Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi unveiled the Paul Manship Theodore Roosevelt Sculpture, newly installed in front of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola, on Sunday, July 13, as part of a celebratory "Bully Picnic." The event was to commemorate the 108th anniversary of the laying of the building's cornerstone by Theodore Roosevelt, as well as the rededication of the building as the centerpiece of the county seat.

The day featured the Old Bethpage Village brass band concerts, Teddy Roosevelt "in person" (a.k.a. James Foote), Model-A Fords on exhibit, 19th-century children's games, refreshments 1900s style (free hot dogs, lemonade and slices of red watermelon, and cotton candy), and people dressed in period costumes, including County Executive Suozzi.

Oyster Bay was well represented a the unveiling, beginning with an honored guest, Cove Neck artist Mort Künstler, who brought three of his works featuring Theodore Roosevelt: The Great White Fleet Sails, with a picture of TR beneath an American flag watching as the fleet departs; The Rough Riders, that shows TR on horseback leading his men to battle. The third painting is his newest, TR riding a Model T in a Fourth of July parade in Oyster Bay. The painting is titled Teddy's Fourth of July: Theodore Roosevelt, Oyster Bay, N.Y., July 4, 1908.

The painting features Roger Bahnik driving the Model T Ford that TR is riding in; Lori Bahnik is on the right, dressed in a green dress, and behind her in a wagon, are Claude and Marie Bahnik. On the left side of the painting is Judy Tantleff, Michele Bahnik Mercier and to their right, Irwin Tantleff, holding a straw boater. In the center of the painting, dressed as a Rough Rider is Kevin Mercier, Michele's husband. The TR prints were on display in the foyer of the TR executive building. Nassau County Presiding Officer Diane Yatauro, who was active with the Boys & Girls Club of OB-EN, was able to point out the Bahniks in the picture. Ms. Yatauro said to Mr. Künstler, "Thank you for mixing the old and the new. Lori looks so beautiful."

The painting stops the action as TR crosses South Street, heading toward Audrey Avenue, in front of the Moore's building. Prints of the painting will be sold as a benefit for the Boys & Girls Club for $225 each, signed and numbered, with four hundred prints available. Other offerings include price points of $225, $350, $650 and $800. There will be at least 10 giclee masterpiece editions at 28" x 40" that sell for $2,500. Call 800-850-1776 for more information.

Also attending the event was William Schierberl, Esq. He was instrumental in bringing the Paul Howard Manship statue to the TR Executive Building. Interestingly, Mr. Schierberl lived in Oyster Bay and sold his estate on Oyster Bay Harbor to Roger Bahnik.

Mr. Schierberl wrote to Charles Wang of Island Properties on Jan. 30, 2003, saying, "I had noticed press reports that Island Properties might be seeking a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt for the entry to the hamlet of Oyster Bay." Mr. Schierberl sent Mr. Wang a monograph of the work of Paul Manship and a picture of the statue. The statue was done for the United States Department of the Interior, and was completed in 1966, shortly before the sculptor died. The original is in a wildlife sanctuary on the Potomac River, created as a memorial to TR. The one now installed at the county seat is an exact replica, cast in bronze under the supervision of Mr. Manship, made at the Battaglia FOundry. They also cast the Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Center, 33 years before.

Mr. Schierberl wrote, "The replica, which is nine feet tall, stands at the Manship home and studio in Gloucester. Mrs. John Manship, the wife of the artist's late son, (and an artist himself), has the rights to the Roosevelt piece. As her attorney, I informed her of your possible interest. She would be pleased to see the work in Oyster Bay.

"As a matter of historical interest, there is another connection between Paul Manship and Theodore Roosevelt. As a student, in 1906, Manship was apprenticed to and assisted a New York artist in the creation of a memorial statue of one of Roosevelt's rough riders, Captain William O'Neill," concluded Mr. Schierberl.

While that proposal never came to fruition, Mr. Schierberl was able to write to Mrs. Manship's trust that he had found a site for the statue, "Bringing the matter to a successful conclusion."

Mr. Schierberl wrote, "...My effort over the past six years included the agreement which I reached in July 2005 with the County Executive of Nassau County, State of New York [Tom Suozzi], to purchase the Manship work at an agreed upon price of $200,000; and to position the statue near the entrance to the completly refurbished seat of the County Executive and the Country Legislature."

Mr. Schierberl said the location was altogether appropriate. He said, "I first viewed the site in September 1958 when I entered the practice of law a short distance away at an office on Old Country Road. Not long after, I discovered the mural beneath the rotunda of the then County Courthouse depicting Mr. Roosevelt as Governor of New York laying the building's cornerstone, then just over 50 years before, now over 100."

The county executive wanted to match the look of the building and architect Gary Grasso of the department of public works designed it based upon that. Mr. Schierberl was pleased with how the statue looked. Mr. Grasso said it had been cleaned and waxed for the presentation.

Mr. Scheirberl said he became involved in the future of the statue when in May of 2002 he was asked to visit Mrs. Margaret Cassidy Manship in her home in Lanesville. "The purpose was to assist her in preserving and protecting numerous works of art including her own, those of her husband, John Manship, and the work of John's father, Paul Manship, still in her possession." Mrs. Manship said she wanted to preserve the house, barn and property as a museum for all of the Manship work. Mr. Scheirberl was able to recommend Edward Bernard, Esq. to care for both the collection and to arrange for care for Mrs. Manship who was partially disabled and needed full time care.

He said, "As to the works of art, I found that the house and barn contained possibly hundreds of Manship pieces, unorganized and unprotected. Moreover, at least six major works of Paul Manship were out of doors exposed to the elements and vandalism. The heroic bronze of President Roosevelt was among them." In the fall of 2002, it became Mr. Schierberl's undertaking to take care of the sale and disposition of the TR bronze statue. "I was positioned to accomplish this because of my early practice in the Nassau County seat; and also by 25 years as a resident of Oyster Bay, not far from Sagamore Hill, where President Roosevelt lived and was buried on his death in 1919 [at Youngs Cemetery]. As a consequence, I was keenly aware of several appropriate sites for the Manship masterpiece in Oyster Bay."

He said, "My effort in Oyster Bay included interviews with other leaders and with a local newspaper [the Enterprise Pilot]. This activity attracted the attention of Mr. Thomas Suozzi, the Nassau County Executive who was searching for a replica of the President for his restored County seat. I learned of Mr. Suozzi's interest early in 2005 when contacted by his deputy, Mr. Ian Siegel. A luncheon meeting at the county executive's office was arranged which includeed in addition to Mr. Suozzi and Mr. Siegel, the country's architect [Gary Grasso] and Mr. Bernard as Mrs. Manship's guardian." That was when the deal was struck.

At the Sunday, July 13 ceremony, Mr. Suozzi told guests that the statue was purchased with no taxpayer's money. Instead, Jeffrey Forchelli of Forchelli, Curto, Crowe, Deegan, Schwartz, Mineo & Cohn, LLP acted as chairman of the committee to raise the funds. Mr. Forchelli donated generously as did Roger Bahnik of Mill-Max Mfg. of Oyster Bay; The LoStritto family - Glen and Joe LoStritto; Robert Wild of Garfunkel, Wild & Travis of Great Neck; North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System Foundation, Great Neck; and The Donald & Barbara Zucker Foundation.

After the unveiling of the statue, there were photo ops for which Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Forchelli, Mr. Bahnik and members of the Lostritto family posed for guests who wanted to create their own memorial record of the day. People toured the county seat and county workers proudly lead family members on personal tours of the building. Everyone is proud of the restored building.

As the party thinned out, TR was on duty, waving to cars going along Franklin Avenue and ready to be photographed by his many fans.

The ceremony was held on the anniversary of July 13, 1900, when the then-Governor of New York, Theodore Roosevelt, laid a three-foot-long granite cornerstone at the northeast corner of the building, once considered to be one of the finest buildings in the state. It remained the center of Nassau County government until the beginning of World War II.

The renovation, which began in 2002, improved the building's infrastructure, abated hazardous materials, and preserved and restored the building's historic architecture, which includes a gilded rotunda and murals depicting historic local events. The murals were designed by Robert Gaston Herbert of Sea Cliff and commissioned by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. In addition, the building also now includes a new legislative and administrative wing that will provide ready access for the county's constituents and provide efficient working areas for the legislative and executive branches of county government.