Port Jefferson’s 21st Annual Charles Dickens Festival was Dec. 3 and 4 across the village. Visitors came out and experienced all of the sights, sounds and activities during Port Jefferson’s annual Charles Dickens Festival Dec. 3 and 4. Street performances, parades, a gingerbread house contest and several showings of A Christmas Carol at Theatre Three were just some of the fun attractions during the two-day holiday festival.
The Port Jefferson community lined Main Street in the village Nov. 26 to welcome a very special visitor. The annual Santa Parade saw the man himself riding his sleigh through the streets for hundreds of onlookers, along with floats from local Boy Scout troops, the Port Jefferson Ferry, the Chamber of Commerce, the Village Board and many more. Port Jefferson’s annual Dickens Festival begins Dec. 3.
Northport is ready to spread some holiday cheer this weekend.
The festivities kick off Friday, Nov, 25 with the annual tree lighting hosted by the Northport Chamber of Commerce. From 4 to 7 p.m. reindeer will be on display in the village. At 7 p.m. the tree will be lit inside Northport Village Park, and then Santa Claus comes to town with the Northport Fire Department in a parade down Main Street. Hot chocolate and cookies will be passed out for visitors as well.
Then starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26, activities for Small Business Saturday will be hosted by the Northport Chamber of Commerce. Shoppers are invited to register at the Main Street Cafe on Main Street and receive a raffle ticket, along with a list of merchants in the village and discounts each participating store will be offering. When shoppers make a purchase from one of those stores, they will receive another raffle ticket. The chamber will raffle off 10 gift certificates to area stores and a few gift certificates to Main Street Cafe.
Finally at 6 p.m., Carl’s Candies, a new candy shop on Main Street, will keep the Northport leg-lighting tradition alive by hosting the event outside their shop. The annual lighting of the leg is a nod to the classic holiday film “A Christmas Story” and one of the most well-known movie props in cinematic history. The holiday tradition began in 2005 when owners of Northport Hardware Store lit the lamp and put it on display in their storefront window. Since then, the glowing leg has attracted hundreds of visitors to Northport Village each year.
Update: Police reported on the evening of Dec. 30 that Cody Lee Miller had been located and was unharmed.
A Northport man’s family has not seen him since the day before Christmas Eve and is looking for the public’s help to find him.
The Suffolk County Police Department said on Wednesday that the family last saw 24-year-old Cody Lee Miller at his house at 8 a.m. on Dec. 23 with a black, oversized backpack.
According to the family’s Facebook page “Help find Cody,” the young man left abruptly. “No argument before he left, nothing of that nature.” It’s possible he has a toiletries and a change of clothes with him, the page said, but he didn’t bring a sleeping bag or any technological items with him.
“He did not mention any part of leaving to any friends/family member,” the page said. “We have no explanations for his leaving, are unable to track him, and need your help to find him.”
The family reported him missing last week.
Miller is white, 6 feet 1 inch tall and about 145 pounds, according to the SCPD. He has dark blonde hair and hazel eyes, and was last seen in blue jeans, a black hoodie and black sneakers.
Police said the family believes he could still be on Long Island but might have gone into New York City.
Anyone with information about the young man’s whereabouts is asked to dial 911 or to call detectives from the SCPD’s 4th Squad, who are investigating the missing person case, at 631-854-8452.
By Beverly C. Tyler
The celebration of Christmas, as we know it, goes back about 125 years to the late Victorian era. Following the Civil War, the growth of industry picked up dramatically. By the time of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1876, conditions at home and leisure time experienced by Long Islanders and by the rest of the country changed for the better.
Despite union riots and periods of depression, the decades following the Civil War, known as the Gilded Age, ushered in a time of significant material change. The coming of the railroad in the second half of the century, the improvement in communications that resulted in the beginnings of telephone service in the 1890s, the change in printing methods that brought magazines such as Harper’s and Leslie’s Monthly to many homes and the penny postcard that revolutionized contact between people in America and as far away as Europe all brought new ideas and customs to the local residents.
These, coupled with the masses of immigrants that arrived in New York in the three decades following the Civil War, brought new customs for celebrating Christmas that became a part of “keeping Christmas” for everyone.
The first Christmas card was designed by John Calcott Horsley for Henry Cole of England, later Sir Henry Cole. Cole was the organizer and first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The card was printed in London by a method called lithography and was hand colored by a professional “colourer” named Mason. It was sent in 1843. It was the custom at the time to send letters to relatives and friends at Christmas. Cole’s cards were to take the place of the letters that he would have to write to his large number of friends and family. A total of about 1,000 of these cards were printed.
By the 1850s and ‘60s Christmas cards were well established in England and were making an appearance in America and throughout Europe. The first American Christmas card was issued by R.H. Pease of New York between 1850 and 1852. The man generally regarded as the father of the American Christmas card, though, is Louis Prang, whose plant was located in Roxbury, a suburb of Boston, in 1856. First in partnership with Joseph Mayer of Boston, but after 1860 as L. Prang & Co., Louis Prang also instituted the idea of competitions for Christmas card designs in 1880, an idea that was instantly copied by his rival in England, Raphael Tuck & Sons. The first prize was 1,000 pounds, and Louis Comfort Tiffany, a Long Islander, was among the judges.
By the 1880s Christmas cards were being printed in the millions and were no longer being hand-colored. Christmas cards during the late 1800s came in all shapes and sizes and were made with silk, satin, brocade and plush, as well as with lace and embroidery surrounding the printed card. These cards were just as varied as those we have today and included religious themes, landscapes from every season, children, animals and the traditional Father Christmas. The cards were very colorful and usually included some verse in addition to the greeting.
Christmas cards were eventually sent through the mail as postcards. The lower price of postage — one cent for a postcard — was one of the reasons for the popularity of the postcard-greeting card. The postcard was most popular during the years between 1895 and 1914, when the craze for collecting cards was at its height. The beginning of the use of postcards probably goes back to the influence of the trade card, used to promote business and trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the visiting card, which included the sender’s name prominently added to the card, and was used to send a greeting.
The postcard became popular worldwide and was recognized by the American Post Office Department on May 1, 1873. The card it adopted measured 5 1/8 by 3 inches and was sold by the Post Office Department for one cent each. It was not until 1898 that an act of Congress allowed privately published postcards the same privileges and rates as the government-issued cards.
Many Christmas cards were saved and placed in postcard albums. Today these provide us with a glimpse of life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Beverly Tyler is the Three Village Historical Society historian.
By Emma Kobolakis
Winter dinners are inherently cozy. The air is colder, so the food is heartier. Some of us close our eyes and imagine a beautifully browned bird with bountiful sides of stuffing and sauce, a la Thanksgiving dinner. Others salivate at the thought of glazed ham or roast vegetables. That’s the grand thing: Our preferences are unique to each of us, and those preferences are built on shared experiences. The nostalgia felt when revisiting those experiences builds our anticipation to indulge, year after year, with friends and family.
That’s the grand thing: Our preferences are unique to each of us, and those preferences are built on shared experiences.
What’s your fondest holiday memory? Perhaps it was the time that you snuck handfuls of marshmallows and ate them in front of the TV while mom was making sweet potato casserole. Or the time that you and your friends decided to buck tradition and host a potluck, where you had a bite of everything and collapsed, moaning, on the couch. Or that one year when you decided you were the second coming of Martha Stewart and resolved to cook the entire feast, yourself — only to be saved from certain disaster when guests arrived to help. Or perhaps you carried it all off with a flourish.
If you’re a nervous home cook, it isn’t easy to devise a winter-worthy side or main course, which is why many of us do tend to play it safe and stick with the tried and true. However, there’s much to be said about taking something basic and adding some new flavor to it. The idea is to cook seasonally, with an eye on what’s readily available, as that usually has the best flavor. And it’s just as important to highlight those flavors in a harmonious way. Try to think outside the box of root veg and roasted meat; you might be pleasantly surprised.
In order to riff successfully on a classic, start with the basics and change one or two elements. Stuffing is fine and dandy, but what about stuffing a squash with a heady mixture of pork, sage and bread crumbs? And it wouldn’t be right to disregard those of us who don’t eat meat at all. Try a steak — a cauliflower steak, caramelized and served with a hearty relish. Or if you’re tired of the typical protein-heavy main courses, how about pastitsio, a Greek meat and pasta pie that will induce the same itis in your guests. They’re designed to serve at least four and are easily doubled (or tripled) to feed a crowd.
—Holiday dinner recipes—
Butternut squash stuffed with pork, sage and bread crumbs — Serves 4
Active Time: 30 minutes — Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS: 2 tablespoons butter; 1 teaspon olive oil; 2 stalks celery, diced; 2 shallots, sliced; 2 cloves garlic, sliced; 1 pound sweet pork sausage, casings removed; 1 small bunch sage (chiffonade); 1/2 cup bread crumbs; 2 medium-sized butternut squash, sliced in half lengthwise and seeded; 1/2 stick butter, melted; salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and a glug of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Sauté the celery, shallots and garlic until translucent.
3. Add the sausage, breaking up with a spatula into small pieces.
4. Once browned, add sage. Salt to taste.
5. Remove from saucepan, place in bowl. Add bread crumbs until desired consistency is reached.
6. Brush butternut squash with melted butter and sprinkle with salt.
7. Mound stuffing into squash hollows and sprinkle with more bread crumbs and melted butter.
8. Roast until the squash is soft when poked with a knife, about 45 minutes.
Pastitsio — Serves 8
Active Time: 1 hour — Total Time: 2 hours
INGREDIENTS: olive oil for frying; 1 large onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 pounds ground beef; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon oregano; 1 teaspoon thyme; 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes; salt; bread crumbs, for garnish; 1 pound ziti; 1/2 stick butter, unsalted; 1/4 cup flour; 2-1/2 cups whole milk; 1 cup Parmesan (+ 1/2 cup for topping); nutmeg
In order to riff successfully on a classic, start with the basics and change one or two elements.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Prepare meat sauce: heat olive oil in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add cinnamon, oregano and thyme. Add crushed tomatoes. Salt to taste, and let simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Prepare béchamel: Melt butter. Add flour and cook until golden-brown and nutty. Stream milk in slowly while whisking. Whisk every so often until béchamel is thick. Salt to taste. Grate nutmeg into it, about 1 teaspoon’s worth.
4. Prepare pasta: Boil pasta until al dente; it’ll be baked again. Combine pasta with meat sauce.
5. Pour pasta and sauce mixture in 13- by 9-inch buttered baking dish, topping with béchamel. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and extra 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbling. Serve hot.
Curry cauliflower steak with roasted red pepper relish — Serves 4
Active Time: 30 minutes — Total Time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS: 1 head cauliflower; olive oil; 2 tablespoons curry powder; 2 roasted red peppers; 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped; red wine vinegar; honey; salt; 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Slice cauliflower head into 1/2-inch thick “steaks.” Rub with oil and dust with curry powder.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in cast iron (or ovenproof) skillet. Fry on both sides until browned, then move to the oven for 15 minutes, or until tender.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the relish. Chop red peppers and parsley.
5. Whisk red wine vinegar, honey and salt in a bowl. Stream in olive oil until emulsified.
6. Add peanuts and salt to taste.
7. Serve steaks with relish on top.
Emma Kobolakis is a professional cook, food writer and recipe developer based in New York. Her work has appeared in Serious Eats and on the tables of diners in Brooklyn.
For the past eight years, Rhonda Klch and her company Equity First have made many dreams come true.
This year is no different with Klch’s annual Holiday Dream event, which provides Christmas gifts for Long Island families in need. On Sunday, residents who registered for the event picked up their Christmas presents at the Coram Fire Department headquarters from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Klch, a Miller Place resident, and event volunteers upped the ante this year by getting gifts for around 250 families from Mount Sinai, Miller Place, Port Jefferson, Port Jefferson Station, Selden, Medford and other towns across the Island.
“These kids feel like they’re walking on a cloud,” said Councilwoman Valerie Cartright (D-Port Jefferson Station), as several children ran around with balloons in the background after receiving their presents and meeting Santa.
Cartright was one of many people Klch called this year when searching for families in need of some holiday cheer. Local schools and churches were also contacted to find these families. While the families don’t need to be homeless to participate in the program, many of these families are financially unable to afford presents around the holidays.
People like Gordon Leonard of Selden said with the recession it’s harder to live on Long Island, making special seasons like the holidays more stressful.
“We came here because some Long Islanders understand the plight of many other Long Islanders, and they’re giving because they know people are struggling just to be New Yorkers,” he said. “We don’t want to leave. What choice do we have.”
While his son Devon received several gifts from the program this year, he said his favorite part about Sunday’s program was spending time with his family.
According to volunteer Priscilla Arena, of Mount Sinai, the event was a success this year.
“The outpour from the community has been tremendous and I’m hoping that it’ll only increase next year,” she said.
Last year, the event helped around 167 families. Arena got involved with the program around a month ago after Klch, a business associate and friend of hers, told her about the event. For Arena, helping the program and the families who benefit seemed natural.
For residents like Tiana Wyche, who lives in a shelter, Holiday Dream was important to bring joy to her children. Wyche is originally from Riverhead but currently resides in Port Jefferson Station.
“Unfortunately, financial restrictions impact everybody and it becomes difficult over holidays,” Klch said. “I think people have this perception that just because you live somewhere, you’re doing very well. But unfortunately, people get so blind.”
Klch added that people don’t always realize how many families struggle to live on the Island, much less celebrate the holidays. She started spreading the word about the event among people in the business district. While Holiday Dream is the main event where children pick up their toys and have breakfast with Santa, there are toy drive events prior to Holiday Dream that Klch and her company host to raise more donations.
For Carmen Nunez and her family, who moved from the Dominican Republic to Port Jefferson Station, the program was extra special. Her family wasn’t used to getting presents around this time of year.
“I feel so happy,” she said. “Thank you to [Comsewogue ESL teacher Denise Saul] and everybody who tried to make [the children happy by giving them presents], especially this time for Christmas. It’s beautiful.”
While the family is trying to do the best they can here on Long Island, Saul said they are continuing the event’s mission of giving to others and spreading joy.
“Even though we gave them presents, they’re talking about who they can share [the presents with],” Saul said. “They are selfless themselves.”
According to Cartright, remembering the spirit of giving is important this time of year, and she hopes to keep giving in the future through the Holiday Dream program.
“A lot of community organizations and individuals come together to remind the kids that this is a season of giving,” Cartright said. “The holiday season is not only about receiving. They’re reaching hundreds of kids now, and I can only imagine as the years go by, how many kids we’re going to be changing their lives by letting them know they’re loved and supported by the community.”
By Melissa Arnold
The holidays are all about spending time with the family and making memories, whether it’s by shopping, baking together or traveling. But when all the hustle and bustle wraps up next week, some families might be left wondering, “Now what?”
The Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington is offering a unique suggestion: Give your kids a taste of your childhood.
Beginning Dec. 26, the theater will celebrate Winter Holiday Week, where moviegoers can see some of the most beloved family classics on the big screen for the first time in decades.
The lineup includes “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” on Dec. 26, a 25th anniversary celebration of “Home Alone” on Dec. 28, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” on Dec. 29 and a special sing-along version of the musical “Grease” with onscreen lyrics on Dec. 30.
“These are shows that evoke memories for a lot of people, and getting to see it in the theater with their families or friends can be a lot like reliving the experience of seeing it for the first time,” said Raj Tawney, publicity director for the theater.
The CAC plays host to all kinds of artistic expression, not just film, including concerts and lectures. The theater typically screens films with serious or intense themes that are best suited for adults, but they also offer events for all ages at least once a month with their Cinema for Kids and Families series.
“We’re looking for films that will interest a large audience and maintain our integrity as an art house cinema,” Tawney explained. And with kids off from school until the new year, there’s no better time for family films.
Also in the lineup for the week is Kid Flix Mix on Dec. 27, an hour-long collection of 11 live-action and animated shorts from the New York International Film Festival. The films come from all over the world, but all dialogue is in English.
“Kid Flix Mix has films from Australia, France, Russia, Norway, England and many other places throughout the world, which is a great opportunity for kids to learn something new,” Tawney said. “They can see more than just what’s a part of their culture. They’ll learn the importance of fantasy and that creativity comes in so many different forms.”
Many of the short films feature animals. One film, Torill Kove’s “Me and My Moulton,” was an Oscar nominee this year.
Before or after the show, Tawney recommends visiting the center’s Skyroom Café for a meal or snack, beverages and conversation. “People really love getting together at the cafe to talk and relax after a show,” he said. “The day doesn’t have to end just because the show is over.”
Winter Holiday Week will be held at noon every day from Dec. 26 through Dec. 30. The Cinema Arts Centre is located at 423 Park Ave., Huntington. Tickets are $12 for adults and free for children under 12.
To buy tickets or learn more, visit www.cinemaartscentre.org or call 631- 423-7611.
Triple cancer survivor, veteran and volunteer firefighter seeks to give back to community
A Greenlawn volunteer firefighter, Army veteran and three-time cancer survivor has faced many battles in his life, but now he is fighting a different kind of battle.
Albert Statton, 64, created the Operation Enduring Care project at the Greenlawn Fire Department to collect food and clothing donations to help people who need immediate assistance and “offer them some type of comfort.” All of the donations collected will be given to The Salvation Army-managed homeless shelter at the Northport VA Affairs Medical Center.
Statton was drafted into the military in 1970 and served as a combat medic in Germany, Asia and across the United States. He finished his last tour of duty in the late 1990s but returned to his roots when he received treatment at the Northport VA after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2009. He found solace in dropping off items at the shelter on his way to chemotherapy.
“When being treated, it’s a physical and a mental battle,” Statton said in a phone interview. “I had highs and lows. I tried to make it a positive by bringing donations to shelter, so instead of going for me I was helping someone.”
He said the shelter for homeless veterans gets as many as 60 families a week that ask for assistance, especially during the holiday season.
Statton’s desire to help others is something he said he learned as a firefighter.
“You never say, ‘I was a firefighter.’ I am a firefighter and the things I have learned are ingrained in me forever.”
He said the volunteers at Greenlawn took his sick father to the hospital more than 20 times, so afterward he wanted to make a donation to the department to say thank you.
“I realized I didn’t have enough money to repay a debt like that,” Statton said. “I wanted to give back to the community the same way they did to my father.”
Statton served his community proudly until he was diagnosed with cancer.
He is impressed with the level of dedication all of the volunteers at Greenlawn bring to their work and how much they learned about the rescue system.
“So many people take the time to raise the bar on what’s available for the community,” Statton said.
He credits his cancer recovery to the members of the fire department for their inspiration and good wishes while he was sick, and their visits to his bedside at the hospital to pray with him.
One story in particular stands out in his mind: Statton, in the hospital, was once so battered by his treatment that he stopped breathing, and he found out later that at that same moment his comrades had begun a prayer group for him. He regained his ability to breathe minutes later.
“I had a very supportive network of brothers and sisters that encouraged me to persevere,” he said. “My respect and my love goes very deep for the fire department.”
Donations to support Statton’s effort to give back to local veterans can be dropped off at 23 Boulevard Ave. in Greenlawn. Statton said canned meats and vegetables are in high demand, as well as packaged undergarments and socks.
Most kids see hoverboards as the next hot toy, but they don’t know how literal that is.
U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) spoke this week about the dangers of hoverboards shipped from overseas, with batteries that have sometimes burst into flames. He said the type of battery being used in foreign-made hoverboards is unstable if not stored and charged properly.
While this problem seems like the most dangerous reason not to buy a hoverboard this holiday season, there are more concerns shoppers should consider. These boards are serious pieces of machinery. There are hundreds of videos of kids displaying their skills and tricks on hoverboards, as well as many videos of kids wiping out as they try to learn how to maneuver. Everyone who operates a hoverboard should exercise caution with these new devices, for themselves and for those around them.
These machines gain speed quickly and a slight shift in weight can quickly turn into a crash. Parents should consider requiring kids to wear helmets while riding, and should talk about how to use one safely, such as by keeping a certain distance away from pedestrians and staying within certain speeds.
When someone starts the ignition of a car, that person is expected to drive safely, thinking about other drivers and pedestrians on the road. The same should go for anyone on hoverboards, or any other motorized ride.
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