The Long Island History Project

Robert Beattie was many things: an architect, a designer of iconic public buildings on Long Island, and a decorated World War II veteran. But most importantly, he was the father of today's guest, Richard Beattie. So we're celebrating Father's Day by celebrating the life and work of Robert Beattie. As an architect, Beattie's specialty was mid-century modern architecture. Working with clean lines, natural light, and an appreciation of the surrounding landscape, he designed many iconic buildings in our area. If you live in the town of Islip, you'll know his MacArthur Airport terminal, the core buildings of Suffolk County Community College's Ammerman Campus, and St. Lawrence Church in Sayville. Richard takes us on a tour of his father's buildings and details his life. Robert was part of the Greatest Generation, earning a Silver Star as an Alamo Scout in the Philippines. He got his start in architecture with the firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon in New York City. Robert then founded his own firm, Dobecki & Beattie, and embarked on a storied career on Long Island. We discuss the changing architectural landscape of Long Island in the 1960s, the Beattie family's connections to Oakdale, and Robert's devotion to being a father and an architect. Further Research Robert Beattie, Architect (Facebook Memorial page) Church of St. Lawrence the Martyr AIA Long Island “Pockets of Long Island Once Went Crazy for Modernism. Why?” (Metropolis) Audio Footnotes Episode 192 Jones Beach Theater with Richard Beattie Episode 34 Old Mansions (Oakdale) with George Davies Episode 94 Flying on Long Island with Walter Winnicki and Bob Mott Music Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0    

There's a rough stretch of water between Australia and Tasmania called the Bass Strait. Within the strait there's a group of islands called the Furneaux Group. Within the group lies Long Island, a small, mostly-uninhabited stretch of grass and trees that attracted the attention of Madeleine Bessel-Koprek and her colleagues. We're traveling far afield on today's episode, discussing paleoecology with Madeine, a Ph.D. student at Australian National University. Along with Simon Graeme Haberle, Stefania Ondei, Stephen Harris, and David MJS Bowman, she recently published a study unraveling the ecological history of their Long Island. It's a fascinating combination of diligent field work – digging through mud and picking through moss- and meticulous lab work – pouring through microscopic samples and digitally deciphering aerial photographs. Their scientific detective work uncovers a natural world that has in some ways persisted since the last Ice Age and helps inform our understanding of the impact of aboriginal and colonial activities in the area. Further Research Madeleine Bessell‑Koprek at Australian National University at LinkedIn Bessell-Koprek, M., Haberle, S. G., Ondei, S., Harris, S., & Bowman, D. M. (2025). Reconstructing the long-term ecological history of Long Island, Furneaux Group (Bass Strait), Lutruwita/Tasmania. Regional Environmental Change, 25(1), 1-15. The Land Bridge: A World Beneath the Sea (A Wind & Sky Project) Australasian Pollen and Spore Atlas Music Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

The voices of the past are all around us, if you know how to listen. And sometimes those voices are trapped on small thin strips of tape wrapped in cheap plastic. That's where Robert Anen comes in. As project archivist for the Long Island Library Resources Council, he works with historical collections across Nassau and Suffolk counties. Specializing in audio preservation and digitization, he's rescued a number of collections – copying them to digital media and making them publicly available online. Today we focus on Robert's work with one of the oldest oral history collections on Long Island at the Manhasset Public Library. Library director Maggie Gough introduces us to the scope and depth of their oral history collection while Antonia Mattheou, their consulting archivist, helps us unpack the history contained on the recordings. Special shout out to Manhasset's first librarian Ruth Cowell who conducted most of the oral history interviews. Her foresight, along with a committed group of patrons, means that we get to listen to memories of the Blizzard of 1888 and the Vanderbilt Cup Races from those who experienced them. Recorded in 1953 on a reel to reel recorder, the interviews were converted to cassette tapes sometime in the 1980s before Rob digitized them in the 21st century, On today's episode you'll hear from these Manhasset residents: Ernest Willets Herbert Fish Laura Schneider Ernest Willets George D. Smith Further Research Manhasset Public Library Oral History Collection (1953-1988) Manhasset Public Library History Center Long Island Library Resources Council The Whitney Greentree Estate Spinney Hill, the African American History of Manhasset and Great Neck Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

Isle of Ever is Jen Calonita's newest middle grade novel, a story grounded in the history of Long Island's North Fork. On today's episode, Jen discusses growing up on Long Island and spending many summers at her grandparents' house in Mattituck. It was here, in between trips to Greenport, that she first heard tell of Captain Kidd's lost treasure. She tried digging up the local beach, came up empty, but the idea buried itself in Jen's mind. Now she has worked her experiences into the tale of Benny Benedict, a young girl caught up in a race to solve a puzzle and claim an inheritance. The plot and the clues to the mystery are tied up in Greenport's history. Jen walks us through the Greenport locales and local legends that made it into the book in one form or another. We also talk about her love of reading and of middle grade and young adult fiction. Further Resources Jen Calonita Isle of Ever (Sourcebooks) Long Beach Bar ‘Bug' Light  Preston's  Greenport Carousel (temporarily closed) Sweet Valley High (Good Reads) Steven Kellogg Music: Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

Tom McKeown lived and breathed basketball throughout junior and senior high school in Babylon. As an eighth grader in 1974-1975, he got to experience the thrill of watching the varsity team win their league and the Suffolk County championships. As fate would have it, this was also the first year that New York State allowed county champions to play each other, setting up a showdown between Babylon's Panthers and Nassau County's champs, the South Side Cyclones of Rockville Center. It was an epic season that engaged Tom so deeply that he has written his version of the story as This Is Panther Country. We don't want to spoil the outcome but the subtitle is A Memoir of Youth, Underdog Spirit, and Basketball Glory. Available March 18, 2025, the book chronicles life on the court, in the school hallways, and in the McKeown family home on Coppertree Lane. You'll learn a lot about the ins-and-outs of basketball tournaments but you'll also be pulled back to your own high school days of close friend groups, petty slights, unrequited crushes, and weekend parties.   Further Research This is Panther Country by Tom McKeown Babylon Jr/Sr High School Glenn Vickers (Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame) “The ABA was Short Lived, but Its Impact on Basketball is Eternal” (Smithsonian Mag) Audio Footnotes: Mickey Quinn and St. John the Baptist High School (episode 133)

When Jessie Pierson and Lodowick Post argued over a fox in early 19th century Southampton, they probably didn't think the resulting court case would echo down the ages. Yet here we are 220 years later talking with legal historian Angela Fernandez about the odd, improbable history of Pierson v Post. A professor of law and history at the University of Toronto, Fernandez has delved deep into the case. Her “legal archaeology” uncovered important, presumed-lost information on the early phases of the proceedings. Her 2018 book Pierson v. Post, The Hunt for the Fox: Law and Professionalization in American Legal Culture, unpacks more of the impact and context around the decision. On today's episode we discuss the local history surrounding the case, more about the Piersons and the Posts, and the surprisingly whimsical inner life of the legal profession. Further Research Angela Fernandez (University of Toronto) Fernandez, Angela. Pierson v. Post, the hunt for the fox: Law and professionalization in American legal culture. Cambridge University Press, 2018. (Find in a library via WorldCat) Fernandez, Angela. “The lost record of Pierson v. Post, the famous fox case.” Law and History Review 27, no. 1 (2009): 149-178. Pierson v Post NYS Supreme Court

The science of genetics took a wrong turn in the early 20th century and it ran through Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. Here overlooking a former whaling port, Dr. Charles Benedict Davenport created the Eugenics Record Office and served as director of the Carnegie Institution's Station for Experimental Evolution. From these posts he promoted and pushed the Eugenics Movement in the US and throughout the world. Historian and attorney Mark Torres has explored the far reaching and sinister influence of Davenport's activities in his new book Long Island and the Legacy of Eugenics: Station of Intolerance (Arcadia Press). It is not the story of a fringe movement but of “the rage of the age.” Eugenics, which sought to control the development of the human race through such means as selective breeding, segregation, and forced sterilizations, was touted by politicians, intellectuals, academics, and even Supreme Court justices. In his work, Torres traces a sinister strategy that included legislative control, the trappings of academic credentials, and partnerships with like-minded movements like the emerging Nazi Party in Germany. On today's interview you'll hear more about the people involved, the power they wielded, and their surprising, ultimate fate. Further Research Mark Torres Long Island and the Legacy of Eugenics (Arcadia Publishing) Eugenics Record Office Collection (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) Audio Footnotes: Episode 138: Long Island Migrant Labor Camps with Mark Torres Music Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

Memorial Day 1949 was an auspicious day in Riverhead as it saw the inaugural game at the brand new Wivchar Stadium on Harrison Ave. The brainchild of Tony Wivchar, a local entrepreneur and owner of an earth-moving company, the venue soon came to be known as Riverhead Stadium. Although it only existed for a few brief years, the stadium was alive with excitement. To help drum up interest, Wivchar formed the Riverhead Falcons baseball team out of local talent to play in exhibition games. Their opponents ranged from Negro League stalwarts such as the Black Yankees to barnstorming attractions like the House of David. Other events included women's softball, rodeos, and professional wrestling. By the mid-1950s, however, the stadium was gone with little left to mark its passing. Enter Fabio Montella – Suffolk County Community College librarian, history professor, and friend of the podcast. As part of his on-going explorations of baseball in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Montella became aware of the stadium's short but illustrious existence. He was able to uncover more about Wivchar's past and his pursuits, even finding and interviewing Wivhcar's wife and daughter. The result, as today's episode will attest, is a fascinating glimpse into one man's passion and the field of dreams he built to contain it. Further Research “Riverhead Stadium Opens.” County Review, May 26, 1949 “Giving the House a Home” [House of David baseball] Audio Footnotes: More episodes with Fabio Montella Music Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

The Dutch held on to their New Netherland colony for some forty years. They lost it to the English twice, at gunpoint in 1664 and by treaty in 1674. But although officially gone, the Dutch were not forgotten. In addition to their cultural legacy, the Dutch language held on stubbornly across the region for a long time. How long? That's the question Dr. Kieran O'Keefe answers in “When Did New York Stop Speaking Dutch? The Persistence of the Dutch Language in Old New Netherland” (New York History journal, 2024). He tracks the long history of Dutch-language speakers across the centuries, finding traces of it in Revolutionary War records, cemetery headstones, contemporary travel accounts, and in enslaved people like Sojourner Truth, taught it by their Dutch owners. We unpack it all in this interview, touching on old Brooklyn, the Queens-Nassau border, Albany, and other enclaves up the Hudson Valley. Along the way Martin Van Buren and Sinterklaas make an appearance as evidence of Dutch influence. Despite their short-lived enterprise on the East Coast, the Dutch (along with their language) made a long-lasting impression. When did New York stop speaking Dutch? The answer will surprise you. Further Research O'Keefe, Kieran J. “When Did New York Stop Speaking Dutch? The Persistence of the Dutch Language in Old New Netherland.” New York History 104, no. 1 (2024): 150-170. Dr. Kieran O'Keefe at Lyon College The New Amsterdam Project A Tour of New Netherland (New Netherland Institute) Featured image: George Henry Boughton (1833-1905), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Music Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

The science of the brain was changing throughout the 19th century. Medical researchers were peering ever deeper into cerebral mysteries and one question piqued their interest more than any other: who has the biggest brain? On today's episode we turn for answers to Dr. James R. Wright, medical historian and retired professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Calgary. He introduces us to brain clubs, mutual autopsy societies and above all, the American Anthropometric Society of Philadelphia. The AAS had a particular interest in collecting and studying the brains of prominent scientists and intellectuals. You can imagine their excitement then, when Walt Whitman died in 1892 not far from their laboratory. Wright walks us through the ensuing complicated tale uncovered by him and other historians. Did Whitman really donate his brain to science? Why did Henry Ware Cattelll, who performed the autopsy, keep changing his story? And how does eBay and the 1931 movie Frankenstein play into it all? Join us for a special Halloween episode that is not for the feint of heart. Further Research Wright Jr, James R. “Henry Ware Cattell and Walt Whitman's brain.” Clinical Anatomy 31, no. 7 (2018): 988-996. Hecht, Jennifer. The end of the soul: scientific modernity, atheism, and anthropology in France. Columbia University Press, 2005. (Find in a library via WorldCat) Burrell, Brian. “The Strange Fate of Whitman's Brain.” Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 20, no. 3/4 (2003). Gosline, Sheldon Lee. “” I Am a fool”: Dr. Henry Cattell's private confession about what happened to Whitman's brain.” Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 31, no. 4 (2014). The Walt Whitman House. Camden, NJ Music Horror Music by Tele50 via Pixabay. Glass Jar Tap by ekfink. License: Creative Commons 0 Funny Halloween by FASSounds via Pixabay  

Edward Lange was a German artist who started his career on Long Island in the late 19th century. He meticulously captured the landscape and built environment across the island from Flushing to Sag Harbor in water color paintings rich in detail and charm. Preservation Long Island has just published Promoting Long Island: The Art of Edward Lange, 1870-1889 by chief curator and director of collections Lauren Brincat and former curatorial fellow Peter Fedoryk. The book features over 100 color reproductions of Lange's work along with essays from Brincat, Fedoryk, and contributors Jennifer L. Anderson, Thomas Busciglio-Ritter, and Joshua M. Ruff. On today's episode, Brincat and Fedoryk discuss their work on the book including the new research that fills in the gaps of Lange's family and education. We also talk about his entrepreneurial drive, his love of photography, and the life of a landscape painter on a Long Island that was rapidly turning from bucolic farmland to a vacation destination. Further Research Order the book Authors Talk and Book Signing 11/16/24 Edward Lange exhibition The Art of Edward Lange “The Tile Club at Play“, Scribner's Monthly, February 1879 (Google Books) William Sidney Mount (National Gallery of Art) Music Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

The Association of Public Historians of New York State held their annual conference at Danford's in Port Jefferson this year, gathering public historians from all corners of the state to discuss resources, projects, and to provide a great opportunity for people to talk history. The Long Island History Project was there to hold a workshop, “How to Be a Podcast Guest.” Today's episode features the brave individuals who sat down at the mics and told us a little bit about their work, the challenges they face, and where exactly “upstate” begins. Further Research Association of Public Historians of New York State Ross Lumpkin North Hempstead Town Historian Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society Marilyn Hayden Greenwood Lake Village Historian Amy Folk Southold Town Historian Oyster Pond Historical Society Southold  Historical Museum Debra Allen Oswego County Historian Gabrielle Brightwaters Historical Society John Tracy  Robert Finnegan Historical Society of Islip Hamlet Regina Feeney Freeport Village Historian Freeport Memorial Library Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0

Robert Moses had a vision for Jones Beach in the 1920s that included a theater to bring high quality entertainment to the people. That theater on Zachs Bay went through a number of iterations but reached its height from 1954-1977 when it was under the direction of Guy Lombardo. Along with his brothers Carmen and Lebert, the Canadian-born band leader/impresario brought Broadway shows and original productions to the beach. Their stage was an 8,200-seat amphitheater with a host of spectacular additions including icebergs, waterfalls, showboats, and floating mansions. Richard Arnold Beattie got more than a front row seat, performing as a child actor in The Sound of Music and The King and I at Zachs Bay in the early 1970s. Although he went on to a career that included journalism, songwriting, and audio production, he never forgot his time at the Jones Beach Theater. He has captured the experience in a new audio documentary called From Broadway to Jones Beach, streaming now on Spotify and planned to be repackaged as an audiobook. Hear more on today's episode about the development of the Jones Beach Marine Theater and its connections to Broadway history and the Lombardo family who lived in nearby Freeport. You'll also get a preview of Richard's documentary through interviews with actors Connie Towers and June Angela. If you like your Broadway big – including Nazis in speedboats and sharks circling the stage – then you'll love this story. Further Research From Broadway to Jones Beach (Spotify) Louis Armstrong “Mardi Gras” with Guy Lombardo List of Jones Beach Theater productions (OVRTUR) Sound effect Overture and Fanfare.wav by Anapwodicn - License: Creative Commons 0 Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0  

An obscure bit of early 20th century technology embroiled Dr. Woody Register in a murder mystery. Register, a professor of history at the University of the South (Sewanee), became intrigued by the detective dictograph and followed its trail to the 1914 murder of Louise Bailey in Freeport. Mrs. Bailey was shot in the Merrick Road office of Dr. Edward Carman. Dr. Carman's wife, Florence, had secretly installed a dictograph in her husband's office hoping to capture evidence of his philandering. What followed was a media frenzy of an investigation that played out in countless inches of newspaper columns across the country. Register's 2014 essay in the Journal of Theory and Practice examined the case, the surrounding newspaper coverage, and the legal, social, and philosophical issues that lay at its heart. We do not find all the answers but on this episode you'll hear more about the tragic crime that rocked Freeport and momentarily knocked the First World War off of the front page. Further Research Woody Register (University of the South) "Some truths about the rumors, gossip, hearsay, and innuendo surrounding the Freeport murder mystery of 1914." The Muckers: A Narrative of the Crapshooters Club (Amazon) The Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation. "What is the Limit of a Married Woman's Jealousy?" (Chronicling America) A Suspicious Wife (IMDB) Mrs. Balfame by Gertrude Atherton (Google Books)

Librarian and baseball historian Fabio Montella returns to the podcast to bring us the story of Ralph “Sammy” Bunn. Bunn was a Setauket native who excelled at baseball all his life. A star athlete in high school in the 1930s, he went on to play for decades on a number of teams and leagues in the makeshift world of community baseball in Suffolk County. His short stint pitching for the Brookhaven Highway Department team (starting in 1939) makes Bunn, by Montella's research, the first documented Black player to break the color barrier on Long Island. (Bunn was soon followed by his Brookhaven teammate Kenneth Sells.) On today's episode Montella describes Bunn's storied career in baseball and his life as a dedicated family man and World War II veteran. Working with Sammy's son, Ralph Jr., and his nephew Carlton Edwards (an accomplished player in his own right) Montella brought to light many details, including Ralph's Shinnecock heritage, a fact not mentioned in contemporary accounts. You'll also hear more about the world of community and semiprofessional baseball on the Island along with other teams like the Suffolk Giants and the Huntington Police Department who make it such an interesting glimpse into local history. Further Research Fabio Montella “The Suffolk Giants of Setauket: From Segregation to Integration.“ Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/ Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0 Audio footnotes (past episodes with Fabio Montella): The Arthur Murray Girls Baseball Team Satchel Paige in Riverhead The Cuban Giants of Long Island

Greig Stewart “Chubby” Jackson was a swinging sensation in his day. A child of vaudevillians, he was raised in an enclave of actors, musicians, and performers in Freeport, Long Island against the backdrop of Prohibition and a burgeoning club scene. Exposed to music at an early age, he jumped from high school to playing bass in swing bands in New York City and on the road, most notably with bandleader Woody Herman. On today's episode we trace the life of the man with three very special guests: Freeport Village historian Regina Feeney, jazz historian Scott Yanow, and Chubby's daughter Jaijai Jackson. And thanks to Monk Rowe and the Fillius Jazz Archive at Hamilton College, we can add in the voice of Chubby himself. Chubby was a colleague to Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz greats (you'll see him near the top of the steps in A Great Day in Harlem). His career spans the height of the swing era and the rise of bop with a side trip into headlining several kiddie TV shows in Chicago and New York. Through it all the constants in his life remained the love of family, of performing, and of Freeport. Further Research Chubby Jackson oral history (Fillius Jazz Archive at Hamilton College) Freeport History Encyclopedia (Freeport Public Library) Jazz Network Worldwide Not Just Jazz Network Scott Yanow, journalist and historian Music credits from Freesound.org Jazz Bass B 1.OGG by gregstermatic. License: Creative Commons 0 Double bass Jazz loop by elzozo. License: Creative Commons 0 Jazz loop.wav by FrankyBoomer. License: Creative Commons 0

The Long Island-born, Yale-educated Benjamin Tallmadge seized his moment to shine in the American Revolution. Whether fighting the British on horseback with the 2nd Continental Dragoons or uncovering their secrets through his agents in the Culper Spy Ring, Tallmadge kept up a hectic pace. You can also throw in maritime battles on the Long Island Sound and daring raids behind enemy lines. Historian Richard Welch documented Tallmadge's eventful life in his 2014 book General Washington's Commando: Benjamin Tallmadge in the Revolutionary War. On today's episode he explains the significance of this important figure in Long Island and American history. He also helps illustrate the nature of British activity in the New York region, the documentary trail he followed, and what questions were left unanswered. Further Research General Washington's Commando: Benjamin Tallmadge in the Revolutionary War by Richard Welch (find in a library via WorldCat) Memoir of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge (Google Books) The Battle of Brooklyn/Long Island (American Battlefield Trust) The Death of John André (William Clements library) Audio Footnotes All episodes on the American Revolution

Dr. Tammy C. Owens of Skidmore College joins us to discuss her 2019 article "Fugitive Literati: Black Girls' Writing as a Tool of Kinship and Power at the Howard School." Having discovered a treasure trove of letters written in the early 1900s by girls at the Howard Orphanage and Industrial School, Owens was off on a journey to learn more. The research took her from the Schomburg Center in Harlem to Tuskegee University in Alabama and, ultimately, to the doorstep of the Kings Park Heritage Museum. What Owens pieced together was the story of young Black orphans forging connections and support networks through a unique institution known by some as the Tuskegee of the North. The letters she found tell personal and sometimes painful stories, often by the details which they leave out. Owens' research brings to light voices that are often overlooked or missing from archival collections. We hear her thoughts on the process, the historians and authors who inspire her, and the story of her life-changing day riding around Kings Park with Leo P. Ostebo. Further Research Owens, T. C. (2019). Fugitive literati: Black girls' writing as a tool of kinship and power at the Howard School. Women, Gender, and Families of Color, 7(1), 56–79. https://doi.org/10.5406/womgenfamcol.7.1.0056 Howard Orphanage and Industrial School Photograph Collection (NYPL Schomburg Center) Leo P. Ostebo Kings Park Heritage Museum Tuskegee University History and Mission Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route by Saidiya Hartman (find in a library via WorldCat) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs (find in a library via WorldCat) The Bondwoman's Narrative by Hannah Craft (find in a library via WorldCat) Darlene  Clark Hine

While Long Island developed a reputation for affluence throughout the 20th Century, there has always been a parallel history of the everyday workers and servants who toiled in the shadow of that reputation. The economic boom of the war years and the subsequent population boom in the 1950s did not change that. Tim Keogh, assistant professor of history at Queensborough Community College, delves into this history in his book Levittown's Shadow: Poverty in America's Wealthiest Suburb. He documents the influence of federal spending in the 1940s, the questionable building practices of the Levitts, and a host of attempts to alleviate poverty and fight the dominance of single family housing on Long Island. Further Research In Levittown's Shadow: Poverty in America's Wealthiest Suburb (Chicago Press) Suffolk County Online Records Nassau County Land Records Viewer “Business Zone Helps Islip Reclaim a Slum.” (NYT) A Freedom Budget for All Americans (The Atlantic) Audio Footnotes (related episodes): Making Long Island Cold War Long Island Long Island Migrant Labor Camps

No one sheds a tear for the British Loyalists of Long Island, those inhabitants who remained loyal to the crown during the American Revolution. But genealogist Brendon Burns has spent a tremendous amount of effort tracking them down through libraries and archives across the world. The result is his 5-volume series The Loyal and Doubtful: Index to the Acts of British Loyalism in the Greater New York and Long Island Area 1775-1783. It's a meticulous record of people in New York, Staten Island, and on Long Island, acting in support of King George and the efforts to subdue the patriots. The Loyal and Doubtful is of a piece with Brendon's work as a genealogist at the Daughters of the American Revolution. He helps vet applications for membership, which includes proving that an ancestor demonstrated "unfailing" service to the revolution. This criteria poses a problem on Long Island where swearing an oath of loyalty or other public acts of support could hardly have been avoided. On this episode, Brendon walks us through the DAR process, the challenges of disproving loyal acts, and what the surviving records can tell us about life on Long Island during the war. Further Research Brendon Burns (APG) The Loyal and Doubtful The Virginia Genealogist Genealogical Research System (DAR) Daughters of the American Revolution Inhabitants of New York by Thomas B. Wilson (via WorldCat) “A List of Persons on Long Island”: Biography, Voluntarism, and Suffolk County's 1778 Oath of Allegiance by Christopher Minty (LI History Journal) Audio Footnotes: Episode 45 : Loyalist Richard Floyd Episode 137: Lost British Forts of Long Island

Every other year, Preservation Long Island compiles a list of historic places on Long Island that are endangered. Each list is a mix of structures from different periods of time, each with its own history and own preservation challenges yet all worthy of preserving for future generations. On today's episode, Preservation Long Island's Preservation Director Tara Cubie joins us to discuss the 2023 list. The seven places are: the Stepping Stones Light House (Kings Point), the Coindre Hall Boathouse (Huntington), the Shutt House (Brentwood), Kings Park Psychiatric Center (Kings Park), the Eliphalet Whitman House (Smithtown), the Mill Pond House (Oyster Bay) and the Perkins Electric Generating Plant (Riverhead).  Tara talks about the sites, the groups who nominated them, the struggles that each of them face, and the reasons why you should care about their survival. Further Research Preservation Long Island Friends of Caleb Smith Preserve Great Neck Historical Society Coindre Hall Preserve KPPC (Facebook) Brentwood's Endangered Historic Places The Perkins Local History Collection Audio Footnotes Episodes about preservation

There is a Long Island just below the Kansas border with Nebraska, between the Elk and Prairie Dog Creeks. It's apparently the creeks that gave the area its name. When swollen with rain, they cut off the land in between until it appeared to be an island rising from the surrounding plains.  Long Island is also the home town of Carrie Cox and on today's episode she describes what it was like growing up in a small town on the family farm. We discuss the local sites and legends, the value of history in the tourism industry, and the success of the Northern Valley Huskies. Further Research Travel Tales from Long Island, Kansas Monument Rocks, Kansas Northern Valley Huskies Sports Long Island, Kansas Meteorite Grasshopper Plague of 1874

Cindy Schwartz grew up on Long Island and followed her love of history into a long career as a social studies teacher at the Wheatley School in Old Westbury. She has since turned to a new type of classroom - reaching a wider audience through radio and podcasting at WCWP, Long Island University. Her podcast Civics is Dead explored the lack of focus on civics education in schools and ways it can be strengthened. Her radio show Rockin History (Mondays and Wednesdays, 11 AM and 11 PM) mixes classic rock music with interesting stories and facts from history. Further Research Civics is Dead podcast Rockin History Civic Readiness Initiative (New York State Ed) The Wheatley School “Nathaniel Wyeth – Got a Lot of Bottle” (The Chemical Engineer) Audio Footnotes Natalie Naylor interview Episodes dealing with Suffragists

Your idea of the Hamptons on the East End of Long Island may include images of supersized mansions and extravagant parties but there is an older, richer Hamptons history beneath and beyond that glitzy surface. Irwin Levy and Esperanza León bring that history to life in their podcast, Our Hamptons. Their Hamptons is a decidedly personal place, rooted in their love of the people, the landscape, and the lost landmarks of East Hampton, Southampton and everything in between.  Starting with their first episode in the spring of 2022, Irwin and Esperanza have wandered the map and covered topics ranging from the Bell Estate in Amagansett to auto racing in Bridgehampton to Jungle Pete's in Springs. With a soft spot for the 1970s and 80s, they bring to life the stories that have almost faded from memory, providing a place for them to live again. Further Research Our Hamptons Podcast East Hampton Trails Preservation Society The Bonackers Project Tim W. Ferguson “The House That Ate the Hamptons” (Mother Jones)

Larry Samuel is an author and historian whose latest book looks at the development of Long Island throughout the 20th Century. It was a time of land speculation and rapid growth as real estate developers and their syndicates turned the fields and farms of Nassau and Suffolk Counties into residential neighborhoods. We discuss the role of Robert Moses in abetting this transformation as well as the high (and low) water mark of William Levitt's Levittown that attracted crowds of white homeowners while excluding Blacks in the 1950s.  Throughout the book, Larry tracks the Island's social and economic landscape with photographs, statistics, and contemporary accounts. A complex picture emerges of a place so successfully marketed as an idyllic countryside that it was almost developed out of existence.  Further Research Making Long Island: A History of Growth and the American Dream (History Press) by Larry Samuel James Trunslow Adams: Dreaming up the American Dream (JSTOR) Dividing Lines, Visible and Invisible (Newsday) Audio Footnotes from past episodes Sandy Brewster-walker, whose father poured cement for "old man Levitt." Murray Barbash, Fire Island-based, environmentally friendly home builder

Yes, Edward Lieberman is a former assistant district attorney and mayor of Seacliff but just as importantly, he is a long-time listener of the Long Island History Project. So when he reached out to talk about his own forays into Long Island history, we were all ears. On today's episode you'll hear about his work conducting historic bus tours around the Island, focusing on the Oyster Bay area but also venturing into Jones Beach and Great Neck. Further Research Sagamore Hill National Historic Site Bayville Bridge Rehabilitation The Mansion at Glen Cove Jones Beach State Park

In 1949 the nine women of the Arthur Murray Girls baseball team took the field against the all-male squad from the Patchogue Athletics. By that year, the Murrays had been together as a semi-pro outfit for some time. Formed out of the sandlots and playgrounds of Queens, they grew under the tutelage of New York Times sportswriter Mike Strauss to become the nucleus of a league that by the late 1940s became the American Girls Baseball Conference. On today's episode, historian and Suffolk County Community College librarian Fabio Montella presents his research into the Murrays, their game with Patchogue, and their full, storied history. Although based out of Cedarhurst in Nassau County, the women traveled a loop that saw them taking the field against the likes of the Glen Cove Clovers, the Perth Amboy Cardinalettes, and the Stamford Nutmegs. Fabio also introduces us to Gloria Del Percio, the last living member of the Arthur Murray Girls. The story of 20th century women's baseball has been popularized by the movie A League of Their Own, but women had their own leagues all across the country. The Murray Girls encapsulate that story at the local level, both as a team and as individual women who loved to play the game. Further Research The Arthur Murray Girls circa 1953 (Getty Images) "Girls' Nine Next Opponent for A's." (Patchogue Advance) "Recognizing an Unsung Women's Baseball Hero" (LI Herald) Audio Footnotes The Cuban Giants of Long Island Satchel Paige in Riverhead

The Gold Coast along Long Island's north shore is most often celebrated as a showcase for the rich and famous in the early 20th Century. A decidedly different aspect of that reputation comes into view when you consider the years leading up to America's entry into World War I. The Morgan Bank, headed by J.P. Morgan, Jr. with his estate in Glen Cove, played a pivotal role in financing and finding supplies for Britain in the early years of the war. Other famous North Shore families, notably former president Theodore Roosevelt of Oyster Bay, pushed for the United States to enter the war. Richard Welch presents this story in his book Long Island's Gold Coast Elite and World War I (History Press). He details the world of the Gold Coast and its prominent families, along with their important industry connections and political leanings. From financial dealings to political activism, large scale rallies, and even pushing their own children to serve, these families helped bring America into the war. Further Research Long Island's Gold Coast Elite and World War I (find in a library via WorldCat) The Road Less Traveled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War, 1916-1917. (Find in a Library via Worldcat) "The Harvard Professor Who Shot a Financial Titan and Fomented Anti-German Sentiment in a Pre-WWI America." (Smithsonian Magazine) The Preparedness Movement Long Island Forum 1950-2004 (Internet Archive)

Today we team up with Stephanie Eberhard-Holgerson's journalism class at Bayport Blue Point (BBP) High School to try to solve a mystery. At the suggestion of BBP's librarian Pam Gustafson, the class has spent the last year looking into the school's mascot, The Phantoms. The takeaway is that the straightforward question "where did the name come from" has yielded a very convoluted answer. Digging into the research, the class combed school yearbooks, local newspaper archives, Board of Education minutes, and more. Their investigations took them down many paths, touching upon early aviation history, the foundations of ghost stories, local legends, and rival high school teams. They debunked some myths and found compelling evidence for others. They've also discovered a new appreciation for Long Island history and for the need of documenting school decisions for future generations.  Further Research Origin of BBP's “Phantoms” Name Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association Bayport Yearbooks(NY Heritage) Section XI Athletics (NYSPHSAA) Use of Indigenous Names, Mascots, and Logos (NYS Board of Regents) Audio Footnotes Episode 168: Bayport History Past episodes under Native Americans

We're returning to Revolutionary War era Long Island on this episode. And while the Culper Spy Ring does play a part, we are turning the focus to a woman whose story and connections to the Ring were ignored and misrepresented across time until reconstructed by Claire Bellerjeau. Her book with Tiffany Yecke Brooks, Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution, brought to life the meticulous research Bellerjeau conducted over years to illustrate Liss (Elizabeth), a woman surviving through tumultuous times. Their latest book (and non-profit organization) is Remember Liss which brings the story to students and educators. Combined with primary sources through the New York State Archives, Remember Liss is a fascinating journey through the late 17th and early 18th centuries on Long Island, New York City, and South Carolina. It uses documents, letters, and similar records to show the struggles of a woman born into slavery in Oyster Bay, her ties to Robert Townsend (Culper Jr), General John Simcoe, Major John Andre, and the lengths she would go to in order to gain her freedom. Further Research Remember Liss Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution Consider the Source “Did an Enslaved Woman Try to Warn the Americans of Benedict Arnold's Treason?“ The Battle of Stony Point Deposition of Richard Palmes (Boston Massacre Historical Society) Audio Footnotes Episode 46 : Morton Pennypacker All Culper Spy Ring-related episodes

Al Smith was many things during his political career: reform champion after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, four-time governor of New York State, the first Catholic presidential candidate. But he was always a New York City boy at heart.  On this episode we talk with another New York City native, Dr. Robert A. Slayton. His book, Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith (Free Press 2001), documents Smith's rise from the Lower East Side to the top of the Democratic Party ticket in the "dirtiest presidential election in history." Along the way we learn more about progressive reforms in the early 20th century, the career path of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the influence of the KKK in 1920s America. We also touch on Smith's influence on Long Island history, mostly through his elevation of Robert Moses in state government.  Further Research Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith by Robert Slayton (Find in a Library via WorldCat) Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (OSHA) "The Fourth Ward Boy Who Became Governor" (Chronicling America) Mapping the Second Ku Klux Klan, 1915-1940 (VCU Libraries) Empire State Building History Al Smith at the end of Prohibition (British Pathe, YouTube) History of Central Park Zoos (NYC Parks)

From time to time on the podcast we like to explore the histories of other Long Islands, those far from New York. Today we focus on the story of Long Island Mill and the Long Island Mill Village in North Carolina. We have a number of guests to help us tell the story. Jennifer Marquardt, site manager of Murray's Mill in Catawba County, has researched the Long Island Mill and its 19th century past. Chuck McShane, writer and economic data consultant, authored A History of Lake Norman, a body of water that factors heavily in the Long Island Mill story. Most importantly, we include a number of oral histories collected by Richard Eller, professor of history at Catawba Valley Community College, as part of the project Spinning Yarns: The Long Island Cotton Mill Family. Conducted in collaboration with the Historical Association of Catawba County, the project included the voices of Gerald Robinson, Gerald Sigmon, Fletus Poston, Carroll Gilleland, Una Mae Brown, Regis Barnhardt, Gene Fisher, Gail Eades Sigmon, and Sylvia Cannon. Further Research Spinning Yarns: The Long Island Cotton Mill Family Hands on History (Catawba County Community College) A History of Lake Norman: From Fish Camps to Ferraris History Museum of Catawba County Historical Association of Catawba County Murray's Hill Historic District Under Lake Norman (Davidson College)

On a frigid night in January 1840, the luxury steamboat Lexington burned and sank in the middle of the Long Island Sound with over 140 people on board. What followed were harrowing tales of survival, tragic deaths, and a media sensation that dominated the headlines for months. Historian and journalist Bill Bleyer compiled all of the details in his book The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound, out May 1st from the History Press. Today we unpack the whole history with Bill, from the ship's creation by Cornelius Vanderbilt to its glory days on the Sound, to the various attempts through the years at raising it from the deep. It is an epic story of technological progress, maritime dangers, and Long Island's transportation history. Further Research Bill Bleyer History Lectures (Facebook) The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound (History Press) Suffolk County Historical Society Events Lexington - National Underwater and Marine Agency Cornelius Vanderbilt's Railroad and Steamship Empire Nathaniel Currier

Jet fighters once roamed the skies above Long Island. Grumman, the aviation powerhouse behind such planes as the Hellcat and the Avenger, turned its attention to jets by the end of World War II. And to test those jets, they turned to men like Bruce Tuttle. Tuttle dreamed of flying from an early age. From his family's farm on the north shore he witnessed Charles Lindbergh passing overhead on the first transatlantic flight. Tuttle became a pilot and a Marine, flying in the Pacific during World War II. After the war he went to work for Grumman, along with many of his fellow veterans, to fly jets. Today on the podcast we learn more about Tuttle and a very specific test flight he took in an F9F Panther over Long Island Sound on December 10, 1951. It was the day that every test pilot dreads. With us are Amy Tuttle, Bruce's daughter; Chris Ryon, Port Jefferson Historian, Bob Laravie, and John Hiz, Belle Terre historian. We discuss life as a test pilot, the importance of Grumman in Long Island history, and what to do when your jet flames out at 33,000 feet. Further Research Bruce Tuttle (from TBR News Media) Port Jefferson Village History Leroy Grumman (Cradle of Aviation Museum) Birth of the American Jet Age

Today we welcome back former Newsday reporter Bill Bleyer. Bill is an author and historian with a number of Long Island-related history books to his credit and today we dive into his work on the Culper Spy Ring. Published in 2021, George Washington's Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide is an analysis of the Culper Spy Ring. In it, Bleyer synthesizes what is known and has been written about the Ring. He incorporates and evaluates primary sources such as the 194 extant letters regarding the spy ring as well as the works of Morton Pennypacker, Alexander Rose, Brian Kilmeade and others to tease out fact from fiction from downright fabrication. The book also includes a comprehensive guide to sites on Long Island related to the Culper Spy Ring story. Further Research Bill Bleyer History Lectures (Facebook) George Washington's Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide Raynham Hall Museum Three Village Historical Society George Washington Letters (SBU Special Collections & Archives) Drowned Meadow Cottage Museum (Instagram) Tri-Spy Tours Audio Footnotes Past Culper Spy and Revolutionary War episodes 2017 Bill Bleyer interview

A tree-lined street running gently down to a flat blue bay, flanked by over two hundred years worth of American architecture. Bellport in all its glory, from its  founding by the Bell brothers through its growth as a waterfront resort destination and the ensuing years as a sleepy, forgotten village. But there came a time when the old place needed saving - when all the Greek Revivals and Victorians could have been razed or replaced with McMansions. Victor Principe's new book, Unhampton Preservation and the Happiness of Place in Bellport Village and Environs, documents the history of preservation in the area. On this episode, he discusses the importance of preserving a sense of place in an area, protecting streetscapes and historic districts as well as conserving the natural landscape. We also talk about the careful balance of forces needed to make historic preservation work, from dedicated individuals to willing political leaders to a commitment over time to following the plans and specific codes hammered out at the local level. Further Research Unhampton Preservation and the Happiness of Place in Bellport Village and Environs (order here) Bellport Village and Brookhaven Hamlet (Find in a library via WorldCat) Bellport Revisited (Find in a library via WorldCat) Bellport Brookhaven Historical Society William Glackens (Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Bayport and its immediate vicinity in Islip on the south shore of Long Island have some deep ties to history. There's the Bayport Aerodrome with its vintage airplanes, the Meadowcroft estate of John Ellis Roosevelt, and the roadside sphinx of the Anchorage Inn from the early 1900s. But what would all this mean to a teenager in the early 1980s? Today we find out with Bayport native Rob Walch who grew up in the area during the age of video games and the Islanders dynasty. It's local history through one man's life, from a part-time job at Satelite Pizza to a position on the high school rifle team to clandestine forays into the Girl Scout camp next door. Further Research Bayport Aerodrome Society Camp Edey Meadowcroft Satelite Pizza A Brief History of the Hardy Boys Audio Footnotes: The Sphinx: Episode 9 Bayport Aerodrome: Episode 94 La Salle Military Academy: Episode 41

If you lived in Brentwood in the late 1960s and 70s, you may have encountered a charming, transplanted Englishman named Raymond Buckland. You many not have realized it at the time, but Buckland was in the process of establishing Wicca as a religion in America. A private practitioner at first, introduced to Wicca by Gerald Gardner, Buckland was soon thrust into the public eye by the press. He then helped popularize Gardnerian Wicca through television appearances, newspaper interviews, and his own numerous writings on the subject. He went on to found his own museum and his own tradition of Seax Wicca. On today's episode, we talk with Peter Ward (Brentwood Public Library) and Ellen Edelstein (Brentwood Historical Society) about Buckland's time in Brentwood, his connections to the library, and his position in the area's long history of the colorful and spiritually-minded. Further Research Buckland Museum of Witchcraft & Magick Brentwood Public Library: Local History Brentwood Historical Society Raymond Buckland on the Dick Cavett Show (1971) Video Gallery (Buckland Museum) Articles Raymond Buckland obituary (The Wild Hunt) An Interview with Raymond Buckland (Llewellyn 2003) "At a Witchcraft Museum, Halloween is more than Trick or Treat." (NYT, 10/31/1971) Books by Raymond Buckland (Open Library)

Much has been written about September 21, 1938, the day that a massive hurricane hit Long Island. For Jonathan C. Bergman, the more interesting story began the day after. His extensive research focused on the cleanup and disaster relief efforts orchestrated by a shifting network of Red Cross officials, New Deal workers, Suffolk County agencies, churchgoers, and volunteers. On today's episode, Bergman takes us through those efforts and the impact the hurricane had on South Shore communities like Southampton and the North Fork fishing industry at Montauk. We also discuss the scope of disaster relief in the United States, from the early days of the Republic up through the emergence of FEMA in the latter 20th century. Further Research Bergman, Jonathan C. 2008. “The Shape of Disaster and the Universe of Relief: A Social History of Disaster Relief and the ‘Hurricane of '38 " Suffolk County Long Island New York 1938-41.” Dissertation. State University of New York at Buffalo.  email: jcbesq@yahoo.com "The Hurricane of '38" (The American Experience) The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 (National Weather Service) "The '38 Hurricane" (American Heritage) Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624-1783 by Matthew Mulcahy (find in a library via WorldCat) Audio Footnotes: Episode 54: first person accounts of the Hurricane of 38

Two Black men were shot and killed by a police officer in Freeport on a cold winter morning in 1946. Another was wounded. All three were brothers, two were World War II veterans dressed in their military uniforms. The ensuing outcry and investigations would spread far beyond the south shore of Long Island and bring the story of racial tensions on Long Island to the national level. Christopher Verga returns on this episode to discuss that night, the Ferguson brothers, and the conditions on Long Island that led up to the deadly confrontation. His latest book, The Ferguson Brothers Lynching on Long Island, details not only a particular family's tragedy but the deeper history of racism on Long Island including the prominence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. Further Research The Ferguson Brothers Lynchings on Long Island Orson Welles Commentaries (July 28, 1946) Long Island Divided (Newsday) Freedom's Ladder: WNYC and New York's Anti-Discrimination Law (WNYC) Cover of Woody Guthrie's The Ferguson Brothers' Killing (Raymond Crooke) Audio Footnotes: Christopher Verga episodes Cold War Long Island A Personal History of PTSD Agent Orange on Long Island Joe Giannini and the Vietnam War Jack Parente and the Vietnam War  

Robert Moses is the man most New Yorkers love to hate. This is in no small part due to his own hubris and the impact he had on the people living in the path of his massive construction projects. Add to that Robert Caro's hard hitting 1974 biography The Power Broker and you've got a reputation that is hard to live down. Kara Schlichting and Katie Uva, both teachers and urban historians, have been contending with Moses in their works and in their classrooms. On today's episode they discuss the challenges of teaching Moses and of broadening our understanding of the man and the times in which he operated. We also discuss the undeniable impact of The Power Broker and how historians work to bring context and understanding to this very important figure in New York history. We also discuss the crucial early years of Robert Moses relating to Long Island and the creation of wildly popular parks and beaches. Did he work to exclude minorities from Jones Beach? Was there anyone to stop him running roughshod across Nassau and Suffolk Counties? The answers in the historical record may not be as simple as you expect. Further Research Katie Uva Kara Schlichting "Teach NY: Three Case Studies for Reassessing New York's Power Broker." New York History 103.1 Summer 2022. "Robert Moses and His Racist Parkway, Explained" Books mentioned on this episode (via WorldCat) Audio Footnotes Episode 26: The Barbash family leads the fight on Fire Island Episode 25: Journalist Karl Grossman covering Robert Moses

Today we dive back into a discussion of the Culper Spy Ring, turning our attention to the area of Port Jefferson or, more appropriately, it's original incarnation of Drowned Meadow. The village of Port Jefferson is opening the Drowned Meadow Cottage Museum inside the 18th century home of Culper ring member Phillips Roe. Mark Sternberg, the museum's Culper Spy Ring Historian, walks us through the focus of the museum, the background of Roe, and the deeper context of the Culper Spy ring in the Setauket area. For instance, Mark's recent article in New York State Archives magazine lays out documentary evidence on the activities of Selah Strong in regards to the Revolution and spying. You'll also hear about Mount Misery, Old Man's, petticoats, and the late, lamented AMC series Turn: Washington's Spies.  Further Research Drowned Meadow Cottage Museum on Instagram "Records Reveal an Overlooked Hero of the Culper Spy Ring" (NYS Archives magazine) Books mentioned on this episode (via WorldCat) Founders Online (National Archives) Spy Letters of the American Revolution (Clements Library) George Washington and the Culper Spy Ring (Stony Brook University Libraries) "Mary Silliman's War: A Convincing Social Portrait" Audio Footnotes Past podcast episodes on the Culper Spy Ring

Long Island's barrier beaches are fascinating places. Stretched along the south shore of the island, they persist through much of Long Island history as wild natural landscapes constantly shifting and remolded by the Atlantic Ocean. And despite the storms and shipwrecks and isolation, people have persisted in thinking "I want to live there." On today's episode we talk to Mike Cavanaugh, whose curiosity brought him to Gilgo Beach over twenty years ago. Through deeper research he has tracked the history of his cottage and the Gilgo Beach community back to the 19th century. You'll hear about eccentric hermits, the lost colony of Hemlock Beach, and the complicated legacy of Robert Moses. You'll also hear about Mike's other passion, collecting old bottles from the Great South Bay that tell stories about the people who lived here before. Further Research Bay Bottles Society for Historical Archaeology East Rockaway Public Library Brooklyn Newsstand NYS Historic Newspapers  

The Hempstead Plains were once a defining feature of Long Island. Covering some 40,000 acres, the Plains stretched from the Queens border in the west to the Suffolk border in the east, creating a sea of waist-high grass in the middle of what is now Nassau County. Remnants of the Plains still remain, most notably in a 17-acre segment on the campus of Nassau Community College preserved by the Friends of Hempstead Plains. Betsy Gulotta standing before the last remnants of the Hempstead Plains on the campus of Nassau Community College. On today's episode, Betsy Gulotta, former conservation project manager of the Friends, takes us on a walking tour, pointing out the grasses, trees, and endangered species that have continued to thrive for centuries. She relates the history of the Friends and their conservation efforts, as well as some of the storied history of the Plains. That history includes the earliest horseracing in the state, numerous staging areas for soldiers like Camp Black during the Spanish American War, and sites like Mitchel Field that helped make the area the Cradle of Aviation. Further Research Friends of Hempstead Plains Facebook The History of Mitchel Field Sandplain Gerardia Neidich-Ryder, C., Kennelly, P. Mapping prairie remnants on the Hempstead Plains, Long Island, New York. Environ Monit Assess 186, 3011–3022 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3597-1 Watson W. C. (1860). The plains of long island. Printed by C. Van Benthuysen. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.31824.

We continue our exploration of Long Islands other than our own. This episode takes us inland from the East Coast to the banks of the Whitewater River in western Ohio. Sharon Pope Lutz tells us the story of Long Island Beach and how the Pope family turned their property from idyllic piece of farmland to a 1920s roadside attraction featuring swimming, bingo, a dance hall, and home-made amusement park rides. Today she and her family keep the flame alive, operating Green Acres Kayak from the same spot.  Further Research: Green Acres Kayak Whitewater River Foundation Little Egypt Fort Finney Principal Meridian Rosemary Clooney on Spotify Southwest Ohio Amusement Park Historical Society

Thomas M. Stark served as a judge in Suffolk County and New York State starting in the early 1960s. During his career he presided over a number of important cases but the one that loomed largest was the murder of the DeFeo family at their home in Amityville by their son Ronald in 1974. Stark's daughter Ellen remembers hearing about the case over dinner while the rest of the world remembers it as the Amityville Horror case. On this episode, Ellen talks to us about her father's book, Horrific Homicides, in which he describes the DeFeo case along with a number of other notable trials from his career. A noted jurist and student of the law, Stark kept careful notes on his trials and details not only the crimes themselves but the legal issues involved. The result is a glimpse at the darker side of Long Island history from behind the judge's bench. Further Research Horrific Homicides by Thomas M. Stark Thomas M. Stark obituary (Suffolk Times) “The Wild Party that Scandalized the Hamptons.” (Daily Beast)

Glenn Durlacher looks back over his family's legacy of square dance calling on Long Island with deserved pride. His grandfather Ed pioneered square dancing in the New York City area starting in the 1930s. At the urging of his friends in the Top Hands band, Ed made a name for himself calling dances and traveling to promote the use of his records and square dancing to phys ed teachers across the country. This led to an association with Robert Moses and gigs calling at the 1939 World's Fair as well as in Central Park. But it was at the Jones Beach Bandshell that he made his greatest impression. First Ed, then his son Don, and then family friend Primo Fiore hosted weekly square dances every summer at the beach for over sixty years. On today's episode, Glenn relates the history of square dancing in his family and what he remembers of being at so many of those Jones Beach nights. We also discuss Glenn's hopes for a more permanent commemoration of the importance of square dancing at Jones Beach. If you or your family remember dancing at Jones Beach and would like to support the creation of a plaque to its memory, you can write to: New York State Parks Regional Headquarters West Babylon, NY 11704 Further Research Square Dancing History Project Central Park Newsreel Honor Your Partner (YouTube) Dix-Hills Melville Historical Association Ben & Jerry's – About Audio Footnotes: The Life Story of Primo Fiore  

They were women and they fought for the right to vote. Beyond that, every person documented in the Online Biographical Dictionary of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States has a different story to tell. Dr. Thomas Dublin and a crowdsourced team of volunteers have worked diligently to collect those stories. The Dictionary, a free online resource, is a searchable database of biographical sketches telling the life story of three groups of women: Black women suffragists - many of whom migrated out of the South to find more opportunities yet were not always embraced by the wider suffrage movement. Members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) - the mainstream organization of the movement with thousands of members working across every state. Members of the National Womans Party (NWP) - formed by women impatient with the strategies and pace of change under NAWSA. Dr. Dublin describes what it took to pull this database of materials together. A network of volunteers including historians, librarians, genealogists, and students combed through local newspapers, public records, and various primary and secondary sources. What emerged was a series of biographies that document the many faces of women in the movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. Further Research Online Biographical Dictionary of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States Find a Grave Chronicling America NYS Historic Newspapers African American Women in the Struggle for the Vote, 1850-1920. Bloomington: by by Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (Find in a Library via WorldCat) The History of Woman Suffrage (vol 6)

In 2020 we marked the centennial of woman suffrage and the passing of the 19th amendment. Although the intervening 102 years can make that struggle feel like the distant past, the story of the many people who fought and marched and pushed for the right to vote is very much alive. Marguerite Kearns keeps one such story before our eyes in her book An Unfinished Revolution (SUNY Press). The book presents the life of her grandparents, Edna Buckman and Wilmer Kearns, and their extended world of Pennsylvania relatives, fellow Quakers, and suffrage activists. Living in Rockville Center in 1905, Edna and Wilmer were in the thick of grassroots organizing on Long Island and New York City. The stories that Marguerite heard from her mother and grandfather, along with her own extensive research, form a picture of loving, dedicated, real people making the best of their lives and making history. On today's episode, Marguerite shares how she learned that story and how she wove it into a book rich with photographs and the words of Edna and Wilmer. Further Research An Unfinished Revolution (SUNY Press) by Marguerite Kearns Bearing Witness: A Family Legacy [Spirit of 1776] Wagon (NYS Museum) Long Island and the Woman Suffrage Movement Dr. "General" Rosalie Jones (National Park Service) Women's Suffrage: Pictures of Suffragists and their Activities (Library of Congress) Image credit: Edna Kearns (circa 1915). Image courtesy of Marguerite Kearns used under a CC BY -SA 3.0 license.

Brad Kolodny returns to the podcast to update us on what he's been doing during the intervening thirty episodes. Turns out he's got a new book and a new historical society. The Jews of Long Island (SUNY Press) is out now and in it, Brad documents the personal and communal stories of Jews on Long Island from the l8th through the early 20th centuries, uncovering a cast of thousands from itinerant peddlers to early baseball players to vacationing vaudevillians. Further Research: The Jews of Long Island Upcoming events Jewish Historical Society of Long Island Audio Footnotes: The Synagogues of Long Island The Jewish Community on Long Island The Soldier City of Suffolk County