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Rhodes Committee: Civil War Soldier’s Letters Home By Jessica Giannetti and Karen Martin From the Summer 2015 Historian The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and tore at the very fabric of American life. 2015 marks the 150th Anniversary of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 and the end of the Civil War. Charles E. Jayne of Stony Brook joined the Union Army on November 27, 1861. He was the First Lieutenant in the 102nd Regiment. Charles would write letters home to his parents as often as he could, as many soldiers did. In these letters he gave details of his life in camp and the expectations he and his comrades had contemplated of what battles may lay ahead. In Camp 3 miles from Winchester June 16th 1862 “Did you see the complimentary notice given us in N.Y Tribune?...complimenting our untiring energy in making Harpers Ferry impregnable-which we certainly did by fortifying Maryland Heights...Had the enemy taken Harpers Ferry the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road would have been in their possesion which they Could have used and run down to Washington if not Could have blown it up which would have left Banks totaly isolated… Why your son is a hero and if heroism is so easily gained I shall take a contract to be five or six heros before I return…” While many men lost their lives in the Civil War, Lieutenant Charles E. Jayne made it home long before the war’s end, due to a gunshot wound in his forearm. He lived out the remainder of his life in New York as a ship handler and merchant. Another perspective is gleaned from the letters of William Wheeler to his siblings John and Julia, given to the Society through the estate of his niece Kate Strong. The son of Russell C. and Theodosia (Davenport) Wheeler, William was born in New York City Aug. 14, 1836. Well educated, he graduated from Yale and in 1860 obtained a law degree from Harvard. In April 1861 he joined the 7th regiment of NY Volunteers and was promoted to sergeant. Discharged, he reenlisted in October 1861 as a first lieutenant in the 13th NY Light Artillery rising to the rank of captain. In May 1863 he was given command and led his troops at Gettysburg. Killed by a sniper at Marietta, Georgia June 22, 1864 he is interred in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY. William’s older brother John, born 29 August 1834, graduated from Yale in 1858. In 1862 he was commissioned Captain of the 15th Regiment of Volunteers from the Militia of Connecticut. He was taken prisoner at Plymouth, NC, April 20, 1864, incarcerated at Libby prison Virginia, then Georgia, and South Carolina. He would be released eight months later. William’s letter to his brother John upon receiving word of his capture. Headquarters Artillery 2nd Div. 20th Corp Cassville, Ga. May 20. 1864 “My dearest old boy: “…let me offer my most sincere sympathy and condolences upon your being captured, and that in almost your first hard fight. It must be rough in the extreme to be obliged to give in after such a gallant & stubborn defence, but it was better so than to uselessly sacrifice the lives of the entire garrison. You are the family hero, now, my dear brother; all my letters ring with accounts of your bravery, and you may be sure that no one could listen to them more eagerly than I. ….do keep up your spirits, that is the main thing; make a sett of chessmen out of beef bones or something of that kind, and study up all the gambits. But above all things, don’t grow melancholy or morbid about privation or confinement: for your own sake & that of your friends, “Keep your pecker up”. I feel very sure that we shall meet again in New Haven, and have many a good pull together on the bay: the idea of a home without you would be unbearable and as Bryant says in the “Future Life” “I shall feel the sting of ceaseless pain If there I meet your gentle presence not”. In 1875 William’s mother published Letters of William Wheeler of the Class of 1855, Y.C. as a tribute to her son’s memory. From the obituary of Theodosia Wheeler (1883): “Her two sons went into the field early in the late civil war with characteristic decision and zeal and with the ardent consent of their heroic mother, the one to give his life by a rifle shot, and the other to bring back from the prison house, the seeds of disease which have sapped an intensely vigorous and energetic constitution. The first was buoyant, brilliant and accomplished, as may be learned from the volume of letters printed for private distribution, which sparkle with wit, insight and humor-who read Sophocles by his camp fire, and sent his breezy comments to his friend and instructor.” To learn more about the soldiers buried at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery read Final Camping Ground: Civil War Veterans at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, in Their Own Words by Jeffrey I. Richman.

By Tara Mae In honor of Mother’s Day, Three Village Historical Society recognizes Sojourner Truth, mother of five children and guardian of social justice movements. Born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree in upstate New York, she fought for her freedom, she fought for her children, and she fought for the liberation of both men and women. As a preacher, orator, abolitionist, and suffragist, Truth’s legacy is fortified by her indomitable and feminist spirit, which informed her work, including her most famous speech “Ain’t I a Woman?”. Although accounts of her exact words vary, there is no denying their power. Sojourner Truth was born circa 1797 in Ulster County, New York. As a child, she was sold three times; lastly to John Dumont. While enslaved on his property, she learned to speak English, having previously only spoken Dutch. Truth fell in love with a man named Robert, but their union was forbidden by his owner since any children born of it would have been considered the property of Dumont. One night, when Robert snuck away to see her, he was followed by his owner and son who viciously beat him, bound him, and carried him away. Truth never saw him again. Dumont later forced her to marry an older enslaved man named Thomas. She had five children: a son who died in childhood, Diana, Peter, Elizabeth, and Sophia. Based on her own account, Diana may have been the child of Robert. In 1826, Truth escaped with infant Sophia. Under New York State law she was supposed to be freed in 1827, but Dumont had promised to free her a year early. When Dumont reneged on his promise, claiming that an earlier hand injury had impeded her ability to work, Truth decided to make her exit. After staying long enough to spin about 100 pounds of wool, she left one morning at dawn. Truth later stated, "I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right." She was forced to leave her other children behind, a condition of legislation that declared all enslaved children and young adults had to remain in service (effectively enslaved) until they were 27 years old. Truth found her way to the New Paltz home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen, an abolitionist couple. When Dumont came to claim her and Sophia, Isaac paid him $20 for Truth so that they could stay with the Van Wagenens until Truth was legally free. While living with them, Truth learned her son Peter had been sold by Solomon Gedney, who had bought him from the Dumonts, to his brother-in-law in Alabama. This was an illegal act, since enslaved people and their children were not permitted to be sold out of state. She first confronted Mrs. Dumont and Gedney; the former reacted with contempt and questioned how Truth would ever have the means to get Peter back. In her memoirs, Truth recalls that she retorted “I have no money, but God has enough, or what’s better! And, I’ll have my child again!” Determined to reclaim her son and bolstered by her beliefs, Truth sought the assistance of a Quaker family who took her to the Ulster County Courthouse in Kingston to present her case before the grand jury. Truth gave such a convincing argument that a juror invited her to a separate room to restate her case and swear that Peter was hers. Once she had done this, Truth was presented with a document to take to the constable so that Gedney could be served. Initially, she walked miles every day between the Van Wagnens’ home and the courthouse; she then took up employment as a domestic, living and working for one of the four lawyers who took on her suit, probably pro bono. When Gedney, who had retrieved Peter from Alabama, refused to produce him in court as required by law, Truth hired a fifth attorney for $5, using money she had raised from her Quaker friends. She was the first African American woman to take a white man to court and win. When Truth left Kingston for New York City, she was accompanied by her son and a new spiritual awakening that would guide her for the rest of her life. A devout Methodist, her religious conviction helped sustain her through difficulties such as her implication in the suspicious death of a former employer, Elijah Pierson, that resulted in her winning a slander suit against the family who charged her, and the disappearance of Peter. He remained with her until 1839, when he went to sea. Between 1840 and 1841, Truth received three letters from him. When the ship returned to port in 1842, he was not onboard and she never heard from him again. She maintained relationships with her other children, but found that she had another calling. On June 1, 1843, Pentecost Sunday, Isabella Baumfree became Sojourner Truth. Moved to roam as an itinerant preacher, she was known for her strong presence and ability to engage a crowd. She stayed for a time with the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, in Northampton Massachusetts, a collaborative community founded by abolitionists that promoted women’s rights, the emancipation of slaves, religious tolerance, and pacifism. While there, she met Frederick Douglass, David Ruggles, and William Lloyd Garrison. This is also where she is believed to have given her first anti-slavery speech. Truth began speaking more regularly at civil and equal rights gatherings, such as the Abolitionist Convention in the 1840s. Due to speak after Wendell Holmes, known to be a great orator, she elected to sing an original composition, “I am Pleading for My People,” which was to the melody of “Auld Lang Syne.” Never having learned to read and write, she dictated her memoirs to her friend Olive GIlbert, and Garrison privately published The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave in 1850. She also continued to develop a reputation as an impassioned preacher and fervent speaker; that year, Truth spoke at the National Women’s Rights Convention. A staunch supporter of gender and racial equality, Truth presented her best known oration in 1851, at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. To advocate for such equality was a bold and risky move, to do so as an emancipated African American woman was brave and possibly dangerous. There is no written record of the address, which would become known as “Ain’t I a Woman?”. The most famous version of the speech, which includes the title as its refrain, was popularized in 1863 by Frances Gage, an organizer of the event. However, the dialect and some details she recounts do not necessarily align with Truth’s history. The language used reflects more of a Southern speech pattern and information such as “I have borne thirteen children,” does not match the biographical details that exist (though her mother may have had as many as twelve children.) An account of her speech, published by her friend Marius Robinson in the Anti-Slavery Bugle weeks after she made it, perhaps better reflects her exact words. To make her point, Truth champions women's equality to men, alludes to her past enslavement, and invokes her knowledge of the Bible: I am a woman’s rights...I have plowed and reaped and husked and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal...The poor men seems to be all in confusion, and don’t know what to do. Why children, if you have woman’s rights, give it to her and you will feel better... And how came Jesus into the world? Through God who created him and the woman who bore him. Man, where was your part? But the women are coming up blessed be God and a few of the men are coming up with them. But man is in a tight place, the poor slave is on him, woman is coming on him, he is surely between a hawk and a buzzard. This arguably more historically accurate version invokes Truth’s strong character. It is an invocation of equal rights and a testament to her own insight, understanding, and fortitude. Her opening declaration is the embodiment of a sociopolitical movement and an acknowledgment of how she fought for and won her liberty and the right to her own child. She recognizes male bewilderment; women are demanding equality with men and individuals are demanding enslaved people be free. In her, they find a freed African American woman who is arguing for equality. Truth continued to tour the country and give both informal and formal speeches. In 1857, she moved to Michigan. Her three daughters and their families joined her there. During the Civil War, she helped recruit African Americans to the Union Army. She was also employed by the National Freedman’s Relief Association in Washington, D.C., where she worked tirelessly to improve conditions for African Americans. While there, Truth met with President Abraham Lincoln and waged a campaign to effectively desegregate horse-drawn streetcars by sitting in the “white” section of them and refusing to move. After the war, she continued her advocacy, unsuccessfully lobbying the federal government to provide land grants to formerly enslaved persons, supporting President Ulysses S. Grant’s re-election campaign, and even trying to vote on Election Day (she was turned away from the polls.) Throughout her life, Truth continued her advocacy, promoting the ideas of justice and equality. She forged her own path, working to improve the lives of the subjugated and for the betterment of humanity. Surrounded by generations of her family, Sojourner Truth died in Michigan, at approximately 86 years of age.

In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson designated Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday. The movement for a day to honor mothers was the work of Anna Jarvis. After the death of her mother Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis on May 9, 1905 Anna worked to establish the modern Mother’s Day to honor mothers and the sacrifices they make for their children. Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis (1832-1905) The work of her mother Ann, the daughter of a Methodist minister, was the inspiration. Ann had dedicated her life to helping others. In the mid-1800s she established “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” in West Virginia to improve health and sanitary conditions, support families and mothers in need. During the Civil War the clubs remained neutral and helped soldiers by treating their wounds and providing them food, clothes, etc. After the war she organized Mothers’ Friendship Day to bring together soldiers and individuals from both sides. She was dedicated to her church, Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, now a National Historic Landmark and home of the International Mother’s Day Shrine. (For more information on Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis and her work visit the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History http://www.wvculture.org/history/archives/women/jarvis.html ) Anna’s Mother’s Day movement and call for recognition was spreading throughout the United States and on May 10, 1908 the first Mother’s Day celebration was held. This second Sunday date was chosen because of its proximity to the anniversary of her mother's death. Ceremonies took place at Andrews Church and, with the financial support of John Wannamaker, at his stores in Philadelphia. White carnations, Ann’s favorite flower, became the symbol of the day. Within several years all states were celebrating the holiday and Anna had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. In 1914 Mother's Day became a national holiday. Port Jefferson Echo, Saturday, May 16, 1908 On next Sunday the Presbyterians of Setauket and at Stony Brook will observe a special day in honor of Our Mothers. The object of this day is to brighten the lives of our Mothers and to make them more honored, loved and protected by their children. To remind sons and daughter of the unselfish devotion of their Mothers and possibly of their neglect of their parents. To ask men and women and children to make their Mothers feel this May day that in her children’s hearts she is “Queen of the May.” Every person who will observe this day is asked to wear a white carnation and to get some one other person to wear a white carnation in honor of Mother. There will be appropriate services in the Presbyterian church at Setauket in the morning at which the children with the mothers will turn out for this day, and in the Presbyterian Chapel at Stony Brook in the afternoon. Those who know of a mother who would attend this service if some one made it possible for her to do it, are asked to make it possible. A day like this was first observed at Norfolk, Va., May 6th, and a similar festival was held last Sunday in New York City and was honored by the mayor. Why did founder Anna Jarvis later denounce the holiday? As the holiday gained in popularity so did its commercialization and Anna Jarvis resented this. She saw the day as a time to attend church and visit one’s mother with the white carnation a symbol of honor. By the 1920s she felt companies were exploiting the sentiment of the holiday. “Jarvis argued that people should appreciate and honor their mothers through handwritten letters expressing their love and gratitude, instead of buying gifts and pre-made cards.” Eventually she protested against the florists, confectioners and others profiting from the day. She sued organizations she felt exploited the term “Mother’s Day” and eventually lobbied the government to remove the holiday. Anna died in 1948. Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day Andrew’s Methodist Church and Mother's Day Shrine: https://www.scenicusa.net/051312.html https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/west-virginia/andrews-methodist-episcopal-church-wv/ Anna Jarvis birthplace: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/museum/anna-jarvis-birthplace/

Rhodes Trip: 50 Years of Strathmore at Stony Brook By Karen Martin From the January 2014 Historian Newsletter Levitt Plans 1,300 Homes Mile South of Stony Brook In April 1963 Levitt and Sons, Inc. announced plans to build 1300 single family homes in Stony Brook. “The community will be constructed on 650 rolling wooded acres one mile southeast of historic Stony Brook in town of Brookhaven.” This marked the Levitt company’s return to Long Island. The firm built luxurious Strathmore communities on the north shore of Nassau County in the 1930s, but is best known for its post WWII development, Levittown, consisting of 17,447 homes. After Levittown the firm’s activities moved to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. Mr. Levitt’s decision to build in Suffolk County was based on research that Suffolk was the fastest growing county in New York and the second fastest growing big county in the country. President William J. Levitt said “his firm’s Stony Brook houses are being designed and will be priced for middle-income families. They will be on large lots, he said, and definitely in keeping with the quality nature of Stony Brook”. The development was to be located near the new campus of the State University of New York at Stony Brook which opened on September 16, 1962 with 780 enrolled students. Mr. Levitt saw this “to be mutually advantageous for the new university and the newer community. Although only a few months old, the Stony Brook campus is expected to have an enrollment of 10,000 students by 1970. University personnel will obviously need homes. Conversely, many home buyers in our Stony Brook community will want to participate in the cultural opportunities offered by a nearby great university.” Levitt Shows 7 Model Homes at Stony Brook The weekend of Nov 16, 1963 marked the opening of sales for Strathmore at Stony Brook. Police estimated that 20,000 people came to view the models. Approximately 500 applications for homes were processed totaling around $11,000,000 according to Levitt. Levitt’s return to Long Island boasted “the greatest variety of large, luxurious houses it has ever built in a single community.” The “exhibit area” of six model homes was located west of Nichols Rd. off Route 347. A seventh design was also offered. Purchase prices ranged from $18,990 to $26,990. All home prices included kitchen and laundry General Electric appliances, a fully landscaped lot and all closing and settlement costs. The lowest priced model was known as the Ardsley. The 1963 sales brochure boasts “We think there are more beautiful homes at Strathmore than you’ve ever seen in any one community, anywhere before. Solid American favorites, carefully planned and carefully finished down to the very last detail. Grounds are impressive; never less than 15,000 square feet, professionally and exquisitely landscaped…” Over the following years other Levitt developments in the area included the communities of Strathmore Village (Centereach) and Strathmore East (Coram). Thanks to several of our members, the society’s collections include a rare home owner’s guide, sales brochures from 1963 and 1966 for Strathmore at Stony Brook and the 1970 and 1971 brochures for Strathmore Village and Strathmore East. Preserve the History of Strathmore Did you buy or grow up in Strathmore? The society is looking for additional material to document the history of this community. If you have any brochures, home owners guides, or perhaps the original sales agreement, please let us know. We are also looking for original photographs of the houses and families which lived or live in them. Photographs of the exterior or interior especially those which may document changes to the home over time are also wanted. How about that photograph of the family posing in front of their new home, a birthday party, or family picnic? Do you have any home movies? Share with us any personal memories of Strathmore at Stony Brook and life in the larger Three Village community. You can contact us at info@tvhs.org.

By Tara Mae Even when separated by circumstance, there are basic tenets that connect people to each other and the world at large: a fondness for common culture, a desire to seek beauty, a need for safe harbor. Poet Emma Lazarus’ writing explores these themes; it is both founded in her New York Jewish roots and universal to much of the human condition. Influenced by transcendental poet and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lazarus’ explorations and appreciation of the natural environment, evident in “Long Island Sound,” continuously evolved to recognize and reckon with man-made suffering. Arguably her best-known work, “The New Colossus,” is a culmination of her formal education, ties to home and place, and awareness of the plight of the “other.” She is immortalized through this poem, which is engraved on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. It is the hallmark of her composition and emblematic of her oeuvre. Born in 1849 to a prominent Jewish family whose New York heritage predated the American Revolution, Lazarus was educated by private tutors and expressed a passion for the written word from an early age. Lazarus’ poetry frequently features allusions to Greek history and culture, a reflection of the scope of her education and the breadth of her interest. As a teenager, she wrote poetry and translated German verse. Her father privately published her work in 1866, and in 1867, her collection of poetry, Poems and Translations, was commercially printed. Renowned poet, essayist, and transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson was an appreciator of her work and she dedicated her next book of poetry to him. Lazarus shared his reverence for nature. Her imagery is evocative, engaging the senses through the narrative voice. Her descriptions immerse the audience into the world of the poem, who observe and experience it with her: “Long Island Sound” I see it as it looked one afternoon In August,— by a fresh soft breeze o’erblown. The swiftness of the tide, the light thereon, A far-off sail, white as a crescent moon. The shining waters with pale currents strewn, The quiet fishing-smacks, the Eastern cove, The semi-circle of its dark, green grove. The luminous grasses, and the merry sun In the grave sky; the sparkle far and wide, Laughter of unseen children, cheerful chirp Of crickets, and low lisp of rippling tide, Light summer clouds fantastical as sleep Changing unnoted while I gazed thereon. All these fair sounds and sights I made my own. She beckons the reader into her reminiscence and invites the individual to explore a single day at the beach. This visit is free from direct interference of other people: children are heard but not seen. Lazarus has claimed this natural respite as her own, while acknowledging that even as she stands still, the sea and the sky are changing. Her views were also shifting, expanding to more completely identify with her Jewish heritage and the plight of refugees driven from Russia by pogroms. Lazarus’ poetry was impacted by her developing understanding of religious persecution and the ensuing struggle of fleeing one homeland in search of another. Her advocacy on behalf of Jewish refugees and support for the idea of a Jewish homeland also informed her writing and raised her profile. Upon Lazarus’ return from a tour abroad, she was commissioned to write a piece to raise money for the pedestal of a statue that was to be erected in New York City. Although she initially declined the request, she later submitted “The New Colossus.” The sonnet exemplifies her journey as a scholar, artist, and activist and champions the journey of immigrants seeking better lives and opportunities. “The New Colossus” Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” By declaring that the Statue of Liberty is the new Colossus, Lazarus is asserting that it will be the new wonder of the world (the Greek Colossus of Rhodes is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.) Lady Liberty is constructed by human endeavor, but attune with nature; she directs the sea to carry the persecuted and downtrodden to her. Alone on an island flanked by the mouths of Hudson and East Rivers, she entreats countries to give such persons to her and invites them to a new community. Emma Lazarus died in 1887. In 1901, her friend Georgina Schuyler began a campaign to commemorate Lazarus and “The New Colossus.” The effort succeeded in 1903, when a bronze plaque with the text of the poem was mounted on the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The text remains her most famous work, but is actually indicative of many of her life’s passions, topics she continuously explored and revisited.

Celebrating the end of winter, May 1st is a time for festivals, flowers and the traditional dance around the maypole. Origins of May celebrations date back to Roman times, honoring Flora the Roman goddess of flowers. Celebrations of the change of seasons and the coming summer existed throughout Europe. As local traditions developed they spoke to the same theme, a celebration of a season of growth and fertility, planting of crops, pasturing of cattle, etc. Recognition of the new season was celebrated with food, dance, music, flowers, maypoles, and the crowning of a May Queen. These celebrations met with resistance from Protestant and Puritan leaders who termed them pagan and banned the celebrations. As time passed these May celebrations evolved from religious to more secular celebrations. Speculation as to the origin of the maypole includes its representation of the earth’s axis or from Germanic culture as a reverence for trees. The Maypole evolved over time from a tree with its lower branches removed (leaving a few at the top) to a pole, both being decorated with flowers and ribbons. Participants hold the ribbons as they perform a dance weaving the ribbons around the pole. In America, European origins and traditions were lost due to the Puritan belief that May Day was a pagan celebration therefore it was not celebrated here to the extent it was in Europe. The tradition of the maypole, however, became part of school celebrations of May Day often accompanied by plays, music, readings, etc. Today maypoles may also be seen at medieval festivals such as the New York Renaissance Fair. https://renfair.com/ny/learn-more-about-maypole/ In many European countries today, May Day is celebrated as a holiday with community events and festivals drawing on local traditions. For information on these local origins and traditions see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day May Day & International Worker's Day In many countries May Day is also known as International Workers’ Day, Workers’ Day or Labour Day. This day is observed to honor the contributions of laborers and the working class, which is promoted by the International Labour Movement. It evolved to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on May 4, 1886. for more information on its origins and that of Labor Day in the United States see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day May Baskets Another tradition of May Day from the 19th century is that of the May basket, a bouquet of flowers left anonymously at the home of a neighbor, friend or sweetheart. Traditionally children would leave a basket filled with fresh flowers or other treats hanging on the doorknob of a home. Often a suitor or sweetheart would leave a basket for his or her intended. Tradition says that if the gift giver is spotted the recipient gets to steal a kiss. Make a simple May Basket by forming a cone from a piece of colored or decorative paper, or a paper plate. Decorate with paper doilies, crayons, stickers, etc. Attach ribbon, paper, or yarn for a handle. Get creative. Instead of a paper cone recycle a basket, decorate a tin can, small box or other container. Add real or silk flowers or create your own paper or ribbon flowers or fill with candy or baked goods. May Basket ideas: http://aboutfamilycrafts.com/12-may-day-baskets-you-can-make/ A Forgotten Tradition: https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/04/30/402817821/a-forgotten-tradition-may-basket-day Let’s bring back the May Basket, Austin, TX https://news.yahoo.com/may-day-let-bring-back-152350642.html May Day Focuses on Child Health In 1924 President Coolidge designated May 1st as the first national May Day Child Health celebration. The American Child Health Association published a plan book “to give individuals, schools and communities concrete suggestions for centering thought on May Day on the serious purpose of child health and child health education." A companion booklet was also published with May Day related materials, poems, stories, dances, etc. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1354856/pdf/amjphealth00045-0001a.pdf May Day from the Local Newspapers Note the Maypole dance by the 3rd grade and the focus on health in the May Day activities described above. For more information on May Day history, traditions and lore check out The Old Farmer’s Almanac https://www.almanac.com/content/what-may-day Britannica Kids https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/May-Day/390805

Written for the July 2008 Historian Newsletter Tales from the Society’s Rhodes Committee by Susan B. Jayne The game of baseball has been intertwined in the history of the Three Villages. One can attest to this by looking at the old photos of teams from Setauket and Stony Brook throughout the last century. It was more than a game it was a social event for the community. Little League did not exist in Setauket in the years prior to World War II. There was no set schedule, kids would just spread by word of mouth a “pickup” game at the field on “Chicken Hill”. A time and date would be set and the boys would gather and play. Nothing fancy just kids being kids. This grew into Junior and High School games for Setauket playing Bay Shore, Amityville, Northport and Port Jefferson. Port Jefferson High School Principal E. L. Vandermeulen was to have said that they (PJHS) did not want to play Setauket because Setauket kept winning. But the big social aspect of local baseball was the Sunday afternoon men’s town league game. With Blue Laws in effect and stores closed on Sunday people needed a distraction or something to do. The Sunday game was that for the locals just after World War II. The Sunday routine was church in the morning then baseball in the afternoon. The team everyone came out to see was the Setauket A. C. The crowd usually numbered near two hundred people a game. People could see in front of them a game that they heard on the radio and it now made sense. They could see what little nuances were part of the game but never described to them. The schedule was set by the Town of Brookhaven with regular umpires George Bruce and Leland Gaylor, a teacher at PJHS. They played teams from Rocky Point, Gordon Heights and Echo. Setauket had a strong team and won the league in 1947. Men came from all around wanting to play for the Setauket A. C. team and the team looked for talent all over Long Island. Other teams did as well occasionally bringing in “ringers”. When asked who the best local player was Lenny Addis was the first name mentioned followed by such talent as Jim Krause (who was later in the Red Sox organization), Emmett Lyons, Jess Eikov, and Harold “Red” Kerwin. Kerwin had pitched a perfect game for Port Jefferson High School in 1943. Several young men had tryouts with Major League teams. Both Carlton “Hub” Edwards and his brother Leroy “Beeb” had tryouts with the Dodgers. Everett Hart had a tryout with the Tigers but chose instead to play multiple sports at Michigan while he got his education. Sheppard’s Bar and Grill was the team sponsor it was obvious. After the game everyone headed over to Shepp’s whether it was to celebrate a victory or to cry in ones’ beer after a tough loss. There was the rare fight that broke out and spilled into the street. But usually it was a time to talk over the day’s game. Sometimes players could be found still sitting at Shepp’s at midnight still in their uniform from earlier that day. The other local team the Suffolk Giants Juniors was an all black team. They played all over Long Island, against teams of all nationalities. They played from Huntington to Lindenhurst to West Babylon. Several players moved on and played for the Setauket A.C. Why did this all come to a close? Several ideas were tossed around. The fact that baseball is a young mans’ game and life was moving on. The influx of softball leagues forced baseball out. The ending of Blue Laws. The popularity of the television. But most likely it was a combination of these reasons that brought the end of the social event called Baseball.

By Tara Mae During times of struggle, uncertainty, and strife, art is a way to create order out of the senseless. April is National Poetry Month, and in celebration, TVHS recognizes the incredible life and times of one of Long Island’s most prolific and revered poets, Walt Whitman. While Leaves of Grass is his best-known work, Whitman was a prolific writer whose life and career intersected with one of the most turbulent eras in American history: the Civil War. This period had a profound influence on him personally and a meaningful effect professionally. Drum-Taps, the poetry collection inspired by the war, was published in October of 1865, a mere six months after its conclusion and President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. In late 1862, Whitman left the Long Island home of his mother to seek out his brother George, who had been wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg. Following days of searching, Whitman found him largely unscathed minus a wound to his cheek. After visiting with George for two weeks in Virginia, Whitman was asked to accompany injured soldiers to hospitals in Washington D.C. He remained in Washington for the rest of the war, serving as a hospital nurse, and documenting what he saw and lived. By this point, Whitman had been writing for years. He published the first edition of Leaves of Grass in 1855. Updated versions were published in 1856 and 1860. Before and after its initial publication, he worked as a newspaper writer and editor. The work born of his triumphs and travails during the Civil War seamlessly blend journalistic observation and artistic attention to detail. In Leaves of Grass, Whitman posits that all people are connected, and the human body is to revered: “The bodies of men and women engirth me, and I engirth/them...The expression of the body of man or woman balks account,/The male is perfect and that of the female is perfect.” His belief that all persons are emotionally joined and physically perfect by virtue of existence were tested by what he encountered and observed during his work in the field hospitals. As Leaves of Grass develops from a celebration of self to a meditation on nature, individual relationships with it, and explorations of the soul, Drum-Taps undergoes its own evolution. From passionate rallying cry to precise, vivid descriptions of nature and soldiers observing and absorbing war, with painstaking reflections of the resulting jagged and invisible scars, Whitman’s words bring the reader with him on his journey into a world that is submerged in conflict yet buoyed by nature: “Look Down Fair Moon” Look down fair moon and bathe this scene, Pour softly down night’s nimbus floods on faces ghastly, swollen, purple, On the dead on their backs with arms toss’d wide, Pour down your unstinted nimbus sacred moon. Whitman is entreating the moon, requesting that it not only act as witness to death, but fully illuminate it. He has transformed the moon from besought observer to active participant; as an instrument of nature, it is baring the cost of war for all to see. Just as Whitman, through the power of his words, transports the reader from impassive viewer to engaged audience. Walt Whitman believed in the universality of humankind. He felt that people’s connection to themselves and each other was enhanced by their relationship with the natural world. This innate kindredness therefore renders both joy and sorrow shared experiences that influence not just a person but the population.

Arbor Day was first proposed in the 19th century by J. Sterling Morton, an American journalist and politician, who famously wrote, “Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.” Morton, the editor of a Nebraska newspaper, often wrote agricultural articles and shared his passion for trees with his readers. There were relatively few trees in the state at the time, and for several years Morton proposed such a holiday to encourage his fellow Nebraskans to plant trees. He believed that trees would serve as effective windbreaks, protecting crops from erosion and overexposure to the sun, and would provide fuel and building materials. The first Arbor Day celebration was held in Nebraska on April 10, 1872, and more than one million trees were planted. During the 1870s several U.S. states established Arbor Day as a holiday, and in 1885 Nebraska declared J. Sterling Morton’s birthday, April 22, as the date of the holiday. In the 1880s American schools typically observed the day by planting trees as memorials of historical events and in honor of famous people. In the United States, Arbor Day is now most commonly observed on the last Friday in April, though some states have moved the date to coincide with the best tree planting weather. (citation https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arbor-Day) We inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees is the motto of the Arbor Day Foundation, founded in 1972, the centennial of the first Arbor Day observance. Their vision is to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, a changing climate, deforestation, poverty, and hunger. (https://www.arborday.org/ ) Kids, parents, and teachers checkout https://www.arborday.org/kids/ for games and resources. From the Port Jefferson Echo, April 17, 1920 Think It Over Some one has said that the American cuts down trees six days in the week and fifty-two weeks in the year, and when Arbor Day comes he sets out one lone tree. This is too true, particularly of Long Islanders. It has been shown that there is big money in raising walnut timber, and that Long Island soil is particularly adapted to the rapid growth of such. Black walnut trees that are standing today can be sold, if of good size, for from $50 to $100 each and even more. Suppose, Mr. Farmer, that your father had put out several hundred such trees in out-of-the-way places on his farm, along the road front, and in other spots, fifty or sixty years ago. Think of the reward for his foresight that you would be reaping. It is not too late in life for you to make a start. Those who come after you will reap a golden harvest for an investment now of a comparatively small sum. Think it over.

by Kristen J. Nyitray, April 2020 Thank you to the Three Village Historical Society for this opportunity to share research from my book Long Island Beaches, an illustrated history of our beautiful shores featuring vintage postcards, photographs, and maps. My talk “Isle of Shells: A History of Long Island Beaches” for the society’s lecture series is postponed, but I look forward to presenting in the future. For now, I have prepared an overview with a few historical postcards of Three Village Area beaches that may be familiar to you! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For centuries, Long Island’s beaches have provided sustenance, relaxation, and inspiration. The coastline is renowned for its sandy Atlantic Ocean surf beaches, calm bayfront beaches, and rugged north shore Long Island Sound beaches. For millennia, wind, water, and sediments have converged to create the island’s beach systems. Long Island’s history is uniquely intertwined with its beaches. In his poem “Paumanok,” Walt Whitman described Long Island as “isle of the salty shore and breeze and brine.” The earliest Native American inhabitants respected the pristine shorelines, regarding them as sacred resources that provided subsistence. The area was called Sewanhacky ("Isle of Shells") in reverence to the offerings received where the water met the land. Beaches were sites of whaling, fishing, and collecting clams and whelk to fashion wampum. In the 17th century, Dutch and English settlers recognized the economic potential of beaches, which became desirable areas for land ownership. During the American Revolution, accurate understanding and navigation of coastlines were critical for informing military tactics, maintaining the economy, and transmitting intelligence. In the late 18th century, shipwrecks caused by treacherous sea conditions, shoals, and sandbars spurred construction of life saving stations and lighthouses across Long Island. In the mid-to-late 19th century, beaches shifted from places fraught with danger to places of respite and fresh beginnings. Long Island became a tourist haven with beaches as the lure, creating new sources of income and summer colonies. This transformative change was influenced by advances in transportation, particularly steamships and the Long Island Rail Road. Suggestions of restorative health benefits gained from breathing salt air and swimming in pure waters were also heavily marketed. During prohibition (1920-1933) in the United States, Long Island’s beaches were sites of illegal transfers of rum and other alcohols. The golden age of postcards was 1907 to 1915, and Long Island beaches were a popular subject found pictured on them. In the larger historical context, postcards are visual culture that document and communicate points of view, social norms, and history. Today, technology has reimagined traditional postcards as Instagram and Facebook posts, but the premise of forming social connections by sharing brief, written personal sentiments coupled with images remains lasting and unchanged. This photograph and real photo postcard were produced in summer 1907 by prolific Long Island photographer Arthur S. Greene (1867-1955). The note on the card was written in 1938 by A.G. Hallock. Reflecting on his past, Hallock states he worked for Greene and accompanied him when this photograph was taken. In his “p.s.,” Hallock identified the location as West Meadow Beach near Stony Brook and the subjects as summer boarders. The first public suggestion of a park at West Meadow Beach was made by local resident and philanthropist Eversley Childs (1867-1953) to the Town of Brookhaven board on May 19, 1908. Later that year on November 21, Childs and others conveyed their “land at West Meadow for the uses and purposes of a public park forever.” (Both, courtesy of the TVHS.) The subjects of these two real photo postcards produced a year apart are summer boarders of all ages at Pine View House, the c. 1710 Eleazer Hawkins Homestead, in Stony Brook. The c. 1907 photograph above is attributed toIsrael Hawkins and the c. 1906 photograph below was taken by Arthur S. Greene. The location is the vicinity of Sand Street Beach, Shipman’s Beach, and West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook. Evelina Hawkins and her proprietor husband Israel G. Hawkins opened theboarding house and hotel in 1898 which accommodated up to 25 guests. It was situated near a pine grove within afive minutewalk to the beaches. (Both, courtesy of the TVHS.) Shipman’s Beach (above) and Stony Brook Beach or Sand Street Beach (below) overlook Stony Brook Harbor. Popular activities here include swimming, kayaking, and fishing. Wetlands and tidal salt marshes provide habitat to shorebirds including egrets, osprey, and piping plovers. To the east, the area adjoins West Meadow Beach along the Long Island Sound and Smithtown Bay. (Both, courtesy of a private collector.)

On April 14th, we observed the founding of the Town of Brookhaven 365 years ago. Seven men traveled across Long Island Sound, landing in Setauket, where they purchased land from the Setalcotts. A small piece of that land still stands as the Setauket Village Green. The agreement for this purchase in 1655 can be seen in the display case, located in the lobby of Brookhaven Town Hall. A formal commemoration is not possible due to the Pause enacted to slow the spread of the Covid-19 Virus. This worldwide pandemic becomes part of our local history as it affects our residents as well as those across the globe. Historians in New York State have been asked to record this event in their local municipalities, so I ask you all in the days, weeks and months ahead to share your experiences with me. You can write, video, create visual art, even clip your local newspaper articles. Let your neighbors and family and friends know they are welcome to contribute. Let us turn our town’s anniversary into an opportunity to record an unprecedented moment of time for future generations to know and understand. Just a few weeks ago, as we were learning to adjust our daily routines to stay home, I returned a phone call from a Stony Brook resident. He told me the story of his grandparents from Brooklyn, who wanted to get the family away from the rampant Spanish Influenza virus in 1918. They rented a little wooden cottage at a place called West Meadow Beach. His uncles used to tell him they waited for low tide, so they could wade across the water, walk into this little hamlet of Stony Brook and buy groceries. This story, with the teller’s permission, is one of the few in the Town’s historical collection regarding the Flu Pandemic of a century ago. Please consider sharing your thoughts and experiences. Most importantly, stay paused and stay healthy. -Barbara M. Russell Town of Brookhaven Historian Email info@tvhs.org with subject line: Quarantine Stories to submit your story, video or image.

By Karen Martin, TVHS Archivist The U.S. Constitution mandates that the country count its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will determine congressional representation, inform hundreds of billions in federal funding every year, and provide data that will impact communities for the next decade. The 2020 Census will provide a snapshot of our nation-who we are, where we live, and so much more. Fill out your census form today. (https://2020census.gov) The first census was conducted in 1790. Since then there has been a census taken every 10 years. Although the primary use of those historical censuses today is for genealogical research, they were not created for that purpose but for statistical purposes. The 1790 thru 1840 censuses only recorded the name of the head of the family. All other family and household members were recorded in categories by number. Additional statistical questions were added each year. The 1840 census contains a category for the name of anyone in the household receiving a pension for Revolutionary or military service. The 1850 census was the first to list the names of all members of a household, however, the relationship (wife, daughter, son-in-law, etc.).to the head of the household was not stated until the 1880 census. Each subsequent census asked the basic questions, name, age, etc. but with more detailed questions and more categories added. Beginning with the 1900 census questions were asked regarding immigration and naturalization. The 1910 census asked about Union or Confederate Veterans. The 1930 census asked if you owned a radio. A census is released by the National Archives 72 years after it was taken. The most recent census released was the 1940 in 2012. The 1940 asked about employment with questions regarding public emergency work with WPA (Works Projects Administration), CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), etc. One of the greatest losses was that of the 1890 census. On January 10, 1921, a fire in the Commerce Department building, Washington, DC, resulted in the destruction of most of the 1890 census. The “Schedules of Union Civil War Veterans or their Widows” did survive. https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1890 For an overview of the US census and a listing of the questions asked visit https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/cff2.pdf [Since the writing of the above publication access to the census has become more readily available and searchable online through several genealogical websites] When searching the census keep in mind the reason for their creation and that there may be errors or incorrect information from the standpoint of family history, i.e. errors in name spelling, transcription errors, who provided the data to the enumerator (census taker) and did that person have the correct information, etc. https://www.rootstech.org/blog/7-ways-to-avoid-commonly-made-mistakes-when-using-the-us-federal-census https://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/12/08/everyone-counts-using-census-genealogy-research There are several websites which provide research access to the U.S. census. Some are subscription services you can join directly, or you can access them through your public library. For library access check out your library’s online resources and databases. For members of the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library visit https://www.emmaclark.org/onlineresearch/ and access these sites remotely from home and see what else they have to offer. Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/ Many public libraries provide access to the Ancestry library edition but only onsite at the library. Special note: The provider, ProQuest, is temporarily providing library users remote access. If you are an Emma S. Clark Library card holder just go to the library’s database link above, scroll down to Ancestry and log on with your library card number and password. Ancestry does offer personal subscriptions allowing you to create family trees, etc. (a free 14-day trial is available). Heritage Quest Listed among the library’s databases, select and log on with your library account information. My Heritage https://www.myheritage.com/ Listed among the library’s databases, select and log on with your library account information. Also available as a subscription through their website (a free trial is available). Family Search https://www.familysearch.org/ How to use us census records https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/how-to-use-us-census-records/ Log on directly through the Family Search website. This is a free site, just set up a user account to log on. FamilySearch, historically known as the Genealogical Society of Utah, with over 100 years of record gathering and preservation, was founded in 1894. It is a nonprofit organization and website offering genealogical records, education, and software through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose Family History Library has the largest collection of genealogical and historical records in the world. The Family Tree section allows user-generated content to be contributed to the genealogical database. There are over 1 billion individuals in the tree. The historical records database contains over two billion digital images, including digitized books, digitized microfilm, and other digital records There is a wealth of information on this site with resources, tip sheets, etc. compiled by experts in family history and information on researching and resources throughout the world. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Main_Page