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The Three Village Historical Society is proud to announce that Director Mari Irizarry and Education Coordinator Lindsey-Steward Goldberg are two of only 6 museum professionals from Long Island that will attend the 2023 Museum Association of New York [MANY] annual conference “Finding Center: Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement” in Syracuse, NY, April 15-19 with full scholarship support from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Scholarships include conference registration, travel, workshop or special event registration, and complimentary individual MANY memberships for one year. Awardees were selected through a competitive application process. Applications were reviewed by a panel that included members of MANY’s board of directors. “With the support of donors like RDL Gardiner Foundation, museum professionals like me and Lindsey are able to travel to Syracuse this April and participate in this wonderful conference alongside nearly 400 other professionals from New York State. We are grateful to participate in professional development opportunities like these that will in turn expand TVHS’ service to our region.” Says Mari Irizarry Director of Three Village Historical Society.

Three Village Historical Society Invites Public to Children’s Victorian Style Tea Party Setauket, NY – The Three Village Historical Society will bring a day of enchantment to children for the “Doll and Me Tea Party” on Saturday, April 8th at The Setauket Neighborhood House from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event will include tea snacks, arts and crafts, and even “ladies in waiting” dressed in era appropriate dresses! All children must have an accompanying, paying adult. Tickets are $35 per adult and $20 per child ages 3-12 and are available for purchase at www.tvhs.org.

Setauket, NY – The Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) membership elected five new members last week, Judi Wallace, Shamma Murphy, Brian Bennett, Christina Tortora and David Tracy and the full board was sworn in by Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn at the Annual Meeting of the Membership and Lecture on Monday, January 23rd at The Setauket Neighborhood House. “These new trustees bring a wealth of experience, leadership, and perspective that will greatly enhance the ability of our board to meet the significant challenges and opportunities facing the Three Village Historical Society,” says Mari Irizarry, Director. “We look forward to working with each of them to continue the board’s focused stewardship of TVHS’ financial and community affairs and to strengthen the Society’s reputation for excellence in education and community based programming.” New Trustees Judi Wallace, CPA, Treasurer, has owned a local accounting firm in the Three Village area for the past 19 years. Her practice includes accounting and bookkeeping services for small businesses, tax preparation and planning for individuals, corporations and non-profit organizations and she is admitted to practice before the Internal Revenue Service. Judi has been a resident of the Three Village area since 2003 and is involved in a variety of local organizations including Treasurer of Stony Brook Rotary, Treasurer of Small Business Networking Alliance, Trustee of Three Village Community Trust, Treasurer of Three Village Historical Society, and Treasurer of SparkleFaith Inc. She is also very involved in St James RC Church in Setauket serving on the Finance Committee, Parish Council, and various other ministries. Shamma Murphy, Corresponding Secretary has been a resident of Stony Brook for the past 10 years. She has two sons in the Three Village Central School District where she has volunteered regularly over the past seven years. Currently Shamma is the President of the Gelinas PTSA and the Treasurer of the Ward Melville High School PTSA, both in the second year of each two-year term. For the past four years she has been recruiting volunteers to help in the Gelinas School store, keeping the store stocked and manned, being the largest fundraiser for this PTSA. Prior, she ran the Scholastic Book Fairs at Setauket Elementary School for four years, implementing a process to fill each teacher’s classrooms with at least $250 worth of new books per fair, as well as a “buy one get one free” funded 100% by the Setauket PTA to keep students reading through the summer. For the past five years Shamma has been the President’s Volunteer Service Award’s Chairperson for Gelinas Jr. High School. She enjoys volunteering at the Three Village Historical Society very much, introduced to her by her son, Owen Murphy, regular volunteer. Shamma works with farmers, community gardeners and homeowners as the education and marketing director for SOS for your Soil, a local compost company, for the past ten years, prior to that, she was a civil engineer on Long Island and in Charlotte, NC for 12 years. Brian Bennett, Trustee is a life long resident of Long Island. He received his BA in Economics from SUNY Albany and 2 MA’s from SUNY Stony Brook, in Liberal Studies and History. Having grown up in Ronkonkoma, he had a History of Lake Ronkonkoma published in the old Long Island Forum. Brian taught, mostly in the Sayville school district for over 30 years. He and his wife Donna have lived in Setauket for 30 years, and their 2 sons attended Three Village schools. Since retirement, he has continued to teach as an adjunct professor at both Suffolk Community College and St. Joseph’s University. He is a coordinator of Our Daily Bread, a soup kitchen at St. James RC church and enjoys being outdoors, and doing crossword puzzles with his wife. Christina Tortora, Trustee is a Professor of Linguistics at The City University of New York, where she is currently Deputy Executive Officer in the Linguistics Program at The Graduate Center in Manhattan. She has over 25 years of experience in higher education and management of federally funded projects from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is the author and editor of several academic books, journal articles, and book chapters, and has a life-long passion for teaching advanced scientific findings to students in diverse professions and academic disciplines. She grew up in Setauket and currently lives in Stony Brook, is an alumna of the Three Village School District (Nassakeag; Murphy; Ward Melville), and an alumna of Stony Brook University, where she maintains strong professional and personal ties. She has an interest in vernacular culture and oral histories and wishes to bring her academic expertise in project management and oral history to the Three Village Historical Society. David Tracy, Trustee has been a resident of the Three Village area since 2012. He has served and continues to serve as a Law Enforcement Officer with the Department of Homeland Security since 2010. Prior to beginning his Law Enforcement career, David served in the United States Marine Corps for 4 years, completing two tours to Iraq. After serving in the military, David attended John Jay of Criminal Justice graduating with honors with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice. David has been married to his wife Becky since 2007 and has a son, Sean, who was born in 2008. In his spare time, David is the Founder and Chairman of a local charity called the Three Village Dads Foundation. His charity is responsible for donating over $200,000 to local causes such as the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, High School Scholarships, Veteran causes, Historical restoration projects and many other deserving recipients. David has also served as a Trustee on the Board of the Three Village Community Trust since 2020. ### ABOUT TVHS -- The Three Village Historical Society (TVHS), a non-profit 501(c)(3) founded in 1964 by community members, exists to educate the public about our rich cultural heritage as well as foster and preserve local history. TVHS offers museum exhibits, events, programs, archives, and other outreach initiatives to inform and enrich the public’s interest in and understanding of the vibrant past of the Three Village area along the north shore in Suffolk County, Long Island.

By Jessica Giannetti From the TVHS Archives, August 2016 The quiet woods of Stony Brook were once the location of the Dogwood Hollow Amphitheater. Located behind All Souls Episcopal Church and the current Market Square Shops, the Amphitheater opened in the summer of 1947, holding concerts, movies and was eventually the home of the Stony Brook Music Festival for fifteen seasons. During that time big performers such as Theodore Bikel, Carlos Montoya and Louis Armstrong could be seen for just a few dollars by anyone who traveled to the quaint location. Designed by architect Richard Haviland Smythe and supported by The Suffolk Improvement Company, the Amphitheater was built for the community to have a place to relax and be entertained. Dogwood Hollow was nestled in a natural ravine, which allowed for the picture perfect location of an outdoor venue. The stage was built against the steeper slope which gave a flawless view for the seats which were arranged along the gentler slope and could hold up to five hundred people. The additional slopes of the ravine were landscaped and could hold an extra five hundred people either sitting on the ground or standing. Lighting was installed for the stage, as well as, for the paths leading down into the amphitheater. The picturesque outdoor venue was the perfect place to catch a summertime show. Sadly, the lights dimmed in Dogwood Hollow for the last time in the summer of 1970. Come the following summer the amphitheater was forced to comply with a cease and desist order brought forth by a disgruntled neighbor. Upon receiving the order it was discovered that the theater did not have the proper zoning variances and in order to obtain them, significant updating would need to be done. After factoring in the length of the summer season and the money involved with updating, it was decided that Dogwood Hollow would not open for the 1971 season. In spite of the attempts to try and reopen the venue, the area has remained abandoned. The ruins of the once great venue can still be found in Stony Brook buried under the nature which has once again taken it over.

The Three Village Historical (TVHS) is pleased to announce that Mari Irizarry has been appointed by the Board of Trustees as its new Director. Her appointment comes at an opportune time in the Society’s history, as it will unveil powerful new augmented reality experiences this spring that complement the Spies! exhibit and, plans for the Dominick-Crawford Barn Education Center groundbreaking. Irizarry has worked with TVHS since 2016 and has emerged as a dedicated visionary after the forced restructuring, in January 2021, brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Mari brings over 20 years’ experience as a leader in non-profit and government sectors, in NYC and Long Island, focusing on leadership, programming, strategy, marketing, and communications. “The Board is ecstatic to have Mari lead the Three Village Historical Society as we begin our next endeavor of expanding programming in the Three Village area with the addition of the Dominick Crawford Barn Education Center,” said Jeff Schnee, President of the Board of Trustees. “We are thankful that Mari has devoted so much of her time and expertise to the growth of the Society. She has walked with me every step of the way since the Society had to shift operations with Covid-19. In the end, we were compelled by Mari’s unique combination of energy, thought leadership, and experience, as well as her rare ability to toggle effortlessly between vision and action. We could not be more excited about this appointment!” “I am very proud and honored to be part of this great organization that has been a staple of our Three Village area for nearly 60 years,” said Irizarry. “I look forward to building strategic partnerships and continuing to build on this incredible legacy which has already contributed so much to our community.”

The Three Village Historical Society has been awarded a $125,000 grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. The grant will be used to create and install Digital Tapestry, an augmented reality experience created by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Digital Tapestry will focus on core members of the Setauket based Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolution and will incorporate technology that can be experienced through an app utilized on smartphones. The exhibit is scheduled to open late Spring 2022 at The Three Village Historical Society History Center in Setauket, NY. Digital Tapestry is an innovative, interactive, virtual experience that will use archival imagery that will guide the user through the exhibit. While using the app inside the exhibit, guests will meet key members of the Culper Spy Ring, who lived and operated out of the Setauket area, including Abraham Woodhull, Benjamin Tallmadge and Anna Smith Strong, to name a few of the narrators. Established in 1987 and currently led by Executive Director Kathryn M. Curran, the primary focus of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation is the study of New York State history, with an emphasis on Suffolk County. Robert David Lion Gardiner, who passed away in August 2004, was the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner’s Island, NY. To learn more about the Gardiner Foundation, its origins and purpose, please visit www.rdlgfoundation.org. ### ABOUT TVHS -- The Three Village Historical Society (TVHS), a non-profit 501(c)(3) founded in 1964 by community members, exists to educate the public about our rich cultural heritage as well as foster and preserve local history. TVHS offers museum exhibits, events, programs, archives, and other outreach initiatives to inform and enrich the public’s interest in and understanding of the vibrant past of the Three Village area along the north shore in Suffolk County, Long Island.

We had a great turnout on Friday, October 1st, 2021, for our retired flag box unveiling, flag code demonstration and flag raising! Nearly 50 people came by at 5pm while Holly Brainard, former Regent of the Anna Smith Strong DAR and current TVHS trustee, led an interactive US Flag Code demonstration with members from BSA Troop(s) 355, 70 and 2019, BSA Pack 333 and the Ward Melville Student Government, along with members of the community. We wrapped up the event with an unveiling of the new retired flag box donated by BSA troop 2019, that will be maintained by BSA troop 355. The crowd moved to the 30 foot flag pole, outfitted with a brand new solar light in front of TVHS, to recite the Pledge of Allegiance while scouts raised the flag. Finally, we said goodnight with an American Flag Kit raffle! (Congrats, Natasha!) The US Flag retired flag drop box can be found outside of the Three Village Historical Society at 93 N. Country Rd. in Setauket and, is officially open to the public to leave their worn or tattered flags. BSA troop 355 will schedule a flag decommissioning ceremony once the box is full. Stay tuned!

We are so lucky to be included in the "Digitizing Local History Sources Project," which was funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Several delicate artifacts from the collection were expertly digitized by students at the Long Island University Palmer School of Library and Information Science. The collection includes 51,000 images from 40 historical organizations on Long Island. Follow the link below to explore the following from the Three Village Historical Society collection: Thomas S. Strong's Book of Accounts (1795-1850) Mary E. (Satterly) Rowland Journals (1855-57 and 1867) Dr. George Muirson Day Books (1749-53 and 1755-58) Log of the Bark, “Mary and Louisa” Capt. Benjamin Jones (27 Sept 1862-8 Oct 1863) Diary of Elizabeth Evan Jones The Dr. Joel Griffing Collection (1807-1820) The Denton Papers (1762-1802)

From the TVHS Archives: Emma S. Clark Memorial Library Celebrates Serving the Community for over 125 years By Karen Martin for The Historian, Summer 2017 “Our neighbor and friend, Mr. Thomas G. Hodgkins, has erected this building and dedicated it to the purposes of a library as a memorial of his lamented niece, the late Miss Emma S. Clark. In doing this it has been his purpose to perpetuate the memory of a good woman…by an institution… which shall be a means of pleasure and culture for all time to come…Reading, when it becomes a habit, is the greatest resource against idleness and ennui that the world offers to an intelligent being, as well as furnishing the only antidote of ignorance. It creates a thirst for knowledge, the lack of which is one of the most melancholy facts of daily life. It is the deficiency most marked in the rising generation…exact knowledge is obtained only by study and reflection, and to encourage these is the main purpose of books and libraries.” (John Elderkin at the opening of the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library on October 3, 1892) The dedication marked the anniversary of the birth of Hodgkin’s niece in 1836, Emma having passed away August 2, 1889. In 1891 Mr. Hodgkins purchased three acres of the former Ebenezer Bayles property for $2,400 for a library. He spent about $12,000 on the grounds, building, fixtures, books, and an endowment of $16,000. The Queen Anne style library was designed by architects Rossiter and Wright of New York. The stained glass window, representing the archangel Michael, was executed by Heinigke and Bowen of New York. Thomas Hodgkins early life is a story fit for a young boy’s adventure novel. Born in London in 1803 he was three when his mother died. Sent to France he received a gentleman’s education in the classics and arts. Returning home at fifteen, life with his stepmother was unbearable forcing him to leave against his father’s wishes. He joined the crew of a merchant ship bound for India which wrecked near the mouth of the Hooghly River. Penniless and ill in a Calcutta hospital, he was told he had only six months to live. Determined, he made up his mind that he would live, acquire a fortune, and donate it to large and philanthropic ends. He recovered and prepared a petition to the Governor General of India asking for aid to return to England. Ragged and barefoot he asked for an audience with the ruler of India. Persistence paid off. He was even offered a position in the governor’s household. Thomas refused the honor saying that if they filled his cap every morning with gold pieces, he would not stay in India. Thomas returned to England and eventually married. He came to New York with his wife about 1830 and started a small candy store on Greenwich Street which in time grew into a million dollar business. In 1875, now widowed, he bought Brambletye Farm comprising more than 100 acres in Old Field. When word came from England that his two nieces Annie and Emma Clark were orphaned Hodgkins brought them here to live. Emma never married, living her life out at Brambletye. Annie married, but after leaving her husband, returned to Brambletye with her daughter. Hodgkins was a large contributor to many charities. He was a strict believer in the importance of fresh air to one’s health and well-being. While riding the railroad he wore a tube over his mouth with the end outside the car window so that he could breathe fresh air. In 1891 Hodgkins gave the Smithsonian Institution $200,000 (plus an additional donation of $50,000 after his death), stipulating that the income of one half of it should be devoted "to the increase and diffusion of more exact knowledge in regard to the nature and properties of atmospheric air in connection with the welfare of man". The Hodgkins Medal and Fund were established in 1893. Mr. Hodgkins was unable to attend the dedication of the new library due to illness and died at his Old Field estate on November 25, 1892. He is buried in the Caroline Episcopal Churchyard next to Emma Clark. His funeral was unpretentious and attended by his intimate friends. Congratulations and appreciation to the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library from the Three Village Historical Society on serving our community for 125+ years! Sources Address made October 3, 1892, at the Opening of the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, Founded by Thomas G. Hodgkins, Esq., at Setauket, L.I. by John Elderkin Barnwell, Edith, “Notes on Emma Clark and Thomas Hodgkins as told to me by Emma Clark Bills (Mrs. Francis Tweddell), who was my mother”, January 1975. (typescript) “Emma S. Clark Memorial Library”, Three Village Historian, December 1991 • Emma S. Clark Memorial Library website Goode, George Brown, The Smithsonian Institution 1846-1896; the History of its First Half Century, City of Washington 1897. Smithsonian Institution website Strong, Kate, “Thomas Hodgkin’s Adventures”, Long Island Forum, June 1954

By Beverly C. Tyler “The thoroughfare east and west of us was lined on either side with hedgerows, which we children had occasion to explore frequently in search of balls, arrows, and other things belonging to a boy's and girl's stock of playthings; also for hens' nests. Back of these hedgerows were grain fields, gardens or pasture lands ...” The description of North Country Road (now 25A) between East Setauket and Port Jefferson in 1857, was written by Egbert Bull Smith in his book Voyage of the Two Sisters. Egbert was born on February 8, 1846. His family consisted of his father, Vincent Jones Smith who was in California, his mother Angeline (Jayne) Smith, a brother Charles who was three years older, a sister Georgiana born in 1848, and a sister Josephine born two days before Christmas of 1849. Every school day, Egbert Smith, his brother and sisters would walk about a mile east along North Country Road to the one-story red East Setauket schoolhouse. Along the way they were joined by other classmates. The walk often became a small parade of children talking, laughing, and occasionally stopping at a special place along the dirt road to shoot for a marble or two. The boys would often talk as they walked along about the exciting adventures that were happening to some of the older boys of the community. Egbert's father, whom he missed very much, was in California and like so many others was trying to strike it rich in the newly discovered gold fields. An older boy Egbert knew had left school and had gone to sea on one of the sailing ships that left New York City's South Street Seaport for destinations all over the world. When the boy returned to town, he was considered a hero by the other boys and was constantly asked about where he had been and what he had seen. Gold had been discovered in California, near present-day Sacramento, and by February 1849, the first gold seekers had arrived in San Francisco aboard the ship California. Like Egbert’s father, the gold rush enticed many Long Islanders to board the many clipper ships heading for the west coast. In a related development, trade with the Orient was in full swing and ships sailed to China daily with trade goods bringing back teas, spices, cotton goods, lacquerware, porcelain and other exotic wares. The potential for profit in 2-4 year whaling expeditions was just being realized as well. Ocean-going whaling ships were bringing back thousands of gallons of whale oil and not even meeting the demand. Long Island was also a main source of firewood for New York City. Ships left daily carrying cordwood, passengers and farm products to city markets. With all these factors combined, there was a great rush to produce ocean-going and coastal vessels to meet the demand. To build the necessary vessels, the shipbuilding industry was in full swing. Along Stony Brook Creek, Stony Brook Harbor and Setauket Harbor, shipyards were building sailing vessels of every size and type. Lining Shore Road in East Setauket were the shipyards of Nehemiah Hand, William Bacon and David B. Bayles. At the intersection of Shore Road and Bayview Avenue, the shipyard of William Bacon was constructing a 145-foot square-rigged medium clipper bark that was to be named Mary and Louisa. The bark, completed during 1857, took on cargo in New York for Mobile, Alabama. This was the first of two trips that would test the vessel and its captain, Benjamin Jones, for the rigors of longer and more extensive voyages. Egbert Smith recalled the bark as it was nearing completion. “One vessel especially excited my curiosity more than any other ... it was easy for me, during the school days to slip down to the yard during the noon hour and with other boys play hide and seek about her decks and cabins hoping all the time that some day, I might sail in such a ship, but I was afraid that time would never come.” For eleven-year-old Egbert Smith, that time would come the following year. One of the schoolbooks that must have helped to inspire Egbert Smith to travel to foreign ports was Warren's Physical Geography. The textbook was illustrated with engravings showing faraway lands and their people as well as many of the special features and unusual animals found there. Egbert was also inspired by experiences that took him away from the local area during the summer months. “It was about this time that my uncle promised to take my brother and me with him on one of his trips across Long Island Sound. My turn was to come first. I made great reckoning of the event. At length the day came. Mother made cake and baked beans for me... The vessel was loaded with wood and bound for New Haven, Conn. We arrived in due time and after disposing of the wood, took a cargo of oyster shells and returned home. The whole trip occupied about a week. I enjoyed it greatly, and as I was a guest of my uncle, who was both owner and captain on this little trip, it greatly increased my ambition for a seafaring life.” “One day I heard something that greatly surprised me. The [Mary and Louisa] had arrived from Mobile, had discharged, was even then taking on board a cargo for China and expected to sail in a few weeks.” Egbert Bull Smith wrote in his book Voyage of the Two Sisters that he heard the news about the return of the bark Mary and Louisa to New York City in early September, 1858. He was only twelve years old, but his desire to be a part of the world of ocean-going clipper ships was so strong that he made up his mind to ask the captain, a resident of East Setauket, to take him along as a cabin boy. Captain Benjamin Jones had said, because of the accidental death of a boy on a previous trip, that he did not want to take another young man with him. However, as Egbert wrote, “There was a rumor about the village that Captain Benjamin’s wife expected to go with him on the voyage to China. Now, my brother was much more of a philosopher than I. He argued that, if Mrs. [Jones] was going on the voyage with her husband he might reconsider his former decision about boys. “The very next afternoon [September 9, 1858], after school, I went down to his brother's store to see him, and to ask him if he wanted to engage a cabin boy. I set out that afternoon as brave as a lion, at least I thought I was. But when I met him face to face, my courage failed me, and while I was considering the matter he departed.” The store where Egbert went to speak to Captain Jones was in East Setauket where HSBC Bank now stands. The store was run by Benjamin’s brother, Walter Jones, who was just 24 years old in 1858. The 1858 Chace map lists a “W. Jones dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries and c.” Walter is listed as a merchant in the 1860 census and as a “grocer and dry goods” owner in the 1880 census. Egbert's older brother Charles, age 15, saved the day by asking Captain Jones for him. The captain, after talking to Egbert and his mother, agreed to take him on at wages of three dollars per month. At the time ordinary seaman were paid eight dollars a month and able seaman twelve. Egbert attended school for about two more weeks and on Friday, his last day of school, said goodbye to his classmates, and friends. Early Monday morning Egbert and his mother took the local stage coach to the Lakeland Railroad Station (just east of the present Ronkonkoma Station). There was no North Shore line until 1872. From there they took the Long Island Railroad to South Brooklyn where they boarded a ferry for the ride across the East River to New York City (Manhattan). Egbert wrote , “With the exception of my trip to New Haven with my uncle, I had never been five miles away from home. Everything was new and strange to me. A ringing of bells, blowing of whistles, the great ships that lay at the wharves on either side of the river, with their tall masts and square yards that seemed in the distance to be all tangled up together as trees in a thick forest.” Egbert and his mother went on board the Mary and Louisa and spent the night. The next day, September 23, 1858, the ship was quickly prepared for leaving port. Egbert was put under the charge of the ship's steward. His mother and other guests stayed on board as the ship left South Street Pier 32 and was towed out to sea by a small steam tug. Finally, past where the Verrazano Narrow's Bridge is now, the tug came alongside and took the guests off. The clipper bark set the fore-and-aft sails as the tug pulled away and Egbert waved goodbye to his mother. The square sails were then set and the Mary and Louisa was underway for Shanghai, China. It was to be three years before the ship returned to New York and Egbert, by then 15 years old and an experienced sailor, returned home for a visit.

From the TVHS archives The blizzard of 1934 was reported, at the time, to be Long Island’s worst snow storm since the famous blizzard of 1888. According to the Friday, February 23, 1934 issue of the Port Jefferson Times-Echo “Northern Brookhaven township was still struggling today to extricate itself from Monday night’s blizzard. Digging their way with shovels through drifts as deep as twelve feet, where huge snow plows and tractors failed to go through, employees of the town highway department have succeeded in making some progress in clearing the main streets in north shore communities.” Even today when a storm is predicted how many of us have experienced a run on bread, milk and eggs? In 1934 with chain stores unable to get supplies from their warehouses it’s reported they purchased bread from local sources and sold it at inflated prices, milk was at a premium, and stores ran out of shovels. Mail delivery resumed on Wednesday where possible. The paper reports “Women who ventured on the streets attired themselves in men’s trousers and availed themselves of the use of hip-boots wherever they could be secured.” With schools closed and transportation nearly impossible, a local medical emergency could not wait. “Suffering severely from an acute appendicitis attack. Miss Kathryn Combs of Setauket was rushed to Mather Memorial Hospital, Port Jefferson Station on a sled towed by a tractor on Tuesday night. The trip was taken after it was deemed urgent that she undergo an operation. The three-mile trip through snow drifts and some untraveled highways was fraught with danger, but was completed successfully. Miss Combs was operated on Tuesday night and her condition is satisfactory,” reports the Port Jefferson newspaper. An article in the March 2 issue of the Port Jefferson Times-Echo reports “Blizzard of ’34 No Equal for Storm of ’88, Setauket Records Reveal.” The information on the snowfall was provided by Miss Kate Strong, of Strong’s Neck, whose family had operated a weather station there for the US Weather Bureau since 1885. According to Miss Strong’s data “The snowfall on the night of Feb. 19 measured 18.3 inches and the fall of the night of the 25th and all day the 26th measured 11.3 inches, making a total of 29.6 inches. In the blizzard of ’88 30 inches fell, or 0.4 of an inch more than the present storms. Miss Strong’s record also shows that the drifts were 15ft. high between their home and the barns and what ordinarily was an easy walk of 5 minutes took half an hour.”

By Tara Mae Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision and conviction were informed and supported by a coalition of allies and friends. A. Philip Randolph connected him to some of the most influential figures in his ideological evolution and helped facilitate one of his most famous nonviolent protests. An established figure in the labor and civil rights movements, Randolph’s assistance was instrumental in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, among other endeavors. Randolph’s skill as an organizer and networker was essential to the progress of these causes. Born on April 15, 1889, Asa Philip Randolph grew up in Florida. His father, James, was a tailor and minister. Randolph’s mother, Elizabeth, was a talented seamstress. Randolph distinctly recalled a night when Elizabeth sat in the family’s front room with a shotgun over her lap while James tucked a pistol into his coat and left the house to stop a mob from lynching a man in the county jail. Distinguished students, Randolph and his brother, James, attended the Cookman Institute in East Jacksonville, which was for years the only academic high school for Black students in Florida. He had a particular interest in literature, public speaking, and drama. After graduating as valedictorian in 1907, Randolph worked odd jobs and devoted his time to singing, acting, and reading. He was personally inspired to prioritize the fight for social justice by W.E.B. DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folks. This decision influenced him both personally and professionally. In 1911, Randolph moved to New York City to pursue a theatrical career. Acting aspirations did not derail his focus on social justice. In New York, Randolph was able to combine these passions and use the skills he developed, one informing the other. He continued working odd jobs and took social science classes at City College. Even in his acting career, Randolph created opportunities not only for himself, but for others, helping to organize the Shakespeare Society of Harlem. With the troupe, he played Hamlet, Othello, and Romeo. Randolph gave up his acting ambitions when his parents failed to support them, and instead honed his efforts on social justice aims. Shortly before he co-established the theater group, Randolph married widow Lucille Campbell Green, a Howard University graduate and entrepreneur. She owned and operated a successful beauty salon that catered to affluent Black women. Both Green and Randolph were independently politically active. Once married, Green supported Randloph politically and financially. With her assistance, Randolph began organizing on behalf of the labor and civil rights movements. Randolph’s commitment took many forms. Joining up with Columbia University student Chandler Owens, the two men composed an amalgam of Marxist theory and the sociological ideas of Lester Frank Ward, positing the theory that people could only be free if they were economically secure. This school of thought informed what would become Randolph’s primary work in the civil rights movement: collective action as a means to garner economic and legal authority. This principle would impact his relationship with Dr. King. Many of Randolph’s reform enterprises related to discrimination in the labor force. By the time Randolph met Dr. King, he was a veteran labor and civil rights activist and organizer. His most prominent early effort as a reformer was on behalf of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), formed by members of the Pullman Company. It was the first labor union led by Blacks to receive a charter in the American Labor Federation. The group came to Randolph and requested that he become its president. Randolph agreed. Within 12 months, 51 percent of the workers had joined the BSCP. The Pullman Company responded with intimidation and violence, which then decimated the union’s membership and finances. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s election as president helped change the union’s fortunes and the status of the porters. It also boosted Randolph’s profile. He met and befriended activist Bayard Rustin. This would prove a pivotal and life-altering partnership. In the early 1940s, with clergyman and political activist A. J. Muste, they suggested a march on Washington. Its purpose was multifaceted; demands included the passage of anti-lynching legislation, integration of the armed forces, and an end to racial discrimination in the war industry as well as segregation in general. A student of and advocate for peaceful direct action, Randolph was partially motivated by Mahatma Gandhi’s successful tactics. Randolph promised that 50,000 Black people would participate in the march, but it was cancelled when Roosevelt issued the Fair Employment Act. His notion for the march however, continued to develop and influenced other civil rights leaders, including Rustin. Motivated by Randolph’s political philosophy and his own fervent belief in nonviolent protest, Rustin practiced a form of nonviolent protest that he taught Dr. King. The three men formed an alliance that would have a profound impact on the civil rights movement. Dr. King’s work benefited from the coalitions that Randolph formed, including the establishment of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR). Randolph co-founded it with Arnold Aronson, a leader of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council, and Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP. Since 1957, the organization has arranged a national legislative campaign for every civil rights law. When Southern schools ignored the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, Randolph, Dr. King, and Rustin joined forces. Randolph and King organized the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. In 1958 and 1959, Randolph also organized Youth Marches for Integration in Washington, D.C. And, in a move that would prove truly life-altering for all three men, Randolph arranged for Rustin to teach Dr. King how to stage peaceful protests in Alabama and facilitate affiliations with white people who were supportive of his agenda. Rustin, a gay pacifist who neither broadcast nor hid his lifestyle, was at different times ostracized or expelled by members of Dr. King’s inner circle. Dr. King distanced himself from Rustin in 1960, after Representative William Clayton Powell Jr. threatened to spread a rumor that the two men were lovers if they did not call off a planned march in front of the Democratic National Convention. Randolph remained loyal to Rustin. It was Rustin who made Randolph’s concept for a march on Washington into a reality. Worried that younger activists were not paying enough attention to the importance of economic standing as they fought for desegregation in the South, Randolph brought his concerns to Rustin and in 1962, the two men began to plan an event that would broach these issues and recognize the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation. Up to this point, Dr. King had not been fully engaged with many of the other suggestions and overtures made by the two men. He was fully committed to this idea and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held on August 28, 1963. Despite others' input Randolph and Rustin remained focused on their interpretation of a peaceful event, due to personal philosophy and political pragmatism (they did not want to alienate the Kennedy administration). This involved constant negotiation, including convincing John Lewis to tone down the more militant aspects of his speech, a debate that reportedly continued up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Randolph was the first speaker, declaring “we shall return again and again to Washington in ever growing numbers until total freedom is ours.” Dr. King was the final speaker. His powerful remarks became known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. Randolph and Rustin then concluded the gathering, with Rustin reading a list of civil rights demands. The event remained peaceful; there were only four arrests and all were of white individuals. As he worked on these civil rights campaigns with Rustin, Randolph remained dedicated to the intersecting labor movement. The two men formed the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), an organization for Black trade unionists, in 1965. Randolph was its first president. He was also president of the BSCP until 1968. In 1955, he oversaw the BSCP’s merger with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and was elected a vice-president of it. Additionally, Randolph served as president of the Negro American Labor Council from 1960-1966. And, in 1964, President Johnson awarded Randolph the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Randolph died on May 16, 1979, at the age of 90. His wife had died in 1963, and they had no children. He fostered relationships, nurtured burgeoning labor organizations, and bolstered the goals of the civil rights movement. Randolph appreciated that these intentions were intertwined, and his service to them enabled others, like Dr. King, to achieve certain objectives while continuously striving for better progress.