The Long Island History Project

Rob Boehm, past president of the Puppet Guild of Long Island, walks us through the world of puppetry and puppet theater since the 1950s, including his early interests and later experiences as a puppeteer. Both he and our own Connie Currie studied with Carol Fijan, the Great Neck-based master puppeteer who greatly influenced the development of puppet theater. They discuss Carol's teachings and writings, her early days with the WPA and the enduring challenges of bringing puppets to life.

Bill Colson was a stand-out basketball player from Sayville High School ('47). In the Korean War he served as an Air Force cryptographer until, stricken by polio, he returned to the States paralyzed from the waist down. That's where his story begins.

Women in most states could still not vote at the turn of the last century. The suffrage movement was stalled and icons such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were dead. So what turned things around? How did the movement revitalize itself to the point that, by 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed and women's suffrage was the law of the land? Part of the answer lies with two women from Long Island.

Genealogist Rhoda Miller and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Long Island recently published Jewish Community of Long Island from Arcadia Press.  The book tracks the development of Jewish communities across Long Island from the late 19th century through the 1970s. Throughout the book Rhoda not only documents the rise of specific communities but also uncovers many personal stories. On this episode you'll hear about aviation pioneer Chalres A. Levine, Rabbi Lehrer and his work with Jewish patients in Long Island's state hospitals and the threatening presence of the Ku Klux Klan on the Island along with the German American Bund's Camp Siegfried in Yaphank. Save

George Davies’ younger days would be the envy of any boy. During the Great Depression in Oakdale, he and his brothers had the run of Pepperidge Hall, a giant 19th-century mansion in walking distance of a swimming hole and the Great South Bay. Plus they had a pet duck. On this episode you’ll hear excerpts […]

What better way to celebrate National Preservation Month than by interviewing Jason Crowley, Preservation Director of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquties (SPLIA)? Jason comes to Long Island by way of Vermont, Charleston, Columbia University and years of work on the front lines of preservation. You’ll hear his take on the unique […]

National Poetry Month is almost over but we have time for one more power ballad. This time, we’re looking over the body of work of Paul Bailey. Bailey was a newspaperman from Amityville (founder of the Amityville Sun) as well as the publisher of the Long Island Forum. His dedication to Long Island history ran deep as he was also president of the Suffolk County Historical Society and Suffolk County Historian. He wrote a syndicated column on Long Island history and was a sought-after public speaker on the topic. So it’s no surprise that his posthumous book of poetry, Treading Clams (1965) is filled with light verse on all aspects of Long Island. Today we read through excerpts of three of the poems, “The Midnight Rides of Austin Roe,” “Shoes from the Sea,” and “When Prohibition Came.” Born in 1885, Bailey actually spent some time out west before settling down to his newspaper career. He worked on cattle ranches and possibly in the movies – enough experience, at least, to fuel a number of Western stories that he wrote for pulps like Argosy later on. He also struck up a friendship at home with nearby neighbors Will Rogers and Fred Stone. Stone was an actor and comedian and the first person to play the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz (in the 1902 Broadway version). Our reader today is Dr. Josh Gidding, Professor of English at Dowling College. Thanks, Josh! And we hope you’ve enjoyed our spelunking through poetry history. Make sure you check out our other Long Island Power Ballads and leave a comment on what you thought. Further Research Treading Clams by Paul Bailey (find in a library via WorldCat) Long Island Forum index (Patchogue Medford Library) Roe Tavern (Three Village Historical Society) The Truth Behind the Spies: Decoding AMC’s Turn Montauk Lighthouse Rum Runners (from Long Island Traditions) Amityville Historical Society All Long Island Power Ballad episodes

Back when men were men and railroads were railroads, Charles M. Murphy challenged a locomotive and lived to tell the tale. He rode behind a Long Island Railroad locomotive in 1899 and clocked a mile in under 58 seconds, earning him the immortal nickname Mile-a-Minute Murphy.   On today’s episode we look back at Murphy’s accomplishment through the eyes of Si Tannhauser. Who was Si Tannhauser, you ask? Only the “poet laureate of Long Island” circa 1934. That’s when he published his ode to Murphy in the Leader Observer. Si was a ticket agent for the Long Island Railroad by day, poet by night. The lives of both men brim with anecdote and pathos. Tannhauser survived the San Francisco earthquake as well as hardscrabble times that left him near blind, lame and half-deaf. Murphy went on to Vaudeville and the New York City Police department where, among other things, he wrestled down a runaway horse. This episode is part of our celebration of National Poetry month and the reader of this particular Long Island power ballad is Rick Jackofsky of the Home Grown String Band. Many thanks, Rick! And check out our past ballads for more poetry/history mashups. Further Research Rhymes of the Sunrise Trail by Si Tannhauser (find in a library via WorldCat) Songs of Horticulture by Si Tannhauser (find in a library via WorldCat) “Mile-a-Minute Murphy,” Sports Illustrated, Sept. 5, 1955 Long Island Railroad History San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 Homegrown String Band Audio Credits Steam Whistle by Bidone CC 0 License Music: Razzle Dazzle Crowd cheers by jessepash CC 0 License Peak rails by konakaboom CC Attribution-NonCommercial License Bicycle by DamianMinnie CC Attribution-NonCommercial License Heavy breathing by Under7dude CC 0 License Grunts by mattgarkusha CC 0 License Wheezing by thedapperdan CC 0 License Man saying OMG by dcaval1@towson.edu CC Sampling Plus License Ooh females by AudioRichter CC Attribution License

We continue our celebration of National Poetry Month with our second Long Island power ballad from the past. This time out we are looking at “A Babylonish Ditty” by Frederick Swartwout Cozzens (writing as Richard Haywarde). Few will remember New York wine merchant-turned poet Cozzens and his heyday as a humor writer in the mid 1800s (although you should try his Sparrowgrass Papers, something of a 19th-century prototype for the sticom Green Acres.) Fewer still will remember the Knickerbocker, the magazine where he cut his teeth. But that’s where, in 1850, he first published “A Babylonish Ditty,” a quick-trotting ode to a long gone summer romance. Why Babylon? Well, the south shore of Long Island (“the merry old south side”) had a reputation that drew men out from New York City. Mostly they were merchants and lawyers, amateur sportsmen drawn to the abundant fish and game along the Great South Bay. They came by rail and stage coach and after a long day traipsing through the great outdoors, they retired to one of the many inns and taverns strung along the South Country Road (today’s Montauk Highway). Listen to Cozzens relive those hazy summer days and wonder to yourself how the “fickle” object of his affection viewed the whole affair. Many thanks to our guest reader, Steve Birkeland. Further Research “Babylonish Ditty” Kinckerbocker Magazine, December 1850. (via Hathi Trust) Prismatics by Richard Haywarde, 1853 The Sparrowgrass Papers, 1856 Village of Babylon Historical and Preservation Society Audio Credits Clock by pogotron CC Sampling Plus License Anita Female giggle by ch0cchi CC Attribution License 3.0 Stream by gluckose CC 0 License Cheers by Corsica_S CC Attribution License 3.0 Drinking glasses by EpicWizard CC 0 License Fireworks by noah0189 CC 0 License Crowd Ooohs by noah0189 CC 0 License Breeze by keweldog CC 0 License Footsteps by mentalsanityoff CC 0 License Bees by Benboncan CC Attribution License 3.0 Pain by 11linda CC Attribution License 3.0 Dog barking by jace CC 0 License Dog barks by juan-merie-venter CC Attribution Noncommercial Female startled surprise by AudioRichter CC Attribution License 3.0 Male laugh by ch0cchi CC Attribution License 3.0 Screams and pain by thanvannispen CC Attribution License 3.0 Running by Benboncan CC Attribution License 3.0 Vocal (Kiss) by Adam_N CC 0 License Slap by talis1942 CC Attribution License 3.0 Summer sounds by jymdavis CC 0 License Writing by moai15 CC 0 License Paddle in rowboat by jakobthiesen CC Attribution License 3.0 Storm by crooner CC Attribution Noncommercial Oh disappointed by esperar CC 0 License Splash by petenice CC 0 License High heels on wooden floor by avakas CC Attribution License 3.0 Door slams by bennstir CC Attribution License 3.0 Heavy surf by odilonmarcenaro CC 0 License Raven by bidone CC 0 License Grandfather clock by ollyoldhoff CC 0 License

It’s National Poetry Month and we’re celebrating with a series of poetry/history mashups that we like to call Long Island Power Ballads. We’re dusting off some deserving yet obscure poems (and poets) dealing with Long Island history and giving them another look. Over the next few weeks you’ll hear stories of broken hearts, tragic deaths, and the indomitable human spirit. But when we say obscure, we mean obscure. If you’re looking for Walt Whitman, seek ye elsewhere. Today’s episode deals with “The Death of Woodhull: An American Ballad” which tells one version of the death of Nathaniel Woodhull, American patriot, Brigadier General and brother-in-law of William Floyd. Learn the history of the man and the story of the legend that sprung up around his demise. His connection to AMC’s Turn is also explained. Hear our fearless poetry reenactors bring this ballad back to life amid fanfare, galloping horses and flashing blades. Many thanks to Anne McCaffrey, Frances Schauss and Kristine Hanson. Audio Credits Let Me Like a Soldier Fall Marching Snare from lewk CC Non-Commercial Attribution License 3.0 Horses from vincentmalstaf CC 0 License Reenactment from alienistcog CC 0 License Cannon from man CC Attribution License 3.0 Female breathing from Kuroseishin CC 0 License Horse neigh from dobroide CC Attribution License 3.0 Sword Battle from freefire66 CC 0 License El Miserere Breathing from lizanejordaan, CC Non-Commercial Attribution License 3.0 Stabbing Watermelon from the shaggyfreak, CC Non-Commercial Attribution License 3.0 Passing Review Further Research “Death of Woodhull: An American Ballad” from The Mirror, 1823 Account of Woodhull’s death from Henry Onderdonk’s 1846 Documents and Letters Intended to Illustrate the Revolutionary Incidents of Queens County. Turn: Washington’s Spies on AMC Digital Public Library of America resources Freesound.org UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive National Poetry Month