Happy New Year 2020! 
 
All of us at the Bayport Blue Point Heritage Association hope you had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed special memories with family and friends. 
We had a busy productive year and accomplished a great deal to support our mission of preserving the rich history of our wonderful hamlets. 
Of course we could not do any of this without the support of our community; both families, friends and local businesses. 
We thank you ALL for a wonderful year and look forward to 2020! 
 
 
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General Membership meeting:

Happy New Year! As we begin this new decade, please keep in mind our first General Membership meeting that will be held on Sunday February 9th, 2020 at 2:00 in the Bayport Blue Point Library. Please save the following dates for our meetings in the new year: 3/8, 4/19, and 5/17. Hope to see you there! Please mark your calendars!



The Lithography of Stow Wengenroth


Stow Wengenroth was once called "America's greatest living artist working in black and white,” and he is generally considered one of the finest American lithographers of the twentieth century. Although born in Brooklyn, Wengenroth spent his youth in Bayport. Please join us at the next general membership meeting as we explore his remarkable work, including scenes of Bayport. The presentation will include samples of his work, a slide show of photos, and authentic documents written by the artist which reside in the BBPHA archives.
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Christmas at Meadow Croft: All Creatures Great and Small

Thank you! by Leanne Berg, Vice President of the BBPHA

A sincere Thank You from the bottom of my heart! This year was a real success! The Saturday night event and having the carriage house open for St Nick's workshop with the train show added to the enormous success of the weekend!

I would like to thank The Sayville Garden Club, The Bayport Homemakers, Neighbors and Gardeners of Bayport Blue Point, Clia Finn Designs and the Bayport Flower Houses for their hard work in decorating some of the rooms. They looked so beautiful and festive and everyone certainly enjoyed them!

This event takes so much work to put together and I cannot thank everyone enough for all their help and dedication. A special thanks to Joe and Ginny Novak, Anna Dugan, Thomas Maher Jr, Steve Birkland, Kevin Yates, Jerry McClusky and family, Erich Haesche, Lenore Prezioso and The People's United Bank. Thank you to those who donated items to raffle including; Phountain in Sayville and Audrey's Bakery for the Gingerbread houses. To our parking crew; John Amato, Charlie Colan, Bill Bailey, Dave Harenberg, Charlie Iden, & Dennis Fagan. To all the wonderful musicians and pianists who gave their time and talents: Airlea Deutscher, Marge Bolton, JK Hodge, Bill Bailey, Maurice Kemp, Lisa Pratnicki and Brianna, Mary Latini and all our wonderful docents!

Most of all, thank you to the Heritage Board. Your help and support made this weekend not only the huge success it was but so much fun to work on. We make an amazing team! Thank you Mary, John, Laura, Jen, Frank, Dennis, Sandra, Beth and Tom! Now the planning begins on Christmas at Meadow Croft 2020: Dashing Through the Snow!

Famous Bayportian: Walter Homan

A new feature in the monthly newsletter. These short articles were first printed in the monthly Bayport Blue Point Gazette. They were written by Gene Horton and reprinted with permission.
 Walter Homan of Bayport was born in 1819 and died in 1902 at the age of 83. He had been a resident of Bayport for almost 70 years and held almost every post in the Town of Islip including collector of taxes, town assessor, and commissioner of highways. In the 1870's, Walter Homan was superintendent of the Long Island Rail Road and had the first LIRR depots built in both Bayport and Patchogue even before the tracks were fully laid that far east. From 1892 to 1894, Walter Homan served as postmaster of Bayport. As was custom in those days, his home served as the community post office. Mr. Homan was also an expert on in the history of Long Island and he took a considerable interest in politics. He was a contractor, enjoyed the highest reputation for workmanship and supervised the construction of many buildings used by the LIRR.

His imposing home in Bayport is long gone today. It stood on the North side of Middle Road directly across the street from today's Bayport Memorial Park where the gazebo and war plaques monuments are located. The old photo of the house below was taken from Bayport Heritage's "Fading Views."

Mr. Homan's boyhood home was in Patchogue where his father was the village blacksmith. It was during the cutting of a piece of steel on an anvil, that a large fragment struck Walter in one of his eyes and he lost his sight in that eye.

Walter Homan was a lifelong Republican. He was affiliated with St. Ann's Church in Sayville. He married Miss Katherine Brown and they had several children, three of which survived him; Charles, Isaac, and Kate Homan. Walter Homan is buried in St. Ann's Cemetery in Sayville.
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Nominations for the BBPHA

The nominating committee is developing a slate of members for the 2020 board. There are several seats open; including directors. Any current paid BBPHA member may serve on the board. It requires only one meeting per month. If you would be willing to serve for the 2020 year, please contact John Amato at johnfamato@optonline.net.


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.

Bottles and Stoneware: Show and Sale

On Sunday, January 26th from 10:00-3:00 at the Juliette Low Friendship Center in Bayport, the Long Island Antique Bottle Association will host show and sale. Please note that the JLF, located on Lakeview Ave in Bayport is not on the Camp Edey Property but approximately a 1/2 mile north of Montauk Hwy, on the west side of Lakeview Ave. Sale tables available as well as limited space for displays. For more information call 631-589-9027 or email libottle@optonline.net. Free appraisals!
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Meadow Croft Estate, Middle Road, Sayville, NY, USA bbphistorical@gmail.com 631-472-4625 BayportBluePointHeritage.org