Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Historic Yaphank - Where the Past Greets the Present
September — October, 2016
Robert Hawkins House
P.O. Box 111
Yaphank, NY 11980-0111
www.yaphankhistorical.org
631-924-4803 -Swezey-Avey House
Main Office
Meetings: Third Thursday of the
Month; 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House.
Newsletter Editor: Peggy Judd
Inside this issue:
Join Us for a Victorian Harvest Tea!
Saturday, October 8th, 2016 at 2:00pm
At The Hawkins House
There will be a delicious array of assorted tea sandwiches,
President’s Message
…2
scones with clotted cream,
Politics in Yaphank in 1912
…3
assorted pastries for dessert, and “Lady Grey” tea.
General Meeting Programs
…4
Donation is $25 per person.
Crazy Quilts
... 5
A Successful House Tour
... 6
Upcoming Events
…7
Please call Kay Donaldson to make your reservations
At 631-395-9870.
We hope to see you there. And wear your Victorian finery if you wish!
Board of Directors
President - Robert Kessler
Vice President - Olive Archer
Treasurer - Audrey Kessler
Recording Secretary Kayann Donaldson
Corresponding Secretary Marie Desch
Librarian - Peggy Judd
Historian –Tricia Foley
Historian Emeritus Karen Mouzakes
Curator - Helen Kalbach
3-Yr. Trustee - Liz Horan
2-Yr. Trustee - Kathy Schmidt &
Tony Germano
1-Yr. Trustee - Jim Vavrina &
Judi Bird
Fall Community Yard Sale
The Fall Community Yard Sale will be held on the
Hawkins House lawns on Saturday, September 24th (rain
date, Sunday, September 25th). There will be a donation of
$5.00 per table with all proceeds going to support the
operations of the Yaphank Historical Society. Bring your
own table, chairs, and set up shop. Perhaps it’s the cooler
weather in the fall or the approaching holiday season, but the shoppers always seem
to be in a buying mood for the Fall Sale.
No reservations necessary. Call 631-924-4803 if you have any questions; someone
will return your call.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 2
Letter from the President
I want to thank everyone for electing me to serve as President of the Society for another year. I want the Society to
continue the projects that we have started and also move along on the new projects that are on our wish list for the
Yaphank Historic District.
Our main project is the restoration of the Homan House. Recently we have suffered a little setback on the project.
Suffolk County Deparment of Public Works had picked a contractor for the project and unfortunately, when we got to
the point of signing the contract, the contractor did not have all of his papers in order and the County had to void the
contract. So now we have to start over and find another contractor. Hopefully we will be able to get a new contractor
on board shortly and the project will move forward. We will stay on top of this and help in any way we can to get a new
contractor signed up.
We are still doing some things to keep the project moving forward. We recently had the windows steam cleaned and
all of the paint removed. They are stored off site and are now ready for restoration. We are also working on the
chimney. The base of the chimney located in the basement is in bad shape and needs to be rebuilt, which we are doing
with volunteers.
Our other houses, the Hawkins house, the Booth House and the Swezey House, are all in good shape. As with all
houses they need minor repairs and we are keeping up with this. The Hawkins House is getting a brand new heating and
air conditioning system installed this year. We can finally get rid of the old electric heaters that we have had for so
many years.
One of the things that was on our wish list was a new “Welcome to Yaphank” sign at the corner of the Long Island
Expressway and Yaphank Avenue. Thanks to board members Jim Vavrina and Tony Germano we finally have a new sign
installed at that location.
We also have three projects being done for us this year by the Boy Scouts for their Eagle Scout projects. We have one
Scout building picnic benches for us at the parking area on the south side of the Homan House. Another Scout is
putting in grade beams to support our display of logs that were dredged out of Willow Lake. The third Scout project will
be to build an informational kiosk at the Swezey House Park. This will be to display information about the park and the
Carmans River. These are great projects and we thank the Boy Scouts for their help in making our community a better
place.
We have finished our new extension to our Carmans River Nature Trail. You can now go from the Booth House to the
Saint Andrews Cemetery and then continue through the church parking area and go to the Octagon Foundation. From
here you can continue on our old trail and finish up at the Homan House parking area.
Robert Kessler
Election Night Results
Voting for Board Members took place at the August General Meeting on Thursday, August 18th. The complete 20162017 Board of Directors appears on page 1. We want to welcome new Board Member, Judi Bird; she was elected to
serve as a 1-year Trustee. We look forward to working with Judi this coming year. We want to thank departing Board
Member Jean Didamo for her service. Congratulations to Olive Archer who was elected to serve as Vice President.
Special thanks go to Peggy Judd who has served in the position of Vice President for the past six years. Peggy will
continue to serve on the Board as Librarian. We take this opportunity to also thank all of our continuing Board
Members for their service and support this past year. The Society looks forward to making the coming year one that
will be filled with interesting events for our members and continued restoration efforts and improvements to the
Yaphank Historic District.
Funds for this newsletter were provided by
the Suffolk County Legislature, Kate Browning, 3rd Legislative District. Thank You !
Page 3
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Politics in Yaphank in 1912
by Karen Mouzakes
The up-coming Presidential Election brought to mind two artifacts in our archives. One is a 1912 flyer inviting the
community to Come! Hear “the Call of the Bull Moose.” The other is a Democratic National Convention Baltimore
1912 medallion supporting Woodrow Wilson that was dug-up, amazingly 100 years later in 2012, in my own backyard!
The flyer advertised The Progressive Party of 1912, an American third party formed by President Theodore
Roosevelt. Roosevelt who had already served two terms as President was challenging the “no third term rule.” He
lost his bid for the Republican nomination to former protégé William Howard Taft and consequently formed a third
party.
The Progressive Party, formed by Theodore Roosevelt, became popularly known as the “Bull Moose Party” when
reporters asked how he felt after he was shot in the chest in an assassination attempt. Roosevelt responded that he
felt, “fit as a bull moose,” which then inspired the party’s nickname and emblem.
The community of Yaphank has always been active in politics and I could almost picture that October gathering at
Lake Side Hall. The advertised speaker was Regis Post who was appointed by President Roosevelt as the Governor of
Puerto Rico from 1907-1909. In 1912, Post supported Roosevelt for President and he came to Yaphank from his home
at nearby Bayport to explain why Teddy should win. At that Lake Side Hall meeting, Regis Post praised Progressive
Party Platform planks that included women’s suffrage, an eight-hour workday, farm relief and social insurance to
provide for the elderly.
Come that November, the Progressive Party carried eight states, enabling Democrat Woodrow Wilson to score a
massive landslide victory and become President of the United States. That leads to our other artifact, the Democratic
National Convention Baltimore 1912 medallion. Someone in Yaphank wore it proudly and was delighted when their
candidate won!
Lake Side Hall in 1912
1912 Flyer
Lake Side Hall became the Yaphank Grange Hall in 1913.
After renovation, which included a large addition, it
served as a Soldiers Club during the First and Second
World Wars. Today the building houses the Chase Bank.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 4
Politics in Yaphank in 1912 (continued)
Teddy Roosevelt with a Bull Moose
on the campaign trail.
The Teddy Roosevelt Bull Moose Party
Campaign Button
The 1912 Democratic Campaign Medallion
dug-up in 2012
General Meeting Programs
Developing and Preserving Gordon Heights
A presentation by Georgette Grier-Key
September 15, 2016
Please join us at our September General Meeting to be held on Thursday, September
15th, at 7:30pm, at the Swezey-Avey House. Our guest speaker will be Georgette GrierKey, Executive Director and Curator at the Eastville Community Historical Society. Her
First Firehouse, 1949
program will cover important historical facts about the development of our neighboring
community of Gordon Heights and efforts to preserve its unique character. Her program recounts the efforts of
Gordon Heights residents to continue to build their community and civic organizations, including the establishment of
New York State’s first African-American fire department.
Special Ghost Stories
A presentation by Chris Gamboni
October 20, 2016
Please join us at our October General Meeting to be held on Thursday, October 20th, at
7:30pm, at the Swezey-Avey House. Our guest speaker will be Chris Gamboni, awardwinning film maker, photographer, and author. Chris is an accomplished story teller and
we have enjoyed several of his presentations in the past. With the season of ghosts and goblins fast approaching our
meeting date, it will be interesting to hear Chris’ program. Many Historical Society members believe that our own
Hawkins House is haunted. Who knows—one of his special ghost stories might refer to our Hawkins House ghost.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 5
Crazy Quilts--- Popular Victorian Needlework
By Olive Archer
The definition of a Crazy Quilt is a quilt made of pieces of cloth of various colors, various textures, and irregular
shapes and sizes.
The crazy quilt is an American quilt pattern dating back to colonial times which reached the peak of popularity during
the Victorian era, particularly the years 1875—1900. Victorian crazy quilts used many different types of materials
beyond cotton. Silk, velvet, wool, and souvenir ribbons were sewn together and embellished with embroidery of all
kinds.
Two factors are credited with causing the phenomenal popularity of crazy quilts during the late nineteenth century.
One is the Centennial Exposition that was held in Philadelphia in 1876. Twenty percent of the United States population
attended that exposition and one of the most popular exhibits was the Japanese pavilion. Americans were enamored
by the decorative art that was now being imported from Japan including the “crazed pottery.” These Japanese
ceramics featured a “cracked ice” appearance giving the illusion of cracks. Crazy quilts attempted to emulate that look
using materials instead of ceramics.
In addition, silk fibers were now being processed and woven by American manufacturers, making silk fabric readily
available to middle-class American women. Editors of women’s magazines encouraged their readers to make the new
style of crazy patchwork in which the irregular shapes were now embellished with different embroidery stitches,
making each block a sampler of stitches.
Victorian crazy quilts are technically not quilts, as they do not have three layers: top, batting, and bottom sections.
They were made to be decorative items, displayed over a chair or draped on a piano. They were a way for the
Victorian lady to display her embroidery skills and incorporate the tenets of the Aesthetic Movement into her home.
Crazy Quilt Samplers, incorporating beadwork, silk flowers, and lace. Needlework by Olive Archer
Editors note: The two Crazy Quilt samplers pictured above were created by Olive Archer. These modern-day crazy quilt
samplers follow typical Victorian design of using the expected various materials with embroidery embellishments.
However, incorporating beadwork, hand-made silk flowers, pieces of lace, and even small non-textile items, like
pictures, make them true pieces of art.
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Page 6
A Successful House Tour Season
All three of our historic houses (the Hawkins House, the Booth Museum, and the Swezey-Avey House) were open for
tours Sunday afternoons in July and August. Docents were on hand at all houses to conduct tours and to answer
questions. Several exhibits were on display in each of the houses. Due to a “high-heat advisory” and lack of air
conditioning in the Booth Museum and Hawkins House, we had to close those tours on two different Sundays. The
Swezey-Avey House, equipped with air conditioning, remained open and several hardy visitors stopped in.
Our docents were busy, conducting over 130 separate tours. Some visitors stopped by for tours at all three houses
and others only visited one or two houses. And this summer we seemed to have more young people take the tours. At
the Swezey-Avey House, the Yaphank Lakes Exhibit, which features a list and pictures of insects and fish that are part of
the ecology of the Lakes, was of special interest to our young visitors. The Victorian Picnic exhibit at the Hawkins
House also attracted interest and questions from the youngsters, since in Victorian times, there were no plastic
utensils, paper plates, and other typical picnic gear that we have grown used to. In the photo below, note the real
china dishes, real glasses, real linen napkins, canned jars of fruit, and a picnic basket. Nearby was a croquet set for a
friendly game (as opposed to our cell phones with electronic games).
It was encouraging to see so much interest in our historic houses and in the history of the area. We heard
compliments from many who visited and several visitors expressed interest in joining the Society and/or attending our
General Meetings (featuring guest speakers on the third Thursday of each month) which are open to the public.
Thank you to all our docents who made time to welcome and guide our visitors.
And special thanks to Liz Horan who organized our summer tour season.
Kathy Schmidt prepared a
Victorian picnic
Lakes display featured highlights from
recent efforts to eradicate invasive plants
Some of the Fish species found in
Yaphank lakes
Special Society Field Trip
to the Southold Historical Society
The Yaphank Historical Society is sponsoring a field trip to the Southold Historical
Society and historic buildings complex on Wednesday, September 21st. The
Society is located on the North Fork of Long Island, 54325 Main Road (Rte. 25),
Southold, NY 11971. The Society, founded in 1960, maintains a large archive and
also maintains over a dozen historically significant buildings, dating from 1750 to
1900, which contain exhibits from the Society’s vast collections. On the day of our trip there is a special exhibit,
“School Girls and Their Samplers” in the Ann Currie Bell House. The exhibit tells the story of school girls in the past, as
well as the needlework skills of other women over the years.
Participants should plan to meet at the main entrance at 11:00am for a tour of the area. For those interested,
following the tour there will be an optional lunch at a local restaurant. We look forward to seeing you there.
Further details regarding this trip can be found on our website, www.yaphankhistorical.org.
Please make reservations with Marie Desch at 631-874-9265.
Page 7
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Yaphank Historical Society
SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER 2016
UPCOMING EVENTS
September General Meeting
Thursday, September 15th, 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House
Guest Speaker will be Georgette Grier-Key, Executive
Director and Curator
Eastville Community Historical Society
Program: “Developing and Preserving Gordon Heights”
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
Special Historical Society Field Trip
Wednesday, September 21st, 11:00am
Southold Historical Society and historic buildings
Main Rd. (Rte. 25), Southold, NY
To sign up call Marie Desch, 631-874-9265
Optional—Lunch following the tour at a local restaurant.
Details available on our website.
Fall Community Yard Sale
Saturday, September 24th, 9:00am—4:00pm
(rain date Sunday, September 25th)
Donation: $5.00 per vendor.
Set up on the Hawkins House Lawns.
No reservations required.
Call 631-924-4803 with questions.
Victorian Harvest Tea
Saturday, October 8th, 2:00—4:30pm, Hawkins House
Donation is $25 per person
Always a sold-out event, so please reserve early.
Reservations: call Kayann Donaldson, 631-395-9870
October General Meeting
Thursday, October 20th, 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House
Guest Speaker will be Chris Gamboni, Award-winning film
maker, photographer, and author
Program: “Special Ghost Stories”
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
November General Meeting
Thursday, November 17th, 7:30pm, Swezey-Avey House
Guest Speaker will be Richard Welch, Author and
Board of Directors,
Suffolk County Historical Society
Program: “19th Century Wooden Boatbuilding
on Long Island”
Refreshments will follow the meeting.
Bank of the River Gift Shop at the Hawkins House
Hours: Thursday afternoons, noon—4:00pm
Phone: 631-924-3401
Keep current with all our events and projects. Visit our website—www.yaphankhistorical.org
Page 8
Yaphank Historical Society Newsletter
Thank You To Our Supporters
If you are interested in having your business card printed in the Yaphank Historical Society newsletter, you may do so for a $50
donation per year. Please leave a phone number message at the Swezey-Avey House, 631-924-4803
OR 631-924-2241. Our members support our local businesses.
Yaphank Cemetery Association
P.o. Box 1
Yaphank, ny 11980-0001
For grave sales and questions, please call
Steve Trusnovec, Administrator
631-924-9042
www.big-li.com
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
244 E. Main Street
Yaphank, NY 11980
631-924-5083
Sunday Services: 8:30 & 10 A.M.
Sunday School at 10 A.M. Service
494 Long Island Ave., Medford, NY 11763
Showroom: 631-289-8086
Millwork Factory: 631-924-4195
Automotive Products, Inc.
14 Todd Court Extension
Yaphank, NY 11980-0540
631-567-2000