WMHO debuts phase one of Stony Brook park’s rehabilitation
A near hurricane couldn’t keep T. Bayles Minuse Mill Pond Park from being a focal point of Stony Brook village.
After Tropical Storm Isaias ripped through Long Island in August of 2020, the park, which runs adjacent to Avalon Nature Preserve, needed several repairs. The storm knocked down more than a dozen trees and destroyed the park’s braille engraved handrails, the borders maintaining the park’s gardens, the walkways along the pond and more.
At a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 18, The Ward Melville Heritage Organization presented the first phase of rehabilitation, which included new pathways and memorial stones. The second phase will include the repairing of the braille handrails and sensory gardens on the north side of the 1-acre park by Harbor Road.
At the dedication, Richard Rugen, WMHO chairman and a retired chiropractor, remembered Minuse who was one of his first patients. Minuse was the right-hand man of philanthropist Ward Melville when the village was being built and in the early days of Stony Brook Community Fund, which is now known as WMHO. Rugen described Minuse as “a straight-arrow guy.”
He also remembered Minuse’s wife, Elinore, who he described as having perfect posture and with a crown of white hair. He added she was a lady who was equally comfortable arguing a bill with the local garbage carter and could have high tea with the queen.
He said he believed the Minuses would be pleased with the renovated park: “In my heart, I know if they had the capacity to look down on us today, they would both be happy and proud to see the rededication of the T. Bayles Minuse Mill Pond Park in his honor.”
Rugen added that WMHO was grateful for the residents and businesses that contributed to the fundraiser to restore the park, which was originally dedicated to Minuse Dec. 6, 1981.
Gloria Rocchio, WMHO president, said soon after she and her husband moved to Stony Brook, more than 40 years ago, Minuse announced he was retiring, and she interviewed for his job. She was one out of six or seven interviewees. Rocchio added that the board voted unanimously to hire her. Minuse stayed on as a consultant for a year and to help guide Rocchio through the various responsibilities of running the organization.
“I’ll never forget that man,” she said.
Rocchio added that recently WMHO staff began scanning documents, which will soon be on the organization’s website, and have learned more about Minuse.
Joining the WMHO trustees for the ribbon-cutting ceremony were state Sen. Mario Mattera (R-St. James), state Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Setauket), Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket), Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine (R), Head of the Harbor Mayor Douglas Dahlgard and Cynthia Ann Murphy, the Minuses’ daughter, and her family.
