Fashions from the Collection: Oyster Bay Historical Society

Exhibition: Wearing History: Women the Force behind Fashion

The Oyster Bay Historical Society is exhibiting women’s fashion from their collection dating from the 1890s to the 1930s. The title of the exhibition is Wearing History: Women the Force Behind Fashion. The opening reception will be held on Oct. 20 in their recently completed new building. The Oyster Bay Historical Society’s growing collection of irreplaceable historical artifacts is now able to be housed in The Koenig Center through the generous donations by our President, Frank Leone, our members and patrons, and in particular the Dolan Foundation.

Timing Is Precious, As Is Location, Location, Location

Fast Acting by the LEC Staff Saves Senior John Bergano

As they say in marketing, the important thing is location, location, location. For John Begano, it was true too, as he experienced a heart attack at a party at the senior center. The staff of the Life Enrichment Center of Oyster Bay went into action when they heard the words “chest pains” and ended up saving his life. As a result they will long remember their end of season party on Aug. 24.

“It was the day after the earthquake,” said LEC Executive Director Gail Speranza. “The theme of the night was Bella Notte - beautiful night - and the great room was transformed into an Italian Wine Garden with centerpieces with (fake) grapes flowing over. It was fantastic!

Rotary/Oyster Fest Directly Benefits District Children

When you buy a raffle ticket or a raw oyster at this year’s Oyster Festival, it will directly benefit children in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District. The district includes children from Cove Neck, Oyster Bay Cove, Oyster Bay, Muttontown, East Norwich, Upper Brookville and Mill Neck. One of the biggest events in Oyster Bay is the annual Oyster Festival. In fact, for the past 27 years, the Oyster Fest has been Long Island’s largest waterfront festival. The 28th annual Oyster Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 15, and Sunday, October 16.

The OB Fire Departments Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Suit

Fire Departments, Town, and Villages to Pay $279,600 in Lost Pension Funds

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Sept. 20, that the Oyster Bay Fire Department has agreed to settle a class age discrimination lawsuit brought by them. The OBFD No. 1; the Atlantic Fire Company No. 1; the Town of Oyster Bay; and the villages of Oyster Bay Cove; Laurel Hollow; Mill Neck and Cove Neck – that they serve – will pay at least 31 firefighters lost pension money totaling $279,600 and provide increased monthly pension amounts going forward to several firefighters – with $20 a year added for active service – to a cap of $800 a month in pension funds.

RHM Reception for Opening Of a Scrapbook for the Ages

Modern Technology Helps Tell an Historic Tale

Raynham Hall Museum  just opened its new exhibit “A Scrap-Book for the Ages: Four Generations of Alices of the Weekes Family of Oyster Bay.” To celebrate the opening they held a reception set up in a tent in the museum’s Victorian Garden. A fundraiser for the RHM collections, about 60 guests attended.

RHM Director Harriet Gerard Clark said of the reception, “We had a great turnout with our stal wart friends and supporters. Rita Ravenel Weekes and her daughter-in-law, Phyllis Weekes, attended as well as residents of the hamlet and local villages. Add to that, it was a beautiful day for a party.”

Oyster Festival Tall Ships On Course to the WW Pier

The Lynx, the Bollard, the John J. Harvey, the Soundwaters and the Christeen are Oyster Festival Celebs

Getting all their ducks in a row for the Oyster Festival Tall Ship events on the Western Waterfront takes a great deal of planning, especially when it comes to arranging for the ships to visit. The American privateer The Lynx is coming and confirmation has just come through that the U.S. Coast Guard will be sending their cutter Bollard. “She is special because she is an icebreaker,” said Jennifer Sappell, Long Island North Shore Heritage Area executive director who volunteers with the maritime side of the Oyster Festival. Ms. Sappell is happy with the volunteer work she is doing. “I love people who love boats,” she said.

Ms. Sappell said. “It’s hard to get the boats to commit to coming because of the weather, politics, mechanical issues, technical issues and there is even military need. Of course that trumps everything. Especially for arranging for the helicopters for the Sea-Air-Rescue demonstration,” said Ms. Sappell. She, Rotarian Jim Werner and Joe Orlich, Flotilla Commander USCG Auxiliary Oyster Bay, and a member of the Oyster Festival maritime committee said, “What is really exciting is that the fireboat John J. Harvey, [who helped douse the World Trade Center fires on 9/11] is coming in early on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 12.”

Plein Air Exhibit Shows Sagamore Hill Visions

Rob Zeller Has Vision of Oyster Bay As an Art Hub

Walking into the Plein Air exhibit at the Koenig Center you feel at home. You’ve been to Sagamore Hill National Historic Site so you are familiar with the scenes the 35 artists have interpreted; you are in love with them before you even look. The small paintings, vary in size from the largest (14 x 20) to the smallest (5 x 71/2) plus their frames; all hung at eye level around the walls of the exhibit space. As part of the contest artists were expected to bring a wired frame ready for hanging, said Curator Yvonne Noonan-Cifarelli. The result is an interesting mix of frames that adds to the total effect.

The artist’s name, the title of the work, sometime the medium is listed, and the price is there – so the interested buyer can make a decision. One of the paintings sold that night to Oyster Bay Historical Society President Frank Leone, a painting of small buildings and the windmill at Sagamore Hill. It was a good choice for someone who builds upscale homes. It is by Michael Piccolo, a local resident.

OB Commemorates 9/11 At Two Waterside Memorials

Atlantic Steamer Memorial Dedicated to All Those Lost on September 11, 2001 Contains a WTC Artifact

This year, more people than ever, attended the commemoration of the anniversary of September 11, 2001. This year, the tenth, had two commemorations at the Oyster Bay Waterfront on Saturday, Sept. 10. The first was at the 9/11 Memorial on West End Avenue. It was followed by the dedication of the new 9/11 Memorial Garden created by the Atlantic Steamer Fire Department with a piece of steel and concrete from the World Trade Towers.

NYS Senator Carl Marcellino spoke at both ceremonies. He said certain images and dates become engraved in our minds. Among them are Dec. 7, 1941 with the attack on Pearl Harbor; Nov. 22, 1963 with the assassination of JFK; and now Sept. 11, 2001 – in each case, most Americans remember where they were when they heard the news.

Textile Preservation Seminar October 9 at the Koenig Center

In times like this, where flooding has occurred – it is easy to see the need to protect your own family memorabilia. The Oyster Bay Historical Society has a great deal of expertise in that area and will be holding the second of what will be a regular series of workshops on how to preserve your treasured items.

Nicole Menchise, OBHS librarian said the success of their first preservation workshop earlier this year encouraged them to do more of them. The next one will be held on Oct. 9, in celebration of Archives Month. “We liked the turnout and the feedback from the original preservation workshop that we did -so we decided to do something like that a couple of times a year. One may be more specific and another more general.

A Visit to the William Joel 20th Century Cycles Museum

Billy Joel, the Piano-Man, Makes More Than Just Music

Billy Joel of 20th Century Cycles museum just built a custom bobber for Bruce Springsteen. Austin Azzaretto, said, “They just delivered it, a gold metallic custom. Bruce Springsteen is a personal friend of Billy’s. Mr. Joel, and Alex Puls, the curator of the museum, designed the bobber together. It has a Kawasaki W-650 engine and is based on a 2000 Kawasaki W-650 – customized. They rebuilt the whole motorcycle.”

Austin Azzaretto has two volunteer jobs in Oyster Bay. One is on Tuesday nights when he chairs Cruise Nights, and the other is on Sundays when he is a regular at Billy Joel’s 20th Century Cycles. Mr. Azzaretto said on Tuesday, Aug. 23, Mr. Joel held a dealer’s conference for Moto Guzzi, a famed motorcycle company that started in Italy, after WWI.