Smithtown, A History: A Local Treasure Lost

Hauppauge Village Hall becomes a casualty of the expansion of Route 347.

Hauppauge Village Hall sign. Photo courtesy of Paul Borowski.

***This article was originally published on the website Smithtown Patch in October of 2010. 

Residents of the Smithtown/Hauppauge area found Hauppauge Village Hall a sight as welcoming as their own home. On October 1, the building, located at the intersection of Routes 347 and 454, was demolished due to the 347 widening project.

Paul Borowski, who headed up attempts to save the structure, pointed out, "It wasn't an elaborate place, but it was the place."

Since 1977 the hall was owned by the St. Thomas More’s Knights of Columbus. Besides serving as a meeting spot for the organization and local Boy Scout troops, it was a popular location for birthday and christening parties.

Built in 1887, the building was originally owned by the Smith family and in earlier days was used by the Perseverance Lodge of Good Templars. It was 1931 when it was purchased by the Hauppauge Village Hall Association. According to local historian Noel Gish, it was even used as a school for a short period in the 20s.

Gish said, “It served the community very well.”

From the mid 1940s to the 1980s, the Mr. and Mrs. Club of Hauppauge used the hall as a meeting place. The community and social club was responsible for many of the improvements made to the structure. When the group first started meeting there, there was only a coal stove, no running water and the bathroom was outdoors.  

Gish said in 1959 Lee Koppelman met with residents at the hall to discuss the master plans for Hauppauge. Here plans unfolded for the community’s schools, fire department and the industrial park.

When the Knights sold the building to the state in the end of last year, Borowski and Gish approached the state about saving the hall and enlisted the help of Suffolk County Legislator John M. Kennedy and Senator Brian Foley. The state was willing to donate the building if a location could be found for it by June 1.

There was hope that the Hauppauge School District would be able to place the building on school property. While the district was open to the idea, state regulations inhibited the move.

There was also an interest in moving it to Blydenburgh Park or Sayville. However, despite private engineers claiming the building was stable enough to move, Suffolk County engineers deemed it unstable.

Borowski and Gish were able to save around 200 bricks from the hall as well as the Hauppauge Village sign. The plan is for the pieces to be displayed at Hauppauge High School.

Now Hauppauge Village Hall, once an example of our rich local history, is an example of how we can lose a bit of our past.

Hauppauge Village Hall in 2010 before it was demolished. Photo courtesy of Paul Borowski.

***This article was originally published on the website Smithtown Patch in October of 2010. 

Former Smithtown Resident Shares a Piece of the Pie with the Less Fortunate

A few weeks ago I decided to write about some great people from Smithtown for this blog—those who still live here and those who grew up here and still carry our town in their hearts.

Living in Smithtown for over 35 years, and a graduate of Hauppauge High School who is very active on Facebook, I easily listed a dozen or so people I wanted to blog about. As for the first person, I knew it had to be my former schoolmate Lorraine Gryniewich.

A few months ago, Lorraine, a member of Hauppauge High School’s Class of ’87, experienced a turning point in her life and found her calling. While others were gathered around the table on Thanksgiving Day catching up on family members and friends, or posting photos on Facebook, this wife and mother of two was having a more meaningful interaction. A conversation with her twin sister Laura on that day would be one that would positively change her life as well as the lives of many of the less fortunate in her area.

Lorraine was incredulous when Laura, who is a social worker, explained that the people she served would not receive their usual food baskets during the holidays due to policy changes. After hearing of her sister’s frustrations, Lorraine said to her, “I’ll do it. I don’t know how, but I will do it.”

And she did it! Getting the word out to her friends on Facebook that she was organizing a food drive, the philanthropist was able to collect 1,867 pounds of food and hand deliver complete meals to over 50 families in time for Christmas. Lorraine said food and money donations came from all over the country with the great majority of the donations coming from former Hauppauge High School classmates—many who she hasn’t seen in almost 30 years.

Some of the food collected during Lorraine's holiday food drive in 2013.

Turns out the holiday food drive wasn’t just a feel good project to get into the spirit of the season for Lorraine. She couldn’t get over the feeling that she just dropped off baskets of food to some families that didn’t even have electricity or running water. Knowing that Lorraine felt the desire to help others in need even further, one of her friends suggested she visit an underserved school in West Virginia. After a trip to the school in a rural and isolated area, she was struck by the urgent need for basics such as food and clothing. She knew she needed to do something to help out the students as well as their families.

Her calling to be the voice of the less fortunate led to the birth of the nonprofit organization Piece of the Pie (POP). The mission is simple: to help families and seniors in need living in the DC metro, Maryland, Northern Virginia and West Virginia areas. In addition, if she can assist in some way in other places, she is more than happy to help. 

Lorraine has adopted the West Virginia school and has visited the faculty and students, as well as the homes in the surrounding area, numerous times. She has helped to bring coats, sneakers, early readers, classroom books, copy paper and more to the children and their families. With a recent clothing and materials drive, she once again has been touched by the generosity of those she has connected with on Facebook. Long-time friends and acquaintances not only have donated to the cause, but have also volunteered their homes to be drop-off sites for donated items.

Mimi Wright, who has known Lorraine since their days together at Forest Brook Elementary School, wasn’t surprised when she heard her former classmate was starting a non-profit and how quickly everything came together.

“There was no question in my mind that this was her calling—finding the local need and getting people to fix it! She has the heart to want to do it; the organizational skills to get it done. The attitude to make sure she gets the right help, or send people on their way, and the personality to do it with such grace that people want to help over and over again,” Mimi said.

It’s also no surprise that Lorraine has been touched so deeply by the needs of the children attending the West Virginia school. Before becoming a stay-at-home mother 9 years ago, she was a teacher for 15 years. Lorraine knows that students need the basics in and outside of the classroom to receive a proper education and that all children deserve to be educated. The former educator explained that most of the children live in remote areas that are only passable with a four-wheel drive even on a good day—the type of vehicles that poor families can’t afford. And even if they do a have a car, many of the parents can’t afford to buy gas. With stores a 20 minute drive away, even when there is money to buy groceries, without a car it can be extremely difficult to pick up food and other necessities. She said that at times the visits to the children’s homes can leave her feeling frustrated and wondering if she is doing enough for them.

“What keeps me going is the hope that maybe one little one will remember a kind act and will feel worthy of a better life,” she said.

Lorraine said it’s her father who has inspired her most in life, and it’s he who set the example of helping others. The former Hauppauge track team member said she remembers her dad buying coffee for a man with special needs who bagged groceries in Grand Union. He also would buy lunch for the autistic man who was in charge of gassing up the trucks at work. While Lorraine moved to Maryland after graduating from the University of Buffalo and now calls Virginia home, she still travels to our town often to visit her father as well as her mother, brother and grandmother.

The founder of Piece of the Pie has not only changed the lives of those she has helped, but also those who have been inspired to do better after witnessing what she has accomplished in such a short time. Former classmate Francine Silverman was so touched by Lorraine’s work that she coordinated a clothing drive in her New Jersey neighborhood for Piece of the Pie. In addition to the clothing she gathered, she also found an eye doctor to donate a box of frames and prescription glasses and a dentist to contribute 250 toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Lorraine is currently collecting non-perishable foods for the families in the West Virginia area and also organizing a back-to-school supplies and clothing drive for the students. If you are inspired by this former Smithtown resident’s mission, you can donate non-perishable foods, gently-used clothing and outwear for children and adults, gently-used books, games, puzzles or small toys to Piece of the Pie. Simply contact Lorraine at rain@shareapieceofthepie.org. Monetary donations are also accepted and can be sent to: PO Box 214, Hamilton, Virginia 20158.

For more information about Piece of the Pie, visit http://shareapieceofthepie.org .

The results of a recent Piece of the Pie clothing drive. 

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Author Claire Nicolas White Shares the Stories of the Smith Family

Every once in a while I get a chance to take a step back in time…well, at least feel like it. Today was one of those days for me as I headed over to the Ward Melville Heritage Organization’s (WMHO) Educational and Cultural Center in Stony Brook.

With the front of the venue’s main room set up like an old-fashioned sitting room, the organization presented author Claire Nicolas White’s new book The Land of the Smiths: A Collection of Personal Memoirs. White, who was married to a descendant of both Smithtown’s town founder and architect Stanford White, was fortunate to read many of the writings of Smith family members. She also was able to enjoy a few years with her husband’s grandmother, Bessie White, who was the daughter of a Smith and married to Stanford. Bessie grew up in Judge Lawrence Smith’s house that still stands today on the property of the Smithtown Historical Society.

Today’s reception began with the over 100 attendees mingling while enjoying free refreshments and buying the new history book. WMHO President Gloria D. Rocchio gave a brief introduction and thanked sponsors Lessing’s, The Smithtown News and Damianos Realty Group.

The trip back in time began as pianist Richard Foley and violinist Ryan Foley played a medley of Stephen Foster songs including “Oh! Susanna" and “Camptown Races”. The brief musical performance was followed by a vignette called “A Visit with Miss Smith” written by Ms. White and performed by local actress Jean Linzee. The old-fashioned sitting room was the perfect backdrop for this peek into the life of one of Judge Lawrence Smith’s daughters and Bessie White’s sister. Not only did Linzee transport the audience back in time to the days of Ella’s youth, but also let us in on what life was like for a young Smith in the late 1800s.  Ella reminded guests that there was a time when Main Street was filled with Smiths and the town’s train station was a new addition. However, the most touching part of the monologue is when we find that Ella had fallen in love with her cousin on her mother’s side, James Clinch. While many Smiths married cousins, her father didn’t approve. To keep her away from her crush, the judge locked Ella in a cage in the attic for a month! And while the punishment was uncalled for, and your heart may break for the young girl, Ella did move on to marry Devereux Emmet, a wealthy golf course designer and realtor. The Emmet’s became the proud owners of the house Sherrewogue on Harbor Road in Head of the Harbor.

When it was Ms. White’s turned to speak, she was very modest and after a few sentences joked that the audience would probably prefer if she just signed books. However, she did graciously answer a few questions. With a half a dozen or so Smiths on hand, including Nissequogue Mayor Richard Smith, many wanted to know if Ms. White had ever been familiar with this Smith or that Smith. At one point, the conversation turned to town founder, Richard Smythe, acquiring the land known as Smithtown from his friend Lion Gardiner and not by riding a bull. Ms. White reminded us that not many places have such a charming story attached to it.   

Since I just bought the book today, I can’t write a review of it just yet. However, thumbing through the pages, I can tell you the Holland-born author came to Long Island looking for “a sense of place to complete my identity”. After today’s reception, it’s seems as if she not only found that, but with her book will provide many more Smithtown residents with a sense of place and appreciation of its town’s wonderful history.

For more information on The Land of the Smiths: A Collection of Personal Memoirs call the Ward Melville Heritage Organization at 631-751-2244.

 

Jean Linzee as Ella Smith.

 

Ms. White signing books at the end of the presentation.

Welcome to Commack

I was exchanging emails with someone the other day, and I mentioned how I blogged. After looking at this page, I may have been exaggerating a bit. It sure has been a while.

You know how it is…life gets in the way sometimes. A recent move has kept me busy lately, but at the same time has inspired me to blog again.  You see I may have moved, but I’m still in Smithtown. It’s just a different part of the township that’s all.

I’m in Commack now on the Smithtown side. What can I say here on Long Island a few of our hamlets have split personalities. The fact that Commack is divided between the townships of Huntington and Smithtown can be credited to Smithtown founder Richard Smythe.

When I was writing for Commack Patch, my former social studies teacher Noel Gish explained that like most land disputes on the island it began over confusion over who was given land from Native Americans. Nessaquakes, Matinecocks and Secatogues once lived in and around what we now know as Commack.  The land from Cow Harbor in Northport to west of the Nissequogue River was granted to Jonas Woods, William Rogers and Thomas Wilkes of Huntington in 1656. This territory was given to them by the Sachem Asharoken of the Matinecocks. Around the same time Richard Smythe acquired the land that would become Smithtown from his friend Lion Gardiner. The Sachem Wyandanch presented Gardiner this area which he believed extended to the west of the Nissequogue. The overlapped area of these two claims is now the Smithtown part of Commack.

For twenty years a debate continued as to whether the Huntington group or Smythe owned the land. The founder of Smithtown persisted in Dutch courts and then English courts and won his claim in the late 1670s.

Basically it’s the reason why Commack residents west of Townline and Commack Roads have trouble getting permission to park at Hoyt Farm, and those east of the roads can’t borrow books from the Commack branch of the Huntington Library. I guess back in the old days they didn’t foresee these little annoyances. :)

Even the name Commack has two pronunciations. While you’ll hear most people say Ko-mack nowadays, you’ll still find some old-timers who say Kom-mack, which kind of sounds like “comic”. There’s a reason for this. The area was originally called Winnecomac, and when the name was shortened, Comac was initially used. The spelling was changed to Commack to avoid being confused with Coram. Apparently there were some mail mix-ups back in the old days.

So here I am Commack and here I am readers. Let’s continue this journey through the township of Smithtown real soon!