Three Village area, as well as surrounding towns. The foundation also traveled to schools to introduce children to the sounds of jazz throughout the state.

When Tom Manuel, trumpet player and owner of The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, decided to open his venue, he reached out to the music preservationist. He said for years he had heard about her from other musicians, who when they discovered he was from Stony Brook, would ask him if he was familiar with her.

Ann Sneed outside of The Three Village Inn before a campaign event for Assemblyman Steve Englebright in October of 2012. Photo by Maria Hoffman

“Ann used to produce these amazing concerts not just in Stony Brook but in the Three Village area, Port Jefferson, at the university,” he said in a telephone interview. “Some of the first jazz concerts at the university were produced by Ann. So, I always heard about her and was always kind of impressed that the oldest organization for jazz in the history of our country was founded right here in Stony Brook. What an amazing accomplishment.”

Manuel said Sneed’s health was failing when they connected, so the majority of their conversations occurred over the phone. The two of them would talk for hours about her life in music and her days running IAJ.

“She was there at the beginning,” he said. “There are so few people you can talk to like that now.”

Manuel described Sneed as spunky, bright, genuine and inspiring. He said he admired her for recognizing the importance of jazz music and preserving it.

“Everything she said was so powerful and so applicable today — that the music was so important, that the artists were so underappreciated,” he said.

Manuel was always in awe of her stories about all the musical artists she met, especially composer, pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington.

“She actually had a fairly well-established friendship with Duke Ellington, and that kind of floored me,” he said. “Not only just the fact that he was a jazz legend but Ellington was arguably one of the greatest American composers of all time, and so much of the jazz standards are Ellington compositions.”

John Broven, music history author, also had the opportunity to meet Sneed when she lived in the Three Village area.

“For many years I knew Ann as the always-friendly ticket collector at Democratic fundraisers, but for a longtime had no idea of her background in classic jazz,” Broven said.

Sneed invited him to her home after she discovered his wife Shelley’s father was the founder of Golden Crest and Shelley Records of Huntington Station.

“It wasn’t until she asked me about three years ago to identify the valuable jazz albums in the large record collection at her Stony Brook home that I became aware of her deep involvement in the music,” he said. “As we browsed through the LPs with the red wine flowing, she brought alive revered artists as real people. She seemed to know them all, including Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, Billy Taylor and a personal favorite, Ruth Brown. Ann was a remarkable pioneering lady in the world of jazz, full of compassion for the musicians, and in a sense paved the way for today’s vibrant Jazz Loft facility in Stony Brook.”

In her autobiography “Miss Rhythm,” rhythm and blues singer Ruth Brown credits her participation in Sneed’s organization International Art of Jazz as being one of the opportunities that helped her get back on her feet after suffering with a career downturn and financial hardships.

“The work that she did, the pioneering work really that she undertook as the executive director of the International Art of Jazz, helped set the stage for the current level of appreciation that jazz has in our society.”

— Steve Englebright

Brown, who lived in Deer Park, wrote in her book how IAJ organized workshops in schools, from kindergarten to college, sometimes two or three times a week to expose children to jazz music.

In addition to her involvement in music, Sneed was also a member of the Suffolk County Democratic Committee, and she was a familiar face at many campaign events for Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) where she was a volunteer manning the front desk.

Englebright said he knew Sneed for 35 years but when it came to her productions he was only able to attend one in the early years of IAJ. However, he said through his conversations with her about jazz and her productions he felt as if he attended all of her events.

“She had the great luminaries of the years when she was there (IAJ) from all over the country and all over the world,” he said. “She was the catalyst really for bringing so many of these people to our shores and to our community on Long Island. I think she lifted the level of our cultural experience rather significantly.”

The assemblyman echoed both Manuel’s and Broven’s sentiments about Sneed’s groundbreaking work as well as her paving the way for jazz appreciation even in present times. “The work that she did, the pioneering work really that she undertook as the executive director of the International Art of Jazz, helped set the stage for the current level of appreciation that jazz has in our society,” Englebright said. “Ann Sneed was well ahead of her time.”

The assemblyman said that it was after Sneed’s work with IAJ that she began to volunteer at his campaign events.

“I was so very privileged and honored that she spent a good deal of her time working to help me in my work with the public,” he said. “Often she was the person who would greet you at the door at the Englebright fundraisers, graciously show you in and make you feel that all was good.”

Matthew Barton, curator at the Library of Congress’ National Audio Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, said recordings of the jazz concerts that Sneed produced are housed in the Library of Congress. The recordings include performances by jazz legends such as Brown, Wynton Marsalis, Illinois Jacquet, Johnny Hartman, Thad Jones and more.

“There are more than 200 of the jazz concerts that Ann Sneed mounted with the International Art of Jazz in the Library of Congress’ recorded sound holdings,” Barton said. “The tapes include a wonderful range of the best performers in jazz over several decades. It’s a wonderful and fitting legacy for someone who loved jazz so much, and did so much for it.”

Sneed is survived by her two daughters Jan Sneed and Kathleen Lukens and two grandsons. Services will be announced at a later date.

Garden paintings of Joseph Reboli and Ty Stroudsburg showcased in new exhibit

by TBR Staff - May 2, 2017

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Peony JR_03Eskin — 'Peony' by Joseph Reboli

By Susan Risoli

The poet/artist William Blake wrote of seeing “a World in a Grain of Sand, and a Heaven in a Wild Flower” and holding “Infinity in the palm of your hand, and Eternity in an hour.” The Reboli Center for Art and History will consider the ways different artists see not only wildflowers but landscape in all its elements, through its latest exhibit In Bloom, which opens May 2.

The show features paintings by Joseph Reboli and Ty Stroudsburg’s paintings and pastels. Although Reboli was known for classical realism and Stroudsburg works in a more abstract, less representational way, the artists knew and admired each other, said Lois Reboli in a recent interview. “The exhibit will be a riot of color,” she said, as her late husband’s work is presented side-by-side with Stroudsburg’s.

The Reboli Center opened this past fall to preserve the legacy left by Joe Reboli, a well-known painter and longtime Three Village resident who died in 2004. Every exhibit will show his paintings together with work done by someone he knew.

Stroudsburg will show 12 pieces in the In Bloom exhibit. Some are framed oil paintings on paper, others are oils on linen canvas and the rest are framed pastels. Although she and Reboli shared the same birth date (Sept. 25) and a love of landscape, they respond to their environments differently.

Lush abstraction

“The first thing I deal with is color,” Stroudsburg said in a recent interview. “I just love it.” Her slashing brushwork (“people have called it ‘Zorro-esque’”) grew from her abstract expressionist work done in the 1960s. “I love to experiment with what the paint can do,” Stroudsburg explained.

When it comes to interpreting light, “I don’t use it in terms of light and shadow. But obviously, without light there’s no color, so it’s there.” Areas of lush color lead the eye around her pieces, as one takes note of the forms and textures Stroudsburg uses to interpret what she called the “natural, unpopulated world.” The result, she said, is “an effort to record the pervasive qualities of places that excited my vision. In this way, hopefully, the viewers of my work will be able to share that vision.”

Stroudsburg is a self-taught artist who started her career as a teacher. “I lasted three weeks,” she said wryly. A 1962 trip to Long Island changed her life. Inspired by the Parrish Museum, Guild Hall and then-rural South Fork, “I got a part-time job in a dress shop, just continued to paint and that was it,” she recalled. Stroudsburg lives in Southold now, where the North Fork’s farm fields and changing seasons “are a big point of takeoff” for her art.

Yin versus Yang

Presenting Stroudsburg’s landscapes alongside Reboli’s demonstrates how artists can see the same subject with different vision, said Colleen Hanson, co-director of the Reboli Center with Lois Reboli and B.J. Intini. In Stroudsburg’s and Reboli’s interpretations of nature, “you have this kind of yin/yang painting of Long Island. Both are known for color and light, but Ty is abstract and Joe used classical realism.”

Sunlit vegetables that almost seem to glow from within, spirited hydrangeas staking their claim against the wall of an old cottage, Stony Brook Village blanketed with snow — all are rendered with Reboli’s attention to light and shadow, and his devotion to interpreting the hallmarks of a season.

“In the 1960s, when Joe went to the Paier School of Art, there was a huge abstraction push” in the art world, Hanson said. “Many schools were deviating from a classical education component” but Reboli embraced and excelled in the tradition. In Stroudsburg’s painting, “Ty’s strokes are looser, the composition is looser. Her work has that color field and movement that just engages you.”

Showing Reboli’s art next to the work of other artists gives people “a way to understand how different origins make for different paintings,” Hanson said. “What we’re trying to do is explore Joe’s origins and his references. We show the contrast with painters who were in the same area at the same time, doing the same subject.”

Third Friday talks

The Reboli Center’s monthly Third Friday talks from 6 to 8 p.m. link the local community with its history, said Lois Reboli, while at the same time focusing on aspects of the exhibits.

On May 19, the center will welcome Christina Strassfield, museum director and chief curator of Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, who will speak about “My Life in Museums,” a life and career shaped by art.

On June 16, Deborah Johnson, deputy director and director of development at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington and author of a book titled “Joseph Reboli,” will speak about Reboli’s work.

On July 21, Katharine Griffiths, director of Avalon Park and Preserve, will discuss the park’s use of native plants. Reboli’s mother Olga Jicinsky Reboli was born and raised in “a little tiny house” that eventually became the renovated building where Avalon Park staff are headquartered, Lois Reboli pointed out.

Third Fridays are a chance for people to gather for stimulating discussion and “a wonderful, fun evening,” Reboli said. “We’re pretty much packed every time we have one.” The talks are free and light refreshments will be served.

The Reboli Center for Art and History, 64 Main St., Stony Brook will present In Bloom from May 2 through July 30. An artist reception is yet to be scheduled. The center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 631-751-7707 or visit www.rebolicenter.org

Picture book award winners revealed at Emma Clark library

by TBR Staff - March 27, 2017

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Contest, in its third year, part of endowment by children in memory of their mother

Shack-childrenw — Ed Taylor, Sherry Cleary and Karen Reid review entries for the contest honoring their mother Helen Stein Shack at Emma S. Clark Memorial Library. Photo by Donna Newman

By Donna Newman

When Helen Stein Shack passed away three years ago, her children wanted to celebrate their mother’s life with a legacy she’d have loved. Where to do it was an easy decision because Shack was both a bibliophile and a big fan of the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library in Setauket.

Library Director Ted Gutmann recalled how Shack’s children approached him to establish an endowment that would support an annual event in her memory each April. They only needed to decide what the event would be.

“They wanted to do something at the library specifically dealing with children and literature created expressly for young readers,” Gutmann said. “Librarian Nanette Feder had a group of teenagers working with younger children. We asked the teens if they’d like to try writing picture books. We created a contest, established rules, and offered a cash prize. The first year we promoted the contest through social media, the library website, department chairs and school librarians. Now it’s taken on a life of its own.”

Contest winners with the Shack family and Councilwoman Valerie Cartright. Ed Taylor, Karen Shack Reid, Cartright, Michelle Pacala, Samantha White, Katie Zhao, Sherry Cleary and Nicole Freeley. Photo from the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library

In an interview with three of Shack’s four children, as they gathered at the library Feb. 4 to review the entries, daughter Sherry Cleary explained their thinking.

“The inspiration for this library thing was that she really loved the process of children learning to read — and she loved this library,” she said. “It was our first choice to memorialize and honor her because when people would visit her, she would say, ‘Want to see my library? Let’s go see my library.’ She would bring people here, which is a little weird. It would make me laugh.”

All four children agreed that the library was the appropriate spot for Shack’s lasting legacy.

And now, the library is pleased to announce this year’s prize winners in the 3rd Annual Helen Stein Shack Picture Book Awards — a contest showcasing writing and illustration talent in Three Village secondary schools.

Each year students in grades 7 through 12 are invited to submit an original children’s picture book created by a single person or an author/illustrator team. There are two judging categories: Grades 7 to 9 and Grades 10 to 12. There is a first and second place winner in each category.

First Prize (Grades 7 to 9) goes to Eliana Sasson, an eighth-grader, for “We Can Still Be Friends,” which teaches children to embrace and celebrate differences. Second Prize is awarded to Nicole Freeley, a ninth-grader for “Sammy the Sock Monkey.” They are both students at P. J. Gelinas junior high.

First Prize (Grades 10 to 12) goes to Ward Melville high school sophomore Katie Zhao for “Claire and Her Bear,” about a young girl whose beloved teddy bear goes missing and the emotions she experiences when this happens. Second Prize is awarded to Cassidy Oliver, also a Ward Melville sophomore, for “Color Your World.”

“I think she had this drive to do things differently. The way she grandparented — and her roots in education — inspired us to [create] these awards.”

—Sherry Cleary

Shack was an intelligent and courageous woman. After graduating from Brooklyn College in the early 1950s, she obtained an elementary school teaching job in California, and boarded a train heading west, alone.

“At that time, it was an extraordinarily brave thing to do,” said Cleary. “People got married and stayed in Brooklyn. I think she had this drive to do things differently. The way she grandparented — and her roots in education — inspired us to [create] these awards.”

Cleary went on to describe the connection Shack made with her son, the first grandchild.

“I had the first grandchild,” she said, “but we were very far away. She didn’t see him often. She would tape her voice reading a children’s book and then send the tape and the book to him. So, he would sit in a big blue chair in our living room and listen intently to the tape and turn the pages when she made the noise [that signaled to do that]. He had connection to her in that way — and later, he became a librarian.”

Eventually, Shack had seven grandchildren.

Knowing how important children’s literature was to their mother, the family wanted their event to incorporate it in some way. Although Shack did not return to classroom teaching after remarrying and having two more daughters, when the girls were grown Shack tutored kids in the public schools. Her focus was on giving them access to literature. More than just teaching reading, she gave them access to books.

“And what you can get from books,” added daughter Karen Reid, “all the information. All questions get answered in books. And if you don’t have questions — read a book — because then you’ll have questions. [Our mother] was a big questioner and always wanted us to seek information in books. She thought it was wonderful that authors could write information in a way that kids would want to read it.” That impressed her.

Shack’s only son, Ed Taylor, said he didn’t think there was anything spectacular about his mother.

Helen Shack, second from left, with her children at Karen Reid’s 2011 wedding. Photo from Shack family

“She was just a loving person,” he said, “loved her family, her kids and her grandchildren, nephews and nieces. She always stressed education, always stressed reading. I don’t know if she was much different from other moms, but she was ours. She was special to us; but I think everyone’s mother is special to them. The best compliment I could give her: she was a good mother.”

Cleary talked about a third daughter, Barbara Kelly, who has three children. The kids would come for two weeks in the summer to visit their ‘savta’ (Hebrew for grandmother).

“They’d come in the house and unload all their stuff and she’d say, ‘Did you bring books?’ and they’d look at her and say, ‘No, we didn’t bring books all the way from California,’” Cleary said. “And she’d say, ‘Let’s go to the library.’ She’d bring them to the library to get books. As the children got older, on their way to visit they’d ask each other, ‘How long do you think it’ll be till we go to the library?’”

Shack fostered the notion that you should never be without a book. Unsurprisingly, her progeny are all readers. “The irony is, because she was so connected to the library, she did not have a lot of books in the house,” said Cleary, “which used to drive me crazy. She’d say, ‘I don’t buy books. I go to the library.’”

Winning authors will be recognized at a private awards ceremony at the library, Thursday, April 27 at 7 p.m. Each First Prize winner receives a $400 scholarship; each Second Prize winner receives a $100 scholarship. Bound copies of all the winning entries will be presented and added to the library’s Local Focus collection. All contest entrants receive certificates of participation. Light refreshments will be served, donated by The Bite Size Bake Shop, a local Three Village business.

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, is located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District.

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