Presenter: Brian Maher

On Sunday November 20th, 2022 from 2:00-4:00 at the Bayport - Blue Point Library. Pulitzer Prize winning author Edmund Morris found an essay of a 14-year-old Oyster Bay school boy. He decided to use part of it in the final words of his 2500-page account of the life of our 26th President. The young boy was presenter Brian Maher's father.

Come join us and learn how Brian randomly learned of the letter and discovered a new side of his late father. No registration required, all are welcome. Light refreshments will be served and a raffle drawing too.

Thank you!

Welcome November! 
It's the season of Thanks and we want to Thank you! 
Thank you to the hundreds of new friends and neighbors who came out from June through October to tour Meadow Croft, the summer home of John Ellis Roosevelt. The BBPHA has worked tirelessly to provide new exhibits, updates and improvements, and opportunities to bring in more people and expose the wonderful history of life on the South Shore of Long Island in early 1900's. It's our wonderful friends and guests who help move our mission forward of preserving the history and future of Bayport and Blue Point. Thank you!
Christmas by the Bay Christmas by the Bay

It's almost time for our Annual Christmas at Meadow Croft! This year's event will be held on December 3rd & 4th, 2022. There will be special exhibits, electric trains, dolls, wood carvings, and of course St. Nicholas will be there. The Roosevelt piano will be filling the air with holiday music and the festive decorations and baskets will be raffled off. The theme this year will be;

Christmas by the Bay!

Christmas Aglow: Special preview night on Saturday, December 3rd from 7:00-9:00 PM. A special guided tour of the full estate in all it's Christmas glory as well as refreshments served. This preview is for adults only and is $25.00 per person. Tickets are limited to 50 people and can be purchased soon on our website here .

Save the dates! December 3rd & 4th from 12:00-4:00.

Help wanted: If you can lend a hand with parking for this event (directing traffic), on either day, please contact John Amato by email. johnfamato@optonline.net

Christmas preparations are underway! But we need your help! We are looking for pianists who would be interested in volunteering an hour of their time to fill Meadow Croft with Christmas music played on the Roosevelt Grand Piano. Could this be you??

We are also looking for someone to provide an electric train set up in our Carriage House. If you have any interest and trains to show off, we would welcome your input and generosity!

We are also looking for community groups, businesses or decorators who would like to participate in decorating a room for this event! Please call event chairperson Leanne Berg at 631-235-1702 if interested. Thank you!


31st Annual House Tour

31st Annual House Tour

On Sunday October 23, 2022, the BBPHA held its 31st Annual House Tour. The light rain didn't dampen our spirits as hundreds of guests toured 6 beautiful homes and the Meadow Croft Estate in Bayport & Blue Point. Of course, these events are made possible by many volunteers, generous people and organizations in our communities and we would like to Thank them for helping to make the day a success!

First are the two ladies who for months & months tirelessly scanned the neighborhoods for generous homeowners to open their homes for this event. Thank you Mary Soper and Barbara Wright! A wonderful job! Thank you to Bill Bailey and his attention to detail as he penned the authentic and historical details of our house ticket booklet. Thank you to the Sayville Garden Club who provided all of the festive pumpkin centerpieces for the homeowners. John Amato provided the house markers and balloons for people to help locate the homes, thanks. The Bayport-Blue Point Library and Bayport Flower Houses were our business partners who sold the tickets at their location for this event and we thank them for their support! Thank you to Jerry McCloskey for arranging docents for the day at the Meadow Croft Estate. Thank you to Anna Duggan & Dennis Fagan for organizing these car enthusiasts who graciously lent us their antique cars for display in the homeowner's driveways: Tom Corvin, Dennis Fagan, Oakley Wood, Tom D'Antizio & Howie Rowland. A special Thank You goes to the many, many volunteers who took shifts in acting as docents for the day in the homes on the tour. We couldn't have done it without you! Thank you!

And last but most importantly, the extremely generous homeowners themselves who opened their beautiful, unique and historic homes for the tour. We thank you most of all for supporting the Heritage Association and this fundraiser. These wonderful people are:

Michael & Randee Chlystun

Joe & Ginny Novak

Chip & Rachelle Morrow

Joseph & Nancy Albanese

Don & Dani Wrobel

Michael & Laura Orofino

Thank you to all who purchased tickets and participated in the tour. Our planning for next year's tour begins now. If you have an interesting, architecturally or historically significant home in Bayport or Blue Point and would like to feature your home for next year's tour, please let us know.

Grape Arbor Update

A few months ago we shared that a terrible storm blew down the grape arbor located behind Meadow Croft. Jack Stafford, an Eagle Scout from Troop 130 of Bayport, was willing to take on the challenge of rebuilding the grape arbor. He made his application, held fundraisers, purchased materials and his work began to rebuild this structure. We would like to thank Jack for his outstanding work on behalf of all of us at the BBPHA.

Big picture

Gene Horton Memorial & Street Dedication

Please join us on November 5th at 3:00pm for the Gene Horton Memorial and street dedication sponsored by the Blue Point Fire Department.
Big picture 
 

Thank you Docents!

Every weekend from June through October, Meadow Croft is staffed with trained docents. These are volunteers from our local communities who give up a few hours of time, away from their families and other obligations, to provide tours to the many guests who visit the summer home of John Ellis Roosevelt. The BBPHA thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for all you do to make the experience a memorable one. THANK YOU!

Thank you Docents! Aagun Connell, Anna Duggan, Baylee Browning-Atkinson, Beth LaMarca, Jim Connell, David Ort, Denise Coscia, Mary Lou Cohalan, Erich Haesche, Frank Giebfried, Hannah Blaskiewicz, Jen Economos, Joe Novak, Lenore Ringer-Prezioso, Linda Loker, Gail Laskowski, Linda Villano, Lynn Clarke and the one and only, Jerry McCloskey!

BBP Chamber of Commerce Community Expo

BBP Chamber of Commerce Community Expo

On Wednesday October 19th, the BBPHA participated in the Community Expo held at the Bayport Flower Houses. There were over 50 tables that represented all the wonderful things our communities have to offer. It was an informative event and the Heritage team had a ball. Did you spin the wheel of history?? :)

Thank you to Mary Bailey, Frank Giebfried, Leanne Berg, & Jerry McCloskey for your participation. Special thanks to Joe Novak who made the trivia wheel. A fun time was had by all!

Big picture

Megill's Lake, Blue Point Avenue, Blue Point

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

November 2003

From around the 1890's through the 1960's Megill's Lake was a picturesque Blue Point showplace. Many postcards were made of it. Located on the east side of Blue Point Avenue, south of Middle Road, the lake is fed by a natural spring.

It was once a part of the summer estate of the family of Edward L. Megill. Their home, "Ferndell," although no longer in the Megill family, still stands at 55 Blue Point Avenue. An open summer gazebo can be seen in the old postcard view. A "bird hotel," built in 1894, can also be seen in this picture. Two small islands and one large island were created by Mr. Megill. These islands were connected by rustic wooden bridges.

This property is maintained by the Town of Brookhaven today. It is still a popular spot for ice skating in the winter.

Big picture 
 
 
BBPHA
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope to see you at Christmas at Meadow Croft!

Meadow Croft Estate, Middle Road, Sayville, NY, USA  
bbphistorical@gmail.com 
  631-472-4625  
BayportBluePointHeritage.org