The Long Island History Project

http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/AddieSanders.mp3 Download audio I Don’t Want to Go from Lobster Press Written by Addie Meyers, illustrations by Andrew Rowland ( Image from GoodReads)   A self-confessed Nancy Drew aficionado, Addie Meyers has followed her passion and made writing an integral part of her life, finding inspiration for her books from the wide range of her experiences. Here she discusses how she went from raising children in Sayville to teaching poetry in schools (Alligators, Monsters & Cool School Poems), researching dyslexia (The Upside Down Kids written with Dr. Harold N. Levinson)  and swimming with dolphins (Top Fin.)  She also discusses the writing process – refining concepts, finding the right publisher, and ignoring trends in favor of your own ideas.  You’ll hear her read some of her poems and the picture book I Don’t Want to Go, revealing at the same time the secret to Grandpa’s super special tomato sauce. Books by Addie Meyer Sanders via Worldcat.org Further Research  Nancy Drew and Friends (online exhibit from the University of Maryland Libraries) Judy Blume on the Web Theodor Geisel (Dr Seuss)

http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/StuChamberlain.mp3 Download audio Retired from a life in radio and television, Stuart Chamberlain can look back on the long hours, overnight shifts, small town stations, and manic deadlines with a smile. In this interview he recounts his path from WMAJ in State College, PA to ABC where he wrote and produced “World News This Week.” One of the highlights, however, was his time working with Paul Harvey in Chicago. Stu discusses his forays into acting and reveals an old connection to the Sayville Musical Workshop. Throughout Stu delivers a thoughtful disquisition on the state of radio and the news media along with a look at the work of Long Island stations like WLIM and WLNG. Stu Chamberlain Further Research Paul Harvey from the New York Times, March 2, 2009. The Amateur Comedy Club Dan Ingram from the Radio Hall of Fame WLNG Celebrates 50 Years” from Dan’s Papers WLIM 1580 Tribute from Wackradio Sayville Musical Workshop  

http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/ToveAbrams.mp3 Download audio Tove Hasselriis Abrams was there at the beginning, four-and-a-half years old and watching her mother Karen perform in H.M.S. Pinafore at the old Sayville High School on Greene Avenue. That first group of performers went on to found the Sayville Musical Workshop.  Tove soon joined in, starring as Gretel in Humperdinck’s opera of Hansel and Gretel. After a break for college and work, she returned to catch the eye of and marry Steve Abrams, the Workshop’s pianist. One of the first community theaters in the country, the Sayville Musical Workshop produced musicals, dramas, and operettas until 1985. There’s a lot of theater lore in this interview, including the major impact Rodgers and Hammerstein had on community theater , Troy Donohue and Brian Dennehy’s time with the Workshop, and the role of community theaters in the post-World War II era. Tove Abrams. (Photo courtesy of Tove Abrams) Click to view slideshow. Further Research Hello, Dolly (1977) via the Sayville Public Library Sayville Musical Workshop Retrospective available at the Sayville Public Library Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatre Association of New York State

http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/WarrenMcDowell.mp3 The summer of 1977 brought Star Wars, blackouts, and the first appearance of The Fire Island Tide. From that first 24-page Memorial Day edition, Warren McDowell’s dream grew to a  140-page color news magazine with poetry, history and artwork along with community news.  Here Warren recounts that growth and the work it took: delivering papers every Friday by boat from Kismet to Watch Hill, dealing with national advertisers warily marketing to the “alternative lifestyle”, and loving every minute of it. Although clearly aware of the dangers facing newspapers (and radio stations) today, his message to those dreaming of starting their own: go for it!   Further Research “When a Paper Like the Tide Rolls In…” New York Times, August 7, 2007 Bill Plympton cartoons Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society

http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/Moriches.mp3 Download audio Growing up in the Moriches, Mary Field noticed what most people didn’t. As old buildings were being torn down, she wondered who would remember what had gone before. What followed was a lifetime of interest in local history, culminating in books like The Illustrated History of the Moriches Bay Area and the 1881 Diary of Nettie Ketcham. In this interview she tells stories of old Moriches she learned from earlier generations and anecdotes from Nettie Ketcham’s experiences at the end of the 19th century. Mary also recounts the work of her husband Van, a ham radio operator, historian of Long Island shipwrecks, and participant in the LORAN Project from World War II. Books by Van and Mary Field via WorldCat.org http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/KetchamInn.mp3 Download audio The 1989  fire that nearly destroyed the Terry-Ketcham Inn brought Bert Seides to tears but it also set him on the road to saving the historic Moriches landmark.  Building from a small group of volunteers meeting around Mary and Van Field’s kitchen table, Bert marshaled support and learned to navigate a maze of regulations, paperwork, and government agencies to bring the 1693 Inn back to life. In this discussion he provides a road map for preservation projects and reveals the hard work involved, from painstaking research to outreach programs to, of course, book sales. The Ketcham Inn Foundation The Terry Ketcham Inn courtesy of the Ketcham Inn Foundation   Further Research Moriches Bay Historical Society New York State Historic Preservation Office LORAN on Long Island in Word War II  from the U.S. Coast Guard Oral History Program

http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/GeorgeMunkenbeck.mp3 His full name was about as long and storied as his career: Philippe Regis Denis de Keredern de Trobriand. He was a Baron, a novelist, a painter, a gardener,  a member of the Garde Lafayette (Fifty-fifth New York), a hero of Gettysburg, and summertime resident of Bayport. Historian George Munkenbeck (Co. H, 14th Brooklyn) recaps the fascinating life of this “soldier’s soldier”, including his time in the Dakota Territory and his marriage to New York heiress Mary Mason-Jones. Major-General Regis de Trobriand Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-DIG-cwpb-06299     Major-General Trobriand is buried in Union Cemetery in Sayville, NY. Further Research Our Noble Blood: The Civil War Letters of General Regis Trobriand via WorldCat.org The Life and Memoirs of Comte Regis de Trobriand via Google Books George Munkenbeck on the military careers of the  Ludlow family of Oakdale (Part 1 and Part 2)

http://wwwx.dowling.edu/library/new/MartyHimes.mp3 Download audio Photo courtesy of the Marty Himes Collection. Long Island at the turn of the last century was a dream come true for early racing enthusiasts: miles and miles of flat open roads. In this interview, Marty Himes relates the history of auto racing on Long Island, from the early days of the Vanderbilt Cup Races to the post-WWII boom in midget car and stock car racing. Marty is himself a racer, starting the day he rolled his home-made soapbox derby car onto the track at Freeport Stadium. Learn more about the museum he has created to preserve the history of this fascinating aspect of Long Island’s history. The Himes Museum of Motor Racing Nostalgia Tickets for the Freeport Speedway.   Further Research Freeport Speedway Alumni on Facebook Vanderbilt Cup Races from Howard Kroplick at vanderbiltcupraces.com Islip Speedway from LongIsland70sKid.com

Welcome to the lives and times of The Home Grown String Band.  Rick and Georgianne Jackofsky have been performing old time traditional music with their daughters Erica and Annalee since 1997. In this interview you’ll hear how they got their start along with tales from the road as well as a  leisurely tour through the intertwining histories of old-time music, bluegrass, radio and television. The talk leads from  Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs to the Carter Family, Andy Griffith, and why there’s so little Long Island-specific music history. The Homegrown String Band Further Research R.A. Fountain Home Page Gourd Banjos: From Africa to the Appalachians A Brief History of Bluegrass Music Dr. John Brinkley