The Oyster Bay Historical Society has a large collection of Theodore Roosevelt related materials. They include all the books written by TR and a lot of printed material about the 26th President of the United States, from while he was still alive, said Oyster Bay Historical Society Director Tom Kuehhas.

One of the books in the collection was written by Albert Loren Cheney, editor of the Oyster Bay Pilot. "We have two editions of the book, including a First Edition," said Mr. Kuehhas. Mr. Cheney's book is titled: Personal Memoirs of the Homelife of the Late Theodore Roosevelt, as Soldier, Governor , Vice President and President in Relation to Oyster Bay. The book was published in 1919 by Mr. Cheney. "Note that in the frontispiece of the book is this inscription: To the public, a share of the proceeds received from the sale of this book will be contributed to the fund for the establishment of the proposed Roosevelt Memorial Park," said Mr. Kuehhas.

"There is also a note from the author: 'This book is respectfully dedicated to the friends and neighbors of Theodore Roosevelt on good old Long Island - one of the garden spots of America,'" added Mr. Kuehhas.

"The book was published by Cheney: it says, 'Cheney Publishing Co., Washington D.C., an interesting chapter begins on Page 116," he said.

"When Oyster Bay became the summer capital of the nation, and thus was linked to the national capital, it did not, figuratively speaking, thumb its vest holes, and strut around like a pouter pigeon, but took its honors philosophically and naturally, being not at all disturbed by the fun often made at its expense by the newspaper reporters. Nevertheless it thoroughly appreciated the great distinction brought to it by President Roosevelt.

"Oyster Bayites do not enthuse easily, but when once aroused, no community in the country can outdo its citizens when it comes to public demonstrations or acts of charity. Public-spirited men have taken advantage of the boom long enjoyed by the town, which has resulted in the erection of many fine buildings. The village has also been greatly improved in appearance, and now assumes a metropolitan air.

"Another big impetus will be given to Oyster Bay when the million dollar Roosevelt Memorial Park is established on the picturesque shores of the bay. The citizens fully realize what this movement means to the town, and will successfully meet whatever demands will be made upon them to carry out their part of the program.

"The people of the community at the present time hospitably welcome the large influx of strangers arriving daily for the purpose of visiting the grave of Theodore Roosevelt," Mr. Kuehhas said.

The book continues with a related subject:

Mr. Kuehhas went on to say, "The Roosevelt Memorial Association was formed to conduct a campaign for the purpose of collecting a fund of $5,000,000 during the week of Oct. 20th to 27th, 1919.

"The plans include a monument at Washington, D.C. and the establishment of a Public Memorial Park at Oyster Bay. The Roosevelt home, with its contents, at Sagamore Hill may be secured eventually, thus preserving it as a National shrine similar to Mount Vernon and the Lincoln home at Springfield, Illinois.

"The executive committee of the Association consists of the following widely-known men: Col. William Boyce Thompson, chairman; Joseph W. Alsop, John S. Cravens, Will H. Hays, Irwin R. Kirkwood, William Loeb, Jr., Henry J. Whigham, Albert H. Wiggins, Horace Wilkinson, William Wigby, Jr., and Henry L. Simpson.

"Mr. Electus D. Litchfield, the well-known architect, who designed the New York City library, has been engaged by the Memorial Committee to prepare sketches and plans for the proposed Roosevelt Park," Mr. Kuehhas said. (The above information appears on Pages 116 and 117 of the book.) .

One of Mr. Cheney's daughters worked in the President's Oyster Bay office in the Moore's building on the corner of East Main Street and South Street. William Loeb was the president's secretary.

Mr. Kuehhas was not sure how the historical society came to own the book, but he said, "This one is stamped Oyster Bay Free Library. It may have passed into our hands from them. It is dated 1919, the year TR died. The note from the publisher is dated Oct. 1919 from Washington D.C.

"It is quite a treasure. This book is worth its weight in gold for what it says about TR and his doings here in Oyster Bay and what people thought of him. There are just wonderful stories," said Mr. Kuehhas.

The Oyster Bay Historical Society has another reason for being interested in the proposed TR Museum and Research Center. At the Thursday, Jan. 17 meeting of the East Norwich Civic Association and the Oyster Bay Civic Association Brad Warner, Oyster Bay Historical Society vice president gave a statement about why they are in favor of the concept of the museum. He stated, "The OBHS is well under way in the fund raising process for 'The Angela P. Koenig Research and Collections Center' a proposed 3,500 sq. ft. facility to be located across the garden from the Earle-Wightman House. This building will house thousands of irreplaceable documents and artifacts. We believe the 'The Angela P. Koenig Research and Collections Center' and the Theodore Roosevelt Museum will work together to honor our town and help make it an important destination." Mr. Warner added, "I would like to comment as an aside: we are not here to discuss the TR Museum's scale, location, environmental impact, etc. but will be happy to participate with planning groups as the final proposal is being shaped."

He added, "We believe that appreciation of the historical aspects of Oyster Bay will increase as a result of the TR Museum which will synergistically complement other scholarly organizations in the hamlet such as ourselves and Raynham Hall [Museum}."

Mr. Kuehhas said the work toward creating the Angela Koenig Center is a two-pronged approach. The one is the fund raising arm. He said, "We are getting some big donors signing on. The Dolan Foundation gave us a very generous matching grant to reach for and we are seeking other donors to match it. Roger Bahnik has helped that along with a donation of $50,000. More donors are needed.

"The second arm is getting all the town approvals and talking to an architect to keep the building plans moving forward so when we reach a certain level in our fund raising we will be able to go ahead with our building process. There is our 'pie in the sky time frame' and a realistic one. We are hoping to break ground within a year," he said.

Was he going to raffle off hard hats and silver shovels for the ground breaking as TRA President Jim Bruns has done? "We're not as far along as that," he said.