Raynham Hall Museum director Sarah Abruzzi is looking forward to taking the Oyster Bay house museum to the next level. Each new director at Raynham Hall Museum brings their own special talent. The museum's past director, Andrew Batten, had been an enactor at the Gettysburg Museum in Pennsylvania and he enriched the museum with military lore and musical performances with his quartet Sampawams Creek.

Sarah Abruzzi said, "I'd like to focus on getting the name of the museum out into the world. Andrew did a great job in getting visitation up, I'd like to take it to the next level."

The board is behind that effort. They just approved work on a new video for the museum. The board had been considering it for a while, said Ms. Abruzzi, and soon after she arrived, they decided to make the commitment. The new "welcoming" video is expected to be ready next month. The production company spent two days filming at the museum. "It will be an outreach tool for schools, like our traveling trunk, to take to classrooms. It can be used for pre-visit material or can substitute for a visit. It's another good way to get the name out there and to get the museum known. The video will also be for sale."

Filming was a fun event as everyone wore costumes. "The director would say I need a Victorian servant peeling potatoes and that was me. Connie (Clarke) was shown lighting a fire. Rob Crafa, from the WaterFront Center acted as Master Townsend. He was a good sport," she said.

The museum is also working to create an interactive computer room for visitors to be able to view the collection. It will be located in the small parlor on the first floor. "It will be especially nice for people who are handicapped and can't walk upstairs to see the entire museum," said Ms. Abruzzi. The project is still in the works.

Ms. Abruzzi has an interesting background. She grew up in Port Jefferson and attended SUNY Albany where she studied anthropology and classical archeology. She hadn't planned on employment with a museum, but planned on working at archeology and went on digs for the New York State Museum in Albany in a 40-mile radius of the city. They found pre-historic items, Native American materials and early European artifacts in the area.

A trip to visit friends in Charlotte, West Virginia proved wonderful for her where she found a job working indoors, as opposed to the outdoor work of being an archeologist. She worked as the education coordinator at the Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site. "It was the location of the first documented gold discovery in America in 1830." From that job she segued into a position as education coordinator for school programs at Rosedale Plantation, built in 1815.

Her next position was at Historic Latter Plantation. Both Rosedale and Latter were cotton plantations. Latter is dated 1800. An article in the The New York Times explained that the remaining old southern plantations are often located in the midst of rundown areas. "That was the case with Latter Plantation. It was in the middle of a depressed area with car lots and low income housing. It was three miles outside the city of Charlotte. The district is slowly being redeveloped. The house appears to have lasted so long because the family lived there until 1986. It was amazing it lasted," she said.

She enjoyed the experience of being at the plantation where she worked on items from the house collection. "It was my job to care for the house and all the out buildings. There were 11 buildings, barns, cabins and such," she said.

"At Latter we all wore costumes. It adds a nice dimension to the tour, but it's not for everybody: not for every interpreter. But, it's great for special events and reenactments. It gives a different appreciation of history. We did a historic fashion show in Charlotte including wearing the undergarments and corsets." She said it was uncomfortable but it made the clothes fit property and said, "It makes you look thin!"

Sarah and her husband Steve decided after three years of living in Charlotte, that they wanted to come back to live on Long Island. They now live in Flushing, Queens.

"My husband and I wanted to move back to Long Island. Charlotte is a beautiful city but it never felt as if it were home."

Even though the museum is in the middle of town, many local people haven't been inside the museum. She said, "The same is true all over the county. For so long museums were sort of exclusive. People were not aware they were open to the public. You went on school field trips but that was the end of the exposure." She feels that is changing.

Ms. Abruzzi, the board and staff are now working toward their gala on Feb. 29. It will be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Raynham Hall and called The Golden Stars."

The anniversary is also being celebrated throughout 2003 with free tours of the house museum being offered on Thursdays at 2 p.m. For more information, please call 516-922-6808. The museum is located at 20 West Main Street in Oyster Bay.