The Bayport Heritage Association was formed in 1983 and is dedicated to the preservation of the history of Bayport. The association has an extensive collection of archival photographs, vintage clothing, artifacts and books. Through the years, the group has been particularly active in the restoration of Meadow Croft, a John Ellis Roosevelt summer home and now a historical museum on the border of Bayport and Sayville. The association provides lectures and resources- educational, historical, environmental and social programs and services for the community and interested public. In June 2018, Blue Point joined the Association to include both communities.

Friday, March 1, 2024

~ March 2024 Newsletter ~

 March Monthly Membership meeting

Join us for our monthly membership meeting at the Bayport-Blue Point Library. 

All are invited to attend.

Historian Robert von Bernewitz will give a talk about the various historic cemeteries, types of burial sites, and noteworthy people who are buried on Long Island. Come find out where Mae West, Jackie Robinson, Jackson Pollock, William Sydney Mount and President Teddy Roosevelt are laid to rest. You will learn that the oldest burial ground in New York State is on Long Island. It has the largest Cemetery in the country as well. There may even be a joke or two. 

You will learn a lot of interesting facts about Long Island during this presentation.

 
Date: Sunday, March 24, 2024
Time: 2:00
Place: BBP Library
Presenter: Robert von Bernewitz
NO registration required!


St. Patrick's Day Parade 
 Join your friends, neighbors and the BBPHA for Bayport Blue Point's 32nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade!

On March 10th, beginning at 11:00, starting from Snedecor Avenue and continuing down Montauk Hwy, our communities will be honoring the Grand Marshal for this year's parade... Ronald F. Devine Jr.

Ronnie serves our communities in many capacities and always with a smile. His passion and dedication makes him the perfect Grand Marshal to represent our communities for this honor. He currently serves as president of the Board of Trustees of the BBP Library and was a board member for over 10 years. He also serves as a board member on the Chamber of Commerce. Ronnie has served Bayport and Blue Point in various other roles including a Budget Advisory Committee for the school district, committee member for raising funds for Our Lady of Snow, and current board member for over 25 years of the Town of Islip housing authority and many more.

Wear your green and come join in the merriment of our community's annual parade to celebrate the Irish and of course our Grand Marshal, Ronnie Devine! 


Save the Date!
Save the dates, read our newsletters, or follow on our social media pages for information on these upcoming events brought to you by the BBPHA!

March 10, 2024: St. Patrick's Day Parade
March 24, 2024: General Membership Meeting
March 2024: Sandra Iden (Heritage board member) has a display of stoneware in the East display case at the BBP Library.
June 13 & July 18: FREE concerts at Bayport Memorial Parks. June concert to feature Jack's Waterfall. More info on musicians to follow.
Historic Walking Tour: Look for the date to be announced soon
August 20, 2024: Historic Boat Tour: tickets on sale August 1, 2024
November 30 & December 1: Christmas at Meadow Croft 

Thank you Troop 130!
Thank you Boy Scout Troop 130! After months of planning and set-up for our signature event, Christmas at Meadow Croft, we needed to organize and plan to take it all down. Dozens of trees, ornaments, garland and other Christmas items needed to be boxed and stored and hauled three fights up to the attic space. That's where the marvelous Troop 130 comes in. Recently, the troop came and helped move all of these items for us. And we are very grateful! Thank you Troop 130 for your time, efforts and MUSCLES! 

Theodore Roosevelt Autographed Book  Donated to BBPHA Collection
The BBPHA would like to thank Mike Dawidziak for his very generous donation of the complete twenty volume set of the Author’s Digest, containing stories by some of the best writers of the turn of the twentieth century. This set, the 1908 Autograph Edition, includes “A Shot at a Bull Elk” by Theodore Roosevelt in volume one. The former president autographed the book at the end of his article. This set is number three of only thirty two-copies, and includes photogravures, watercolor headpieces, and hand illuminated letters.

The autographed volume will be displayed in John Ellis Roosevelt’s dressing room at Meadow Croft. 
Here is a brief description of the the Author’s Club and their publication of their first volume in 1893:

The Authors Club, an association for literary-minded gentlemen, was formed in New York City in 1882. In an effort to raise funds for a permanent clubhouse, its members published Liber Scriptorum, a collection of original work, in 1893. Contributors included Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, William Dean Howells, Andrew Carnegie, and printer Theodore Low De Vinne, who ensured the production of a beautiful book, featuring hand-made paper, wood-block engravings, and fine typography bound in blind- and gilt-tooled brown morocco. Incredibly, each of the 109 writers who submitted a story signed his respective work in each volume, e.g. Twain placed his signature just below his "A Californian's Tale," and Roosevelt under his "A Shot at Bull Elk." The edition ran to 251 copies, each selling for $100. In the meantime, Carnegie had donated a suite of rooms at 57th St. & Seventh Ave. to the club, and the Liber profits were used to decorate the rooms. -Fine Books Magazine Thank you, Mike!

Suffolk Traction 1911-1919
These articles first were printed in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette. They were written by Gene Horton and reprinted here with permission.

March 2004

Streetcar service from Patchogue to Blue Point began on July 1, 1911. The name of the streetcar company was the Suffolk Traction Co. It wasn't really a trolley; although it ran on steel tracks, there were no overhead wires. Rather, the streetcar was powered by storage batteries. The fare was five cents one way. Eventually, there would be four streetcars in service.

By 1913, Suffolk Traction streetcar service extended its rails through Bayport to Sayville. From Patchogue's "Four Corners," the tracks ran west along Montauk HIghway turning south onto Blue Point Ave. Then along Maple St. which becomes Railroad Ave. in Bayport....turning down Oakwood Street in Bayport to Middle Road, and thence into Sayville, a 5.5 mile route. 

In its heyday, Suffolk Traction carried about 1000 passengers a day. The batteries could go about 50 hours before being recharged. There was generally a motorman and a conductor on board.

Under the Blue Point LIRR trestle was often the scene of problems for Suffolk Traction: the hill was steep; if the streetcar was crowded, occasionally the male passengers would have to get out & even push the streetcar up the hill. After a heavy rain, Blue Point Ave. would flood under the trestle and prevent the streetcars from passing. Also, teenage rowdies thought it neat to sit in the back of the streetcar and rock the car off its track. On at least one occasion, the streetcar plunged into West Lake in Patchogue after leaving the track.

Unpaved roads, stones, wet leaves, ice, heavy rain and acorns.....all posed hazards to the smooth operation of Suffolk Traction. Each one of Suffolk Traction's four streetcars could hold about 30 people. They had four steel wheels and leather seats and generally traveled along at speeds of 10 to 20 miles per hour. Unfortunately for Suffolk Traction, this was becoming the age of the automobile. Henry Ford's Model T was selling like hotcakes.

Even a bus line opened up along Montauk Highway in this area. Suffolk Traction revenues plunged. By 1919, Patchogue Electric Co. (PELCO) cut off power to Suffolk Traction. Suffolk Traction was history.

www.bayportbluepointheritge.org 

Join us at our monthly membership meetings!  

Thursday, February 1, 2024

February 2024 Newsletter

 General Membership Meeting

Award-winning photographer and author John Lazzaro will present a slideshow on the history of Kings Park Psychiatric Center. Combining rare, archival images as well as his own photography, Lazzaro will discuss his work and the approach to his creative process behind his 2019 book, The Walls Still Talk: A Photographic Journey Through Kings Park Psychiatric Center.

The author made dozens of trips to Nissequogue River State Park to photograph the remaining buildings of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center which has been sitting idle and abandoned since 1996. Vast, melancholy, and aesthetically overwhelming, Kings Park Psychiatric Center was once the pride of the local community of Kings Park, NY and treated 10,000 patients at its peak operation in the 1950's. This project stemmed from the author's interest in and his emotional obligation to document this historic relic of Long Island. In turn, these images show the result of decades of neglect and decay after deinstitutionalization.

Date: February 18, 2024
Time: 2:00
Place: BBP Library
No fee or registration required. Open to all!

Save the dates for our next two monthly meetings held at the BBP Library. The next meeting will be on March 24th and in April the meeting will be held on the 14th. 

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Join your friends, neighbors and the BBPHA for Bayport Blue Point's 32nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade!

On March 10th, beginning at 11:00, starting from Snedecor Avenue and continuing down Montauk Hwy, our communities will be honoring the Grand Marshal for this year's parade... Ronald F. Devine Jr.

Ronnie serves our communities in many capacities and always with a smile. HIs passion and dedication makes him the perfect Grand Marshal to represent our communities for this honor. He currently serves as president of the Board of Trustees of the BBP Library and was a board member for over 10 years. He also serves as a board member on the Chamber of Commerce. Ronnie has served Bayport and Blue Point in various other roles including a Budget Advisory Committee for the school district, committee member for raising funds for Our Lady of Snow, and current board member for over 25 years of the Town of Islip housing authority and many more.

Wear your green and come join in the merriment of our community's annual parade to celebrate the Irish and of course our Grand Marshal, Ronnie Devine.


In memoriam: Sylvia Harenberg

zoom_out_map We recently lost a long time member of the BBPHA; Sylvia Harenberg. Sylvia was a kind and generous woman who believed in supporting the community that she raised her family in. For 38 years she worked at the BBP Library. She always had a kind word to share and a smile on her face. The Harenberg family was very involved in the Heritage Association. Sylvia's husband, Assemblyman Paul Harenberg helped secure funding back in the 1980s to help save and restore Meadow Croft, the summer home of John Ellis Roosevelt. Sylvia's daughter Jenny, developed and maintains our webpage and son Dave, a former board member of the BBPHA, organizes our free summer concerts. Sylvia requested that donations in her name be made to our organization. We would like to thank and acknowledge those generous individuals who made a donation in Sylvia's memory. The current BBPHA board is dedicated to using the funds to reflect the essence of Sylvia Harenberg as ideas have been shared and discussed. Sylvia will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

Help Wanted:

House Tour: It is never too early to start planning our Annual House Tour. If you have a historic house in the Bayport or Blue Point community or a home that has architectural significance or charm, please contact us! We would love to showcase your home in our tour this October, to share the history of our communities. We also need help with planning and promotion. If you have some time to give back to your community, in any way, shape or form, WE NEED YOU!

Docents: From June through October tours of the historic Meadow Croft estate are given every weekend by our small group of dedicated docents. We are always looking for new names and faces to lead our tours. If you are interested, contact us below. Training provided.

Positions available: The BBPHA is looking to fill positions on our board. If you are interested, please contact us. You can reach us at bbphistorical@gmail.com

Lawn Art in Blue Point: The Manta Ray on Blue Point Avenue

 
These articles first appeared in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette and were written by Gene Horton. They are reprinted here with permission.

February 2009

Located on the southwest corner of Atlantic Ave. and Weeks Street in Blue Point (at house number 84 Atlantic Ave.) stands a remarkable large lawn sculpture featuring two manta rays (or sting rays). A manta ray is a member of the ray family of fish. Rays have long flexible tails and are armed with a strong bony spine.
Dan and Joan Yerk have lived at 84 Atlantic Ave. for a number of years and Dan is a professional welder. He taught welding for over twenty years at Nassau BOCES and is currently employed by the General Welding Supply Corp. in Westbury.
The lawn sculpture on the front lawn was created by Dan Yerk about 13 years ago. It's an on-going work of art which has consumed thousands of work hours. The sculpture itself stands about 10 to 12 feet in height and about 6 to 8 feet across. The two mantra rays are made of aluminum and they have a greyish appearance. The sea grass in the sculptured piece is made of steel and the coral pieces at the base are also steel with a brass overlay. The entire statuary work is offset from the lawn area by an oval of beach sand which, of course, represents the ocean floor. Viewed from any angle, the sculptured piece has a "three-dimensional" appearance. Blue Point, which has a long history associated with the sea, is a fitting location for such a nautical themed piece of art.

BBPHA
www.bayportbluepointheritge.org
Join us at our monthly membership meetings!

Monday, January 1, 2024

~ January 2024 Newsletter ~ Happy New Year!

 Thank you!!! 🎅

Christmas at Meadow Croft is a labor of love and takes months of planning and organization. Special thanks go to our chairperson Leanne Berg who once again created a wonderful festive experience for our friends and neighbors. Thank you!

A note from Leanne: Once again, Christmas at Meadow Croft was a great success! Even the rain could not dampen the holiday spirit at this event. None of this could happen without so many people volunteering their time and efforts.

First I need to thank my fellow board members; 
Mary Bailey, Laura Amato, Beth LaMarca, Craig Clare, Frank Giebfried, Jen Economos, Denise Coscia, Sandra Iden and Rebecca Church. 
 Thank you for all you do, mostly for this event. It is my honor and privilege to work with such an incredible team!

Secondly, thank you to all of the volunteers who put in their time, whether it's as a docent, decorator, musician, or even clean up, you'll never know how much your efforts are appreciated!

Lastly, thank you to all of our guests at this event. We truly hope that you enjoyed it and it brought you some holiday spirit!
Here's to a happy and healthy 2024!!

Thank you to the Suffolk County Parks Department for leveling the driveway and clearing the leaves from the property for this event. Your support is much appreciated!

Many volunteers give selflessly of their time and talents to clean & decorate Meadow Croft for this event. Many thanks go to Rose Colan, Anna Dugan, Adriane Balsam, Angela Stelling, Bayport Homemakers, Sayville Garden Club, Karl Auwaerter of Bayport Flower Houses, and Erich Haesche. Also to our favorite wood carver, Joe Novak.

Angela Stelling was our fundraising coordinator and she did a fabulous job this year! Thank you to those generous businesses who donated items for our raffles. Thank you to The Fish Store in Bayport for a $50.00 gift card. Thank you to Stella Trattoria & Bar who donated three, $50.00 gift cards. Thank you Paris Street Market for donating candy and a $25.00 gift card. Out of the Blue in Sayville donated three $10.00 gift cards. Some lucky children won a "kids basket" that was donated by Beth LaMarca. The Pizzeria generously donated a $50.00 gift certificate. Thank you to Jen Economos who donated an Art Basket for our raffle. Annette O'Brien from Coldwell Banker Real Estatedonated garland, and of course the generous Auwaerter Family from Bayport Flower Houses.

With so many visitors and only one driveway for both entrance and exit, we needed a dedicated parking crew to help everyone get in and out safely. Thanks to Troop 130 of Bayport who weathered the weekend outside as directed by Craig Clare: Thank you Matthew Bollerman, Tyler Doris, Lisa Doris, Kyran Duggan, Kevin Duggan, Landon Hedstrom, Luke Hedstrom, Lars Hedstrom, Michael Maiorano, Sal Makely, Tyler Reese, Theresa Robertson, Zachary Teufel, Tom Teufel, Bill Vogel, Billy Vogel, and Jeanine Vogel. In addition to Troop volunteers we were also helped by Charlie Iden.  
 
Thank you all for your help and support getting our guests in and out of the property safely.

Volunteers are needed to act as docents or man each of the many rooms in the Roosevelt estate for this event. Special thanks go to: Jerry McCluskey, Mary Lou Cohalan, Beth LaMarca, Mary Bailey, Denise Corsica, Jen Economos, Anna Dugan, Laura Amato, Sandra Iden, Erich Haesche, Joe Novak, Linda Loker, Tom Condra, Lynn Clark, Roy Fedelem, Jedy Piletti, Kathy Heinlein and her mom, Doug Shaw and Aileen McCluskey.

A a BIG thanks to Steve Birkeland who takes all the photographs in the carriage house with St. Nicholas. Speaking of St. Nicholas, thank you to Tom Maher Jr. for dressing up and posing for all of those pictures. Also to Katie Maher, Alyssa Maher & John Maher and Gina Geraci for acting as Santa's helpers. And a BIG shout out to M & T Bankfor donating the hot cocoa and cookies to our guests in the carriage house. The trains were marvelous and we need to thank The Long Island Garden Train Society for setting them up and having them running for this event. Thank you to Fawn Silver from "Graze and Go" for putting together the beautiful charcuterie boards for our two nights of Aglow. 
The Roosevelt estate really had the Christmas spirit floating through the air and that is in part due to the many musicians who donate their time and talents to play holiday music on the Roosevelt piano during the weekend. Many thanks goes to: John Hodge, Bill Bailey, Mary Latini and her students, Maurice Kemp, Lisa Patrinicki, Paul Wright, and Stephanie and her students. It was amazing!


Thank you to those who donated so many items to our raffle baskets and the many "elves" who helped in wrapping and organizing all of the items. 
MUCH APPRECIATED!
 
 
 Monthly Membership Meeting
 
Award-winning photographer and author John Lazzaro will present a slideshow on the history of Kings Park Psychiatric Center. Combining rare, archival images as well as his own photography, Lazzaro will discuss his work and the approach to his creative process behind his 2019 book, The Walls Still Talk: A Photographic Journey Through Kings Park Psychiatric Center. 

The author made dozens of trips to Nissequogue River State Park to photograph the remaining buildings of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center which has been sitting idle and abandoned since 1996. Vast, melancholy, and aesthetically overwhelming, Kings Park Psychiatric Center was once the pride of the local community of Kings Park, NY and treated 10,000 patients at its peak operation in the 1950's. This project stemmed from the author's interest in and his emotional obligation to document this historic relic of Long Island. In turn, these images show the result of decades of neglect and decay after de-institutionalization.

Date: February 18, 2024
Time: 2:00
Place: Bayport - Blue Point Library

No fee or registration required. Open to all!
 
 
Nominations for BBPHA

The nominating committee is looking for members for the 2024 year. Any current paid BBPHA member may serve on the board. It requires only one meeting per month. If you are interested in serving or volunteering in some capacity, please contact us at bbphistorical@gmail.com

We are also looking for members to serve on various committees throughout the year. You can work from home! If you have a particular skill or interest (house tour, special events, light clerical and organization) please contact us at BBPhistorical@gmail.com.
 
  
Tony's Barber Shop: 50 Years in Blue Point
 
These articles first appeared in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette and were written by Gene Horton. They are reprinted here with permission.

Holiday 2011

Tony's Barber Shop, located at 259 Blue Point Ave., is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Tony Arpino opened the shop on November 13, 1961. It's one of the oldest, same-owner, continuously-running businesses in Blue Point in the same location. In 1961, the price of a haircut at Tony's was $1.25. Tony has probably logged in over one million haircuts over the past 50 years.

And Tony remembers many of his former customers and has so many fond memories of each of them: John Foley the politician; Joe McCarthy the writer; George Speed the greenhouse owner; Joe Yablonski the butcher; the Nickelsens; Bob Brown the grocer; Joe Tmay owner of the local liquor store; Clare Rose the Budweiser distributor; the Bannerman family; Tom Oakers currently director of Brookhaven Hospital; and Gene Packey just to name a few. Tony got to know just about all the priests from Our Lady of Snow Church in Blue Point; he especially remembers Fr. Nuss and Tony counts Fr. John Kafalas of St. John's Greek Orthodox Church in Blue Point among his friends. 

"Customers become friends," Tony recently commented. "They become like family." People come from all over Suffolk County to get their haircut at Tony's Barber Shop. Tony's customers include doctors, lawyers, politicians, some of whom started going to Tony's when they were boys. Even when old-time customers get ill, house-bound or in a nursing home, Tony will go out of his way to visit them and cut their hair. He's gotten so many nice letters of thanks over the years for all he's done for so many people.

Tony has been married to Anne for fifty-two years. They have two grown sons and five grandchildren. "It's been a good experience," Tony commented. "I learn a lot from my customers. I'm blessed." Luckily for us, Tony has no plans to retire. He enjoys his work and his customers. Tony is also a veteran of the US military. He eventually returned stateside, met and fell in love with Anne and the rest is history.
 Congratulations Tony and many more years!





Friday, December 1, 2023

December 2023 Newsletter

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays!

The Meadow Croft elves have been very busy these last few weeks planning, decorating, volunteering, organizing and making Meadow Croft BEAUTIFUL to celebrate Christmas at Meadow Croft 2023. We are so grateful to be able to open this home, once again, for the holiday season.

On Saturday December 2nd and Sunday December 3rd from 12:00-4:00, Meadow Croft will be open to the public. Come see each room of the John Ellis Roosevelt estate alive with festive holiday decorations! There will be music played on the original Roosevelt piano and pictures with Old Saint Nick in the Carriage House. Cookies and hot chocolate will be served! Many raffle baskets will be on display and holiday decorations and the baskets will be raffled off at the end of the weekend. A special sale of historical gifts will be on sale as well. We have great items including; local history books by author Gene Horton, ornaments, note cards, tote bags, and Meadow Croft prints. All of these items would make  great holiday gifts! The admission fee is $10.00 per person.

Both nights of the Christmas Aglow have been sold out. We thank our chairperson Leanne Berg for her efforts in coordinating this event. We thank our many volunteers who have put in countless hours preparing for this weekend. We look forward to seeing YOU at Meadow Croft this weekend to celebrate the season.
 

Nominations for BBPHA

The nominating committee is looking for members for the 2024 year. Any current paid BBPHA member may serve on the board. It requires only one meeting per month. If you are interested in serving or volunteering in some capacity, please contact us at bbphistorical@gmail.com

We are also looking for members to serve on various committees throughout the year. You can work from home! If you have a particular skill or interest (house tour, special events, light clerical and organization) please contact us at BBPhistorical@gmail.com.

Sayville HS; Community Connect Day

On Tuesday, November 21st 2023, students from Sayville High School, along with faculty & staff members, learned the importance of volunteer work and giving back. They held a Community Connect Day. A large group came to Meadow Croft to do some raking and to clear out some invasive species in the historic rhodendrons on the property. This opportunity allowed the students, staff & faculty to be involved in some facet of community service. And we THANK them for all of their hard work and efforts to help beautify the Meadow Croft Estate. Thank you!!

                                                        Save the Date!

Our first general membership meeting of the 2024 year will be on February 18, 2024. These meetings are open to all and start at 2:00. They are held in the BBP Library.


The Walls Still Talk: A Photographic Journey Through Kings Park Psychiatric Center

A Conversation with Author/Photographer John Lazzaro

SAVE THE DATE: February 18, 2024


Award-winning photographer and author John Lazzaro will present a slideshow on the history of

Kings Park Psychiatric Center. Combining rare, archival images as well as his own photography,

Lazzaro will discuss his work and the approach to his creative process behind his 2019

book, The Walls Still Talk: A Photographic Journey Through Kings Park Psychiatric Center.


The author made dozens of trips to Nissequogue River State Park to photograph the remaining

buildings of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center which has been sitting idle and abandoned since

1996. Vast, melancholy, and aesthetically overwhelming, Kings Park Psychiatric Center was

once the pride of the local community of Kings Park, NY and treated 10,000 patients at its peak

operation in the 1950s. This project stemmed from the author's interest in and emotional

obligation to document this historical relic of Long Island. In turn, these images show the result

of decades of neglect and decay after deinstutionalization.

Blue Point Fire Department Basketball Team

These articles first appeared in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette and were written by Gene Horton. They are reprinted here with permission.

December 2011

This undated old photo dates back to around the late 1940s. It shows some of the members of the Blue Point Fire Department basketball team and the businesses that sponsored them. Sad to say, just about all of players and all of the businesses are gone today.

In this photo, to row (L-R) : Dick Barthelme, Charlie Stroh, George Staudt, Bill Fechter and Ed Schaefer; front row (L-R): Mahlon Fechter, Ev Fuchs, Carleton McCarthy and Bill Rooney. The businesses that sponsored the team are indicated on the back of the players' team jackets.

The Blue Point Fire Department team would practice in the Blue Point Fire House but play their home games in the gym at Blue Point School. After serving their Country in World War II, a lot of young men returned home to their communities and became active in organizations such as the local fire department. They eventually formed sports teams and played competitively with other communities and organizations.

The Blue Point Fire Department Basketball team was the Suffolk County League Champion, 1946-47. The trophy they won is proudly preserved in one of the showcases at the Blue Point Fire Department.

 
BBPHA
www.bayportbluepointheritge.org
    
Happy Holidays! Hope to see you at Christmas at Meadow Croft!
our email is: bbphistorical@gmail.com
 
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/BBPHeritage