The Long Island History Project

Our sojourn through the hallowed pages of the Suffolk County News from 1920 hit a speedbump this week when it turned out that no digital copy was available online. To help us sort things out, we called on Chuck Henry. Chuck is the IT Coordinator for the Northern New York Library Network (NNYLN). Part of his job is helping to keep things running at the New York State Historic Newspapers website, shepherding millions of pages of New York newspapers from their frozen microfilm existence to a new life in a free and open digital database. We learn more about the operations and origins of NNLYN's work, what treasures lurk within, and how more people should be exploring New York's varied past. Further Research NYS Historic Newspapers The Heuvelton Bee Suffolk County News Northern New York Library Network

The places we live are filled with the stories of our lives, told room by room like chapters in a book. So how do you read a home? That's what Kendra Gaylord does on her podcast, Someone Lived Here. She explores historic houses to find the people who inhabited them, from poets and photographers to inventors and musicians. Today she takes us on a tour of her podcast and introduces us to the people she's met. Along the way we compare research techniques, editing practices, and historic house gift shops. Further Research Someone Lived Here Steepletop (Edna St. Vincent Millay's House) Lewis Latimer House Museum Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center Alice Austen House Two Degrees of Peri Gilpin

We wade once again into the cool stream of the digital past to fish for items from the Suffolk County News of 1920. Today is Friday, May 14th in the last century and we find glimpses of lost silent films, more automobile accidents, and the dismantling of one of the great estates of the South Shore.  

Welcome back to our exploration of the Suffolk County News, bringing tales of life from a century ago. This week, there is some bad hooch going around, the hometown team wins their opener, and Will Rogers has a new movie out.  

We return today to the sea to consider the whale. More specifically, we talk with Brenna McCormick-Thompson of the Whaling Museum and Education Center in Cold Spring Harbor. Brenna is the Curator of Education at the museum and helps tell the story of Long Island whaling to visitors of all ages. Our discussion covers the important role Long Island played in the development of the whaling industry in America, the important role that museums play in educating us about the past, and the appeal of historic bathrooms. Further Research The Whaling Museum & Education Center @CSHWhaling on Twitter How to Dissect a Whale Sag Harbor Whaling Tales Whaling (On This Site) Royal Museums Greenwich Audio Footnotes Episode 88 with Erin Elizabeth Becker Episode 82 with John Strong

If it's Friday and we're still in self-isolation, then this is another edition of the Suffolk County News, give or take one hundred years. We're reading through the newspaper as it appeared in 1920 and pulling out the highlights, the miscellany, and the unjustly forgotten. In today's paper we find a case of suspended animation, high sugar prices, and the birth of a new highway. Further Research NYS Historic Newspapers The Best Scenic Stops Along Montauk Highway

The latest edition of last century's Suffolk County News is here, for April 23rd, 1920. We continue easing our home isolation by reading what was going on in our region all those years ago. This week: a strange burglary, more coffee, and hints of an eighties superband.

Two museum directors, one public librarian, an artist, a researcher and a journalist. We're spending time today catching up with past guests to see how they're faring. The result is a small glimpse into the lives of six people from the region and how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted them and their jobs. Also - the return of Connie Currie! Thanks to all of our guests and we hope that everyone gets through this safely. Further Research Jeremy Dennis Episode 51 On This Site @Jeremynative Melanie Cardone-Leathers Episode 58 Longwood Public Library Bayles Local History Room Longwood Collective: Preserving Yesterday & Today for Tomorrow Chris Vacarro Episode 72 Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame @ChrisVaccaro Tom Edmonds Episode 86 Southampton History Museum Southampton and the Devastating Influenza Epidemic of 1918 (Mary Cummings) Alexandra Wolfe Episode 91  Preservation Long Island @PreservationLI Kate Robbins Episode 87 Kate Robbins Research Tod Robbins

We continue our trek through the local news of a century gone by. Today we read the Suffolk County News from Arpil 16, 1920. We find stories of bootleggers, war-torn France and two spinster sisters freed from an insane asylum after a decade of confinement.  Further Research Hal B. Fullerton Photo Exhibit (Heckscher Museum of Art) Audio Footnotes On Mile a Minute Murphy Long Island and Prohibition

The Freemasons have been with us since the beginning of our country. And no, they do not have secret repositories of hidden gold. They do have a long history of service, community-building and camaraderie that persists to the present. Today we welcome Ron Seifried to the podcast to explore the history and development of Freemasonry in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Further Research Long Island Freemasons by Ron Seifried (Arcadia Press) Masons of Jephtha No. 494 Suffolk Masonic District Freemasonry - George Washington (Mount Vernon) Audio Footnote: Being Teddy Roosevelt