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Troop 1776

Connor Klug and his Eagle Scout project at the Three Villlage Historical Society surrounded by family and members of the TVHS. Photo by Rob Pellegrino/TVHS

The Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) has a new Little Free Library thanks to Eagle Scout candidate Connor Klug of Troop 1776, a Mount Sinai resident and senior at Mount Sinai High School.

SEEING DOUBLE: Connor Klug with his Little Free Library Eagle Scout Project, an exact replica of the Bayles-Swezey House in the background. Photo by Rob Pellegrino

Like all Scouts aiming to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America program, 17-year-old Klug needed to complete a service project. When it came time to choose one, he thought immediately of his love of history and knew that TVHS was extremely active within the community. 

Klug got the ball rolling on his project last fall, when he contacted TVHS director Mari Irizarry who suggested the community could use a Little Free Library like the ones at West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook and along Main Street at Three Village Community Trust headquarters in Setauket.

“We welcome hundreds of guests to our property each month for events and exhibit tours. The response I’ve heard on social media about Connor’s library has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Irizarry. “The addition of the Little Free Library adds great value to our community, and a special touch to the Society.”

Connor Klug with the Little Free LIbrary on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society. Photo by Rob Pellegrino

Once Klug got the OK from TVHS, he began the six-month long process of designing the library to look exactly like the headquarters of the Three Village Historical Society, the Bayles-Swezey house (circa 1800), all the while being mindful of durability and weatherproofing. Klug then hit the streets asking for materials to be donated for the project with an approximate cost of $500 and had help to complete the project from family, friends, and Troop 1776. 

The process became a learning experience for Klug. “I learned that being a leader isn’t all about telling people what to do. You need to be confident, moral, and decisive, especially when things don’t go as planned,” he said.

The public is invited to drop off books about history-related topics to be included in the library — and is free to take ones too. 

The Three Village Historical Society is located at 93 N. Country Road in Setauket. For more information, visit www.tvhs.org.

Joseph DiBiasi shows off his completed project at the William Miller House property on North Country Road in Miller Place Sept. 29. Photo by Alex Petroski

Visitors to Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society’s annual Postman Pete event are in for an improved experience thanks to the ingenuity of a local Boy Scout who has reached Eagle status.

Boy Scouts hoping to become Eagle Scouts, the highest rank attainable by a male Scout, are tasked with completing a project that demonstrates leadership and benefits the community. Joseph DiBiasi, a 17-year-old Comsewogue High School senior and member of Boy Scout Troop 1776 said he has been attending the historical society’s Postman Pete festivities since he was a kid, an event that gives kids the chance to hand over a letter to be delivered to Santa around Christmas time.

Those interested line up to head into the building on the rear of the historical society’s property on North Country Road in Miller Place, where they head in when it’s their turn. The small building on the same grounds as the larger William Miller House has two points of entry, though the rear exit had about an 18-inch drop off from the doorway to a layer of rocks, making it unsafe for youngsters to utilize. Instead, a logjam would regularly take place at the main point of entry where those entering would have to saunter around those exiting.

“When kids would come in and see Postman Pete, bring their letter, and then they’d have to make a U-turn and go back out,” society treasurer Gerard Mannarino said Sept. 29 during the ceremony to unveil DiBiasi’s completed project. “It’s not an area that you can have traffic in both directions. We always wanted to be able to open the back door and have them go out, but we had the danger because the step down from there was big and it was just a big rock.”

For his project, DiBiasi drew up plans and constructed a deck, equipped with a railing, to make the rear of the building accessible and usable. The project required the drawing of plans, approval from the Town of Brookhaven building department and Historic District Advisory Committee, some redrawing and reimagining and lots of hard work through the spring and summer.

“In 2016 when Gerrard originally showed this to me I was like, ‘Wow, this needs to be fixed,’” DiBiasi said. “As a kid I went to Postman Pete and I just felt like, when I was a kid it was a big thing for me. So I thought this would be a great addition.”

Greg Muroff, DiBiasi’s Scoutmaster, said he was proud of his Scout’s diligence and dedication to the project, as it also exposed him to some of the “red tape” involved with getting construction projects approved by local government.

“It came out better than I saw in the drawing,” Muroff said. “I knew this was going to be a bit challenging for him but Joseph definitely persevered. He aspires to be an engineer at some point in his life. He definitely has a mathematical mind, and he put pen to paper.”

Brookhaven town Councilwoman Jane Bonner (C-Rocky Point) attended the event and presented proclamations to DiBiasi and Michael Muroff, another Scout from Troop 1776 who presented his completed project that day.

“We always like to take time out of our day to recognize and honor our Scouts,” Bonner said. “So much attention is focused on the bad things our kids are doing and not on the good things they’re doing. It makes me feel good to know that we’re surrounded by some really great kids.”

James Snider earned 33 merit badges and built a memorial garden at Port Jefferson Emergency Medical Service to earn his Eagle Scout award. Photo from Kim Snider

Within Boy Scout Troop 1776, adults and Scouts alike have always turned to Mount Sinai High School senior James Snider to lead the way. Whether it’s making sure his fellow Scouts have their tents set up and food prepared before monthly camping trips or energizing the troop with a rousing speech in meetings, the 17-year-old, who started as a Cub Scout in first grade, has served as an exemplary take-charge member.

“He’s always been very mature and served as a great teacher,” troop Scoutmaster Greg Muroff said. “His peers naturally gravitate toward him and he has the respect of everybody in the group.”

Mount Sinai Troop 1776 member James Snider became the first of his group to become an Eagle Scout. Photo from James Snider

So it makes sense that Snider recently became the first member of Troop 1776, which formed in 2013, to earn the coveted Eagle Scout Award, the highest rank a Scout can receive, which has been achieved by a small percentage of Scouts since 1912, according to the National Eagle Scout Associations. To become Eagle Scout, not only did he have to earn 21 merit badges — Snider collected a total of 33, including a bronze and gold Eagle palm — but also complete a year-long community service project. After the death of two members of Port Jefferson Emergency Medical Services on Crystal Brook Hollow Road in Mount Sinai in 2016, Snider committed himself to creating a memorial garden and sitting area on the department’s property. Between September 2016 and October 2017, when the garden was made official during a dedication ceremony, he installed a stepping stone path, tables, chairs and rose bushes, and built two wooden benches around a small tree on a stretch of empty open space through a donation provided by one of his troop leaders.

“It feels really good, and was definitely worth the time,” Snider said of his project’s impact. “I’m glad I made it to the end of the journey without giving up. I hope to be the example for future troop members.”

His mother, Kim Snider, a Suffolk County correction officer, said her son has already done that.

“A fire has been ignited by James — he’s definitely motivated others through this,” she said. “He’s probably the most determined human being I can possibly imagine. He always wants to do what’s right for the community and prides himself in leadership. He’s a very quiet boy, but has the ability to change an atmosphere. That’s just him — he naturally has good in his heart.”

Matthew Callen, a Mount Sinai junior and Snider’s scouting peer since fourth grade, said he is among those inspired.

“I really think it has impacted everybody in the troop,” said Callen, of his friend being named the first Eagle Scout from the troop. “Seeing him achieve Eagle opened my eyes to something I really wanted and gave me a lot of initiative to get focused and achieve this rank myself.”

“Seeing him achieve Eagle opened my eyes to something I really wanted and gave me a lot of initiative to get focused and achieve this rank myself.”

— Matthew Callen

Brian Callen, the Scout’s father, who is a committee chair member within Troop 1776, said when the idea came up to found the group, designed as a boy-led program that started with 20 members, it was decided to make Snider the second senior patrol leader at just 13. A year later, he was promoted.

“He quickly became comfortable speaking in front of large groups and conducting awards distributions,” Callen said. “The adults are really only there as supervisors. The boys do the planning, run the meetings and the camping trips, and he fell right into the role of leader. He’s never been the type of kid you ever had to correct.”

Snider has participated in the Great Brookhaven Cleanup, placed flags at Calverton Cemetery leading up to Memorial Day and, for the past four years, volunteered at a local veterans home.

During a ceremony held in honor of Snider’s accomplishment at Mount Sinai High School last month, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) called his persistence  a “vital asset to the community.”

“Through his hard work, dedication and commitment to scouting, James has proven himself to be an extraordinary leader,” Anker said. “His Eagle Scout accomplishment will set an example for the younger scouts in Troop 1776. I congratulate him and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.”

Snider will be attending Sacred Heart University in Connecticut in the fall in pursuit of a degree in business finance.

“In the future I’d like to be head of a company, and Boy Scouts has helped me become a leader,” Snider said. “I’ve learned to treat others with respect, make sure everyone around me is happy and everything is dealt with correctly.”