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Bayport, Blue Point, and Broadway
The twin hamlets of Bayport and Blue Point have been home to many well-known and famous actors, politicians, musicians, artists, and scientists throughout the years. But did you know that several Broadway performers also established their residences in our community? Join BBPHA’s Frank Giebfried to explore this fascinating history as we discuss the lives of actors Effie Shannon and her husband Herbert Kelcey, who spent summers on Snedecor Avenue. We’ll also explore the careers of producers and theater owners Louis C. Behman and Edward L. Bloom. Travel back in time to visit these and other entertainers and discover the lives they led in our town.
April 16th 2023
Bayport Blue Point Library
Time: 2:00
Light refreshments served!
Hope to see you there!
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Tour Guide: We are looking for guides to give tours of Meadow Croft. Make your own schedule, weekends only, two hour shifts, June through October, full training available! Meet new friends, learn local history! We need you. If you are interested or want to learn more, email Jen at jtbudgie@gmail.com Thank you!
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The Bayport-Blue Point Heritage Association is excited to share with you that we have officially established a partnership with Bayport-Blue Point Boy Scout Troop 130. This partnership will allow us to work together in promoting and preserving the rich history of our community while providing valuable learning opportunities for the scouts.
Troop 130 is the second oldest continuously chartered Boy Scout Troop in Suffolk County. A fixture in the Bayport Blue Point Area since 1935. Like the Heritage, having a long history in Bayport and Blue Point we felt this union would be a great fit.
In this partnership, Troop 130 will be sharing our charter, which outlines our mission to promote, preserve, and celebrate the history of our towns. By doing so, we hope to inspire a new generation of young historians and instill a sense of pride and respect for our local heritage.
We are excited to work with Troop 130 on a variety of projects including preservation of historical buildings and grounds, walking tours, and community service events. We believe that by working together, we can create a stronger, more vibrant community that celebrates and preserves our unique history.
We invite all members and friends of the Heritage to join us in welcoming Boy Scout Troop 130. We look forward to working together and creating meaningful experiences that will inspire and educate both our members and the scouts.
Where: Bayport Blue Point Library
When: Sunday, March 19th, 2023
Time: 2:00
No registration required
Light refreshments served
All are welcome!
NOTE: This meeting will be held in the large Children's Room of the library
Save the date: April 16, 2023 for our April General Membership meeting. The topic will be Bayport Blue Point & Broadway.
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!
Flo grew up in Bayport as a Shand. Her family was the proud owners of the Shand's Grocery Store, located on Middle Road in Bayport. She married her childhood sweetheart, Alden Olsson, and they were married for 64 years.
As founding members of the Heritage Association, they both were instrumental in getting the Bayport Heritage Association started. They also worked diligently to acquire the Meadow Croft Estate, summer home of John Ellis Roosevelt, and helped transform it into the gem we have today.
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Bayport Blue Point Heritage and generations of locals are grateful for Flo's passion and dedication to our community. Thank you Flo. Rest in peace.
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.
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.
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!
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
We thank all of you who came out to celebrate Christmas at Meadow Croft, held the first weekend of December. It was a very successful event, even though the weather on Saturday was raining. There are so many people to thank for their help and support. See below for the many individuals and groups who helped make this weekend a great success. Thank you!! We thank you all for a wonderful 2022 and we look forward to new adventures in 2023!
A note from Leanne: I
personally would like to thank everyone who stepped in, under the
direction of Mary Bailey, who pulled it all together in my illness and
absence. I'm honored to work with such amazing people! I apologize if I
forgot a name or two, so many people come together to make it all
happen. Thank you!
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, Lucy Olivia, Stacey Balsam, Jeanne Fischer, Linda Villano, Brenda Kershenhiem, Angela Stelling, Bayport Homemakers, Sayville Garden Club, Karl Auwaerter of Bayport Flower Houses, and Erich Haesche. Also to our favorite wood carver, Joe Novak.
Thank you to those generous businesses who donated items for our raffles. Doug Cibuls from Lake Liquor who donated an engraved champagne bottle with a gift card. Thank you to Mademoiselle's Patisserie who donated a $20.00 gift card. The lucky winner of that BIG BEER basket can thank Lenore Preziosi & her husband Mike. Thank you to attorney Annette Lanteri who donated a Will Preparation gift card worth $1500.00, 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 the men who weathered the weekend outside as directed by John Amato: Dennis Fagan, Charlie Colan, Charlie Iden, David Ort, Craig Clare, Stephan Jones, Dave Harenberg and the local Boy Scout Troop.
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, Baylee Browning-Atkinson, Denise Corsica, Jen Economos, Anna Dugan, Frank Giebfried, Laura Amato, Sandra Iden, Lynn Clarke, Erich Haesche, Joe Novak, Lenore Ringer Prezioso, Linda Loker, Sean McCluskey, Aileen McCluskey, Angel Johnson, & Kathy Young.
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 & John Maher for acting as Santa's helpers. And a BIG shout out to Lenore Ringer Prezioso from M & T Bank for not only helping serve but donating the hot cocoa and cookies to our guests in the carriage house. Thank you to Jennifer Economos for the many culinary delights she prepared for our special Saturday Night event. Delish!
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, Maurice Kemp, Sophia Bertsch and Serena & Grace Buono. 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!
Unraveling Yarns About The First Ladies
The BBPHA will host its next general membership meeting on 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.
John's replacement will be Craig Clare, a Bayport resident who was a financial advisor prior to his retirement. John and Craig have been working together to assure a smooth transition for this important position. We wish Craig a heartfelt WELCOME and wish him the best of luck in his new position. We also thank John for his many years of service and can be comforted by the fact: The bills are paid and we are solvent!
