February General Membership Meeting
Join Us for our February General Membership Meeting!
Unraveling Yarns About The First Ladies
The BBPHA will host its next general membership meeting on Sunday, February 19, 2023 from 2:00-4:00 at the BBP Library. Debra Scala Giokas, a local resident and recent presenter at the Herbert Hoover Library celebrates the needle work of 18 first ladies including Edith and Eleanor Roosevelt. Inspirational stories will give a glimpse into the minds and hearts of these historic women and an appreciation of craft, creativity, patience, perseverance, sacrifice and service.
All are welcome! Light refreshments are served.
Save the Date: The next meeting will be held on March 19th and the speaker will be Richard Panchyck. His topic will be; Abandoned Long Island.
Richard Panchyck presents stories of spectacular ruins frozen in time and still standing today. Historic structures include great estates, vacant military and industrial buildings, and obsolete railways and roads.
Augmented Reality Makes History Come Alive At Meadow Croft
The Bayport Blue Point Heritage Association has received a $125,000 grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to animate the history of Meadow Croft through cutting-edge digital technology.
Meadow Croft is the 1890’s summer home of John Ellis Roosevelt and his family. Located on the border of Sayville and Bayport, the estate is on the National Register of Historic places and was a well-known gathering place for the large Roosevelt clan.
During his first term as President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt eluded his secret service detail to travel alone on horseback from Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay to Sayville for a surprise visit to John Ellis, his first cousin and personal lawyer. When Teddy road down Main Street at dawn, a milkman stopped him and famously observed that he looked just like the President of the United States.
“That’s the kind of story we want to tell our visitors through augmented reality”, said Mary Bailey, president of the BBPHA, which manages Meadow Croft in partnership with Suffolk County. “The Gardiner grant will enable us to literally make history come alive.”
Once digital technology is installed, visitors to Meadow Croft can simply point their cell phones at a photograph or object that has been embedded with a story link. “Imagine seeing and hearing Theodore Roosevelt and Roosevelt family members in front of you. Thanks to the Gardiner Foundation we will be able to engage visitors in the many important stories from the past that are all round us, “Bailey said.
"Like so many of our Long Island historical societies the Bayport Blue Point Heritage Association has a wealth of stories to share on so many aspects of their role in American history. The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation's goal in creating Digital Tapestry, our augmented reality experience, is to link these stories with other historic sites to create an educational and entertaining history-based trial. The Meadow Croft Teddy Roosevelt offering will be linked to Camp Wikoff in Montauk, and the Theodore Roosevelt Songbird Sanctuary and the Theodore Roosevelt Train Station, both in Oyster Bay. This award is to help build new audiences and offer sustainability through history-based tourism," said Kathryn M. Curran, Executive Director of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.
This project is expected to be available in person and online by the end of 2023.
St Patrick's Day Parade
On March 12th, 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... Constance "Connie" Haab.
Connie was born and raised in Bayport and has been very connected to our communities serving for an incredible 50 years as the Secretary of the Bayport Fire District. Connie was also the Fire Commissioner for 10 years, the first and only woman to hold this position. Connie held many other community positions including her important work with The Bayport Memorial Park committee and the BBP Little League.
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, Connie Haab!
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.
Heirloom Garden: Who has a green thumb? Ok, not necessary but volunteering to help with Meadow Croft's Heirloom Garden will make your heart full and maybe turn your brown thumb green! All levels of experience needed. Join the fun!
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
