The Long Island History Project

We continue our exploration of Long Islands other than our own. This episode takes us inland from the East Coast to the banks of the Whitewater River in western Ohio. Sharon Pope Lutz tells us the story of Long Island Beach and how the Pope family turned their property from idyllic piece of farmland to a 1920s roadside attraction featuring swimming, bingo, a dance hall, and home-made amusement park rides. Today she and her family keep the flame alive, operating Green Acres Kayak from the same spot. Further Research: Green Acres Kayak Whitewater River Foundation Little Egypt Fort Finney Principal Meridian Rosemary Clooney on Spotify Southwest Ohio Amusement Park Historical Society

Thomas M. Stark served as a judge in Suffolk County and New York State starting in the early 1960s. During his career he presided over a number of important cases but the one that loomed largest was the murder of the DeFeo family at their home in Amityville by their son Ronald in 1974. Stark's daughter Ellen remembers hearing about the case over dinner while the rest of the world remembers it as the Amityville Horror case. On this episode, Ellen talks to us about her father's book, Horrific Homicides, in which he describes the DeFeo case along with a number of other notable trials from his career. A noted jurist and student of the law, Stark kept careful notes on his trials and details not only the crimes themselves but the legal issues involved. The result is a glimpse at the darker side of Long Island history from behind the judge's bench. Further Research Horrific Homicides by Thomas M. Stark Thomas M. Stark obituary (Suffolk Times) "The Wild Party that Scandalized the Hamptons." (Daily Beast)

Glenn Durlacher looks back over his family's legacy of square dance calling on Long Island with deserved pride. His grandfather Ed pioneered square dancing in the New York City area starting in the 1930s. At the urging of his friends in the Top Hands band, Ed made a name for himself calling dances and traveling to promote the use of his records and square dancing to phys ed teachers across the country. This led to an association with Robert Moses and gigs calling at the 1939 World's Fair as well as in Central Park. But it was at the Jones Beach Bandshell that he made his greatest impression. First Ed, then his son Don, and then family friend Primo Fiore hosted weekly square dances every summer at the beach for over sixty years. On today's episode, Glenn relates the history of square dancing in his family and what he remembers of being at so many of those Jones Beach nights. We also discuss Glenn's hopes for a more permanent commemoration of the importance of square dancing at Jones Beach. If you or your family remember dancing at Jones Beach and would like to support the creation of a plaque to its memory, you can write to: New York State Parks Regional Headquarters West Babylon, NY 11704 Further Research Square Dancing History Project Central Park Newsreel Honor Your Partner (YouTube) Dix-Hills Melville Historical Association Ben & Jerry's – About Audio Footnotes: The Life Story of Primo Fiore

They were women and they fought for the right to vote. Beyond that, every person documented in the Online Biographical Dictionary of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States has a different story to tell. Dr. Thomas Dublin and a crowdsourced team of volunteers have worked diligently to collect those stories. The Dictionary, a free online resource, is a searchable database of biographical sketches telling the life story of three groups of women: Black women suffragists - many of whom migrated out of the South to find more opportunities yet were not always embraced by the wider suffrage movement. Members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) - the mainstream organization of the movement with thousands of members working across every state. Members of the National Womans Party (NWP) - formed by women impatient with the strategies and pace of change under NAWSA. Dr. Dublin describes what it took to pull this database of materials together. A network of volunteers including historians, librarians, genealogists, and students combed through local newspapers, public records, and various primary and secondary sources. What emerged was a series of biographies that document the many faces of women in the movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. Further Research Online Biographical Dictionary of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States Find a Grave Chronicling America NYS Historic Newspapers African American Women in the Struggle for the Vote, 1850-1920. Bloomington: by by Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (Find in a Library via WorldCat) The History of Woman Suffrage (vol 6)

In 2020 we marked the centennial of woman suffrage and the passing of the 19th amendment. Although the intervening 102 years can make that struggle feel like the distant past, the story of the many people who fought and marched and pushed for the right to vote is very much alive. Marguerite Kearns keeps one such story before our eyes in her book An Unfinished Revolution (SUNY Press). The book presents the life of her grandparents, Edna Buckman and Wilmer Kearns, and their extended world of Pennsylvania relatives, fellow Quakers, and suffrage activists. Living in Rockville Center in 1905, Edna and Wilmer were in the thick of grassroots organizing on Long Island and New York City. The stories that Marguerite heard from her mother and grandfather, along with her own extensive research, form a picture of loving, dedicated, real people making the best of their lives and making history. On today's episode, Marguerite shares how she learned that story and how she wove it into a book rich with photographs and the words of Edna and Wilmer. Further Research An Unfinished Revolution (SUNY Press) by Marguerite Kearns Bearing Witness: A Family Legacy [Spirit of 1776] Wagon (NYS Museum) Long Island and the Woman Suffrage Movement Dr. "General" Rosalie Jones (National Park Service) Women's Suffrage: Pictures of Suffragists and their Activities (Library of Congress) Image credit: Edna Kearns (circa 1915). Image courtesy of Marguerite Kearns used under a CC BY -SA 3.0 license.

Brad Kolodny returns to the podcast to update us on what he's been doing during the intervening thirty episodes. Turns out he's got a new book and a new historical society. The Jews of Long Island (SUNY Press) is out now and in it, Brad documents the personal and communal stories of Jews on Long Island from the l8th through the early 20th centuries, uncovering a cast of thousands from itinerant peddlers to early baseball players to vacationing vaudevillians. Further Research: The Jews of Long Island Upcoming events Jewish Historical Society of Long Island Audio Footnotes: The Synagogues of Long Island The Jewish Community on Long Island The Soldier City of Suffolk County

Journalist Karl Grossman and historian Christopher Verga have teamed up for the new book Cold War Long Island, out now from the History Press. In it, they detail the productive and tumultuous post-World War II years on Long Island. With an influx of returning GIs and an increase of military spending to counteract the growing strength of the Soviet Union and other communist countries, Nassau and Suffolk Counties saw rapid growth. Aviation companies like Republic and Grumman became household names and a housing boom, epitomized by suburban communities like Levittown, brought many people to the area. Grossman and Verga also highlight the challenges that came with the prosperity. Neighborhoods like Levittown denied homes to Black veterans. Widespread anxiety led to a rise in prescription drug abuse. Nuclear missiles were stationed across the Island and the everyday use of nuclear power was promoted by the government with little or no acklnowledgement of its dangers. And that's not even mentioning Plum Island. Join us for this wide-ranging discussion on the 1950s, 60s, and 70s as we take in everything from Nazi scientists to the United Nations, space tourism, and the Rolling Stones. Further Research Cold War Long Island (History Press) Books by Karl Grossman Power Crazy (1986) Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power (1982) Books by Christopher Verga World War II Long Island (2021) Civil Rights on Long Island (2016) Avoiding Nuclear Destruction by the Skin of Our Teeth (WHTV) Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town (2008) by Kelly McMasters Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Laboratory (2004) by Michael C. Carroll Brookhaven National Lab "America's Long Love Affair with Anti-Anxiety Drugs" (Newsweek) "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel (official video) Audio footnotes: Episode 50 with Sandi-Brewster walker whose father poured cement for Levittown Episode 27 with Karl Grossman on Long Island's nuclear power industry Episode 145 with Christopher Verga on Victor Yannacone

We continue our focus on the Southold Indian Museum by talking with their current president, Lucinda Hemmick. A science research teacher from Longwood High School, Lucinda found her way to the museum through the research interests of her students. What followed was a ten-year exploration of Clovis arrow points, steatite pots, and the use of science to unravel the secrets of archaeological artifacts. Rare "face pot" found at Three Mile Harbor. (Photo courtesy of Southold Indian Museum.) Lucinda also walks us through the history of the museum, with its origins in a group of archaeologically-minded North Fork men in the 1920s. Their efforts and connections to professional archaeologists led to the opening of the museum in the 1960s. UPDATE 12/13/21 - the Southold Indian Museum is closed through December 2021. Check their website for the most recent info on scheduling. Further Research Southold Indian Museum Lucinda Hemmick (ResearchGate) In Memory of Ralph Solecki Student Partnerships for Advanced Research and Knowledge (SPARK) New York State Archaeological Association Nicotina rustica (USDA) Audio footnote: other episodes focused on archaeology

Welcome to part 1 of a 2-part episode focusing on the Southold Indian Museum. Today we speak with Jay Levenson, incoming executive director of the museum. Jay discusses his Native American heritage, how he moved to Long Island and discovered the museum, and his time learning about its resources. He also talks about the history of Native Americans on Long Island and the importance of having an institution that helps them tell their story. Birdstone atlatl weight from the museum's collections. Photo by Ephraim Horowitz. Further Research Southold Indian Museum "A Burial Site is Returned to the Shinnecock" (East Hampton Star) Fort Corchaug (On This Site) Algonquian Language Revitalization Project (SBU) Traditional Tobacco (Keep it Sacred)