Prose & Comments: History — personal and Island-wide
BY CHRIS CAREY
My family first came to Shelter Island from Brooklyn in 1952.
Our father, Hugh, drove my mother, Helen, and five children past Lake Panamoka, heading east to the North Fork with its potato and dairy farms and then to Greenport for our maiden voyage on the ferry. It was Easter time when we met and stayed with the Behringers at the Shelter Island House. We ventured out to the Griffing and Collins Real Estate Office on Route 114 and were welcomed by Evans Griffing and the grand lady, Barbara Collins.
Returning to the Inn, we all walked to Louis’ Beach and waded up to our ankles. The water was Spring-cold but inviting. We hiked back up the hill and enjoyed orange sodas and an old-time juke box in the Arbor.
That summer we rented on Winthrop Road next to Johnny Piccozzi and his family. Johnny ran the grocery store on Bridge Street, next to Basile’s and Dal’s fish market. Johnny’s staff included the engaging Gene Case and the butcher, Red Gulluscio, who gave us “baloney cigars.” Red told us that he had been in the cast of the Little Rascals.
On Saturday evenings after closing, my father joined Johnny, his brothers, Jake and Augie, Jack Calabro and Charlie Disch to discuss politics and local issues.
I remember walking barefoot down the road to Second Bridge where I caught my first porgy. Back then, telephones had no rotary dials. You just picked up and asked for the number and the call was placed (and sometimes listened to) by operators, who included Helen Loper, Gracie Silvani and Alice O’Byrne. We got all the local gossip from “Ima Byrd,” in her “Overheard in the Osprey’s Nest” column in the Shelter Island Reporter.
After that initial summer, our family rented homes on Ram Island, Silver Beach and then the wonderful Angel Oaks on Divinity Hill. We were now 14 in number. We took swimming lessons from Jack Wroble and enjoyed great burgers and soft ice cream cones at Kraus’ snack bar. Charlie Kraus would add something new every year. One summer he brought in trampoline pits.
We went to the first Chicken Barbecue at Tuthill’s Boatyard. We were regulars every year for the Island’s summer reunion, produced by the Fire Department volunteers that included longtime buddies Rich Surozenski, Charlie Beckwith and Skip Tuttle, among so many others — a tradition surely missed these days.
I biked to McGayhey Hall to sign up to be an altar boy for Father Garvey at Our Lady of the Isle. I worked at Bohack’s where my boss was Mr. Wilson, whose son, Jim, was the only Shelter Islander to perish in the Vietnam War.
My sisters, Randy and Susie, worked in the Drug Store with my friend, Jimmy Gereghty, Cindy Halsey, Owen Dickson and brothers Paul and Peter Disch. With its booth seating, ice cream and soda fountain, it was the unofficial youth center for the Heights summer crowd; the Island kids gathered at Getty’s in the Center. A weekly adventure was taking a moonlit walk to Nettie’s for pizza, and Peter’s back-room DJ show.
In the summer of 1965, my father brought Bobby and Ethel Kennedy to the Island for a stay at Westmoreland with James “Pop” Roe Sr. A huge crowd greeted them as their small plane landed on the old air strip. There were great festivities, especially when my brother, Hughie, took Bobby waterskiing in West Neck.
The following year my parents bought The Hawthorne in Westmoreland Farm from the Conway family. The Hawthorne at one point had been home to the Roes. James Roe Sr. had been a congressman and New York State Democratic Chairman, and ally of FDR.
He purchased the farm at auction during the era when he sponsored a barnstorming baseball team that included Ollie Wells, the Dickerson boys and Peter Quinn. Quinn would later serve in Congress and become a State Supreme Court Judge. Roe added the slogan “Welcome to Never Never Land,” commemorating the legend that Sir James M. Barrie wrote “Peter Pan” there while staying at The Primrose and strolling in the Sunken Garden. (The first rehearsal of the Broadway production, starring Maude Adams, was performed at Westmoreland Farm in 1905.)
Many of my family still live in the house my father called “Twillowe Cove” in honor of the twin willow trees planted on the borders as well as his lyric: “Twill owe forever.”
I worked at The Candlelight and The Dory. During my college years I worked for the Franzonis at The Chequit where “88” held court at the piano, and we heard stories about Babe Ruth and Marilyn Monroe visiting the Off Shore Club.
My great fortune was the privilege of working for Len Bliss at Gardiner’s Bay. He would, of course, go on to create Bliss’ Department Store and become Town supervisor. He was always a great friend of our family. It is also where I began a friendship with the legendary golf pro Bob DeStefano.
Rachel Carpenter opened the Dering Harbor Inn to great fanfare. It was overseen by Pete Hannabury who had owned the Osprey, a café and luncheonette on the site of what is now Shelter Island Craft Brewery. It was a forerunner of Pat and Steve’s, now the Islander.
During those years, with all her children to take care of, my mother volunteered at Camp Shelter Island and served the significantly challenged yet wonderful visitors. We were all regular participants at St. Gabriel’s Monastery, a Passionist retreat facility, which held outdoor mass on Sundays in the summer. Members of my family always participated in the annual 10K and 5K Runs.
About 25 years ago my wife, Bonnie, and I built our home off Apple Orchard Road on what was once part of the Artemas Ward property. We are most fortunate that Rich Hogan has done so much to restore the grounds and garden, water tower and cottage.
Shelter Island is now our main residence (full disclosure: We go South for about four months for warmth and to be near our grandchildren). I am now privileged to volunteer with various organizations to support good causes and help those in need. Over these years it has been a continual, rewarding experience to share this beautiful community with contemporaries who grew up as Islanders, if not official “hareleggers.”
I even had the good fortune to participate in three musicals based on Island history and folklore, written by Lisa Shaw with Joanne Sherman.
I share this synopsis of my life experiences over the last nearly 75 years as I reflect on the value of our town’s own History Museum and how much it offers and provides, including the Living History Project. The project is the work of volunteers who have videoed and recorded nearly 40 Islanders as they talk about their lives and their memories.
The museum also has more than 200 oral histories, including recordings by “Toots” Clark, Alma Ryder, Ben Jones, Hap Bowditch Sr. and Gertrude Dinkel. I am reminded of the Museum’s 14 founding members who established this mission in 1922 — to write down and share the Island’s stories before there was no one left to tell them.
As vice president of the Shelter Island History Museum, I fully recognize the significant value museums have — preserving history, fostering education and enriching communities, both culturally and economically, by offering spaces for research, learning, reflection and enjoyment for residents and visitors alike.
What Shelter Island History Museum preserves, archives and showcases is well beyond the memories of my lifetime. Without the Museum, the Island’s identity and its roots would slowly and permanently erode. I strongly believe that approving Proposition 4 on May 20 to help fund the Museum’s operations is appropriate and justified and ensures the availability and preservation of valuable knowledge for our community. For most Islanders, Proposition 4’s financial impact would be $43.30 a year — that amounts to $3.60 a month.
Voting YES on Proposition 4 is an investment in our legacy for future generations. It would allow the Museum to expand its programs and exhibits to be enjoyed by all ages year-round. The funding would help cover the museum’s annual operating costs so donations and grants can more fully fund new exhibits, programs and workshops, add to our collections, offer internships for the Island’s youth and help establish an endowment fund.
History is not a luxury; it is essential to understanding who we are and how we live as Shelter Islanders. We appeal for your support.
