When the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum (OBRM) comes chugging along for its official opening, sometime down the road, it will be met by lots of good friends and supporters. That is a given seeing the great feeling of friendship shown at their Summer Solstice Sunset party held June 19, for the second year at the Sagamore Yacht Club.

As the sun began to set, OBRM Chairman Ben Jankowski and President John Specce toasted their supporters with champagne. Mr. Jankowski said, "Only through your support can we put in a first class national railroad museum. Thank you for supporting us. We're going to fight the good fight to get our goals accomplished, and thank you very much!"

President John Specce quoted actor Martin Sheen saying, "Nothing ever gets done unless it's done by a fanatic."

And Mr. Jankowski said, "That is us: Pat Aitken, Rob Brusca, Gary Farkash, Roger Hahn, Judy Wasilchuk, Marcella Specce, Josh Stoff, Gerry Lalonde, Bill Krushinski, Alex Torres and Tim Wright."

It was the evening of the summer solstice, one of the longest days of the year but the delicious wines provided by Gary Farkash, OBRM board member; and the tasty buffet supper prepared by Oyster Bay Museum officers, trustees, and members including Marcella Specce, Judy Wasilchuk, Ben Jankowski, Kathy Prinz and others - made the evening go quickly. It was a night of fun and friendship. Many members of the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce came out to support the museum.

While waiting on line for the buffet, people had a chance to view the proposed renderings of the museum plaza prepared by Saratoga Associates with a NYS Quality Assurance grant administered by the Main Street Association. There were also renderings of the inside of the museum done by Blumlein Associates of Greenvale. Mr. Jankowski said the plans were not totally set, that there might be changes as they progress toward pulling into the station.

Mr. Jankowski made the raffle a major entertainment event as he called up pretty women and willing musicians to draw the winning raffles. The "God of Raffle Tickets" did a good job sending the gift items to the right people.

The Country Living Plate went to Jerry Lalonde, OBRM treasurer. Two $20 gift certificates to Canterbury Ales (there were five in all) found their way to Louise Paruolo. One went to Gary Farkash and one to a musician; and one to John Schaeffer who is a regular at Cruise night. He said he would use it at a Tuesday Cruise Night.

A necklace donated by Pat Aitken, board member went to Gerry Lalonde. That was when Ben said, "You've got to be in it to win it." I.E.: People who bought a lot of raffles had a better chance of winning.

Tim Wright won a DVD player donated by Appliance World. Grace Searby won a book by Stan Fisher, a railroad historian and a sports caster for WINS. Mr. Jankowski said Mr. Fischer will present a slide show for the OBR Museum sometime in the future.

Carmine Pirolo of White Birch Designs, architectural woodwork, won a $500 coaching lesson for improving your personal life or your business - donated by Larry Weiss, a member of the Sagamore Yacht Club and the Oyster Bay Power Squadron. When asked if he would use Mr. Weiss' services, Mr. Carmine said, "Why not!"

Two tickets to the Cradle of Aviation Museum were donated by OBRM board member Josh Toff and were won by Bill Murphy of the K of C. Two more tickets went to Alex Torres and Bill Krushinski, "Two of the hardest workers for the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. They work every event we have during the year, in rain, sleet and snow," said Mr. Jankowski.

The winning raffle number for a $50 gift certificate to Dodds & Eder was picked by Louise Paruolo - and the winner was Kathy Prinz. The raffle number for a $100 gift certificate for Wild Honey was picked by Gina Hahn and won by John Schaefer who also won a Margaritaville basket by Judy Wasilchuk containing six tall glasses, six bowls, a parrot puzzle, a CD of Jimmy Buffet singing Margaritaville, a Mexican cookbook; chips, salsa - all that is needed is the Tequilla and a few friends.

Mr. Schaefer said he parks his 1995 red Corvette in front of Oyster Bay Travel every Tuesday, and has for the past four years - at Cruise Night.

The number four is significant in that Ms. Wasilchuk made four of her Margaritaville baskets for four charity events this season. "It's a fun thing to do. All the winner adds is food and friends and tequila and there you go. I knew I was going to do multiples when I was buying the items. They went to the Joint Civics reception; one for the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce Spring Splendor; one for the PTA; and this one for the OBRM. One year I did baskets for a wine tasting, and had cards that paired with them. I switch off, year to year. I love to do that. It's a fun sideline."

Ms. Wasilchuk, who helped with creating the buffet said, "We had a good selection of food. There were some leftovers that people took home - but we had about the right amount!"

Another of the raffle items created a buzz among the railroad fans. A poster of National Train Day, signed by the artist, was won by Louise Paruolo who then presented it to Frank Iraggi, sitting at her table. She said, "It's his birthday and he is retired from working for the LIRR." Everyone joined in singing Happy Birthday to Mr. Iraggi. He retired nine years ago from the LIRR public affairs office. He worked for the LIRR for 27 years.

The wine and champagne basket donated by Gary Farkash was won by Kathy Prinz. The last drawing was for the 50/50 and the winner was picked by Pat Aitken. Chairman Ben read off the name, "Scott Decker - he's a co-worker on the LIRR and he bought a lot of raffle tickets," said Ben. He was delighted to see his co-worker's generosity paid off. He received half of the 50/50. "Keep your raffle ticket stubs, it is all tax deductible," said Mr. Jankowski.

If you would like to help the railroad museum speed up its timetable, you can send your tax deductible checks payable to the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum, P.O. Box 335, Oyster Bay, NY 11771. For more information, contact the museum at 558-7036.