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!

Remembering the Local Victims of 9/11

Eleven years later we remember those who lost their lives due to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Yesterday I decided to visit a few memorials in the township of Smithtown to pay my respects to local victims.

Gardens of Remembrance

Just a few minutes away from my home is the H. Lee Dennison Building. Located on Route 454, the building features their Armed Forces Plaza which includes the Gardens of Remembrance. A memorial to 9/11 victims who once resided in Suffolk County, the structure is a large square of glass panels with a garden on the inside. While the garden is inaccessible, it creates a beautiful background for the panels. Each is etched with information about a different victim including their name, age at the time, occupation and town they resided in. The memorial is breathtaking any time of day, but when lit up at night, it becomes even more so.

 

Smithtown 9/11 Memorial

Right on Main Street in Smithtown is a memorial dedicated to residents of the town who lost their life that day. Next to the Cactus Day Salon residents will find a serene waterfall surrounded by a low wall. On the front of the wall a series of plaques display the names of the Smithtown victims and benches are located across from the waterfall for visitors to take in the simple yet beautiful dedication.

Responders Remembered Memorial Park
 

To honor the first responders in Suffolk County who lost their lives after 9/11, a memorial can be found on the corner of Smithtown Boulevard and Gibbs Pond Road in Nesconset. Many first responders have been diagnosed with different types of cancer throughout the last decade, and the marble walls are currently etched with 118 names. Members of the committee for the Responders Remembered Memorial Park are currently working on adding more names to ensure that all of the deceased responders from our county are honored.

Providing spots for locals to reflect on 9/11 on any day they choose, each of these memorials is beautifully designed to honor the victims so they will never be forgotten.  

Smithtown 9/11 Memorial
 

 

Long Island Kids Style

For the past few years, every summer I get the chance to discover Long Island through the eyes of a child. Well, at least for a few days when my cousin's son and/or daughter come to visit. While both of them have spent a few days with me the last few years, this year Samantha visited on her own.  Being 13 now, Brandon has a very busy schedule with baseball, friends and girlfriends. You know how it is!

Of course, being a 10-year-old girl there was a visit to Justice at the Smith Haven Mall, and one night we met up with cousins at Chuck E Cheese, but fortunately there was more to the vacation then shopping and games.

This summer we had the chance to visit Atlantis Marine World again. Or as they call it now, Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center. It's been two years since our last visit, and while they have added the exhibition with the butterflies and birds, I must admit we skipped it. Passing by the shark tank we did see someone taking part in the shark experience where you are lowered into the water in a cage to get a closer look at the sharks. And while it sounds kind of cool, I don't know about sharing water with sharks!

I must admit the highlights for me are still the penguins and sea lions. Samantha and I caught the sea lion show and were amazed at what they can do.  Or course, overall, it was just relaxing walking around checking out the aquatic animals. Even though I only seem to make it here when the kids are visiting, I think it's a great place for all ages to visit, even perfect for a date.

One night, to the relief of my friends and Facebook buddies who I kept asking about this place, I brought Samantha and my landlords' daughter to Boomers out by Exit 65 on the Expressway. There's an arcade, kiddie rides, bumper boats and  miniature golf, but I would have to say the best part of this small park are the go karts. The other attractions at Boomers are nice to take a break in between riding the go karts, but they probably won't hold the attention of anyone out of elementary school for long. However, as far as the go karts, I did feel we got more time on the track than we did at Karts in Ronkonkoma last year, so it was definitely worth the $24.99 P.O.P. And besides getting enough time on the track each time, we went four or five times!

Both the aquarium and Boomers have rock walls, which is great. However, while you don't pay extra for the one at the aquarium, you do pay $6 more for the one at Boomers. Not quite sure I would pay extra again. The kids get three tries, but considering we had to find someone to come help, I really don't think the $6 is justified.

One afternoon we were able to pay a quick visit to Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown. The park is one of those gems that exist because of the generosity of former residents. While the house is filled with educational material on animals and nature, and the outside hosts animals and birds that have been injured, the main draw is the butterfly vivarium. One of the girls working in the vivarium told me there were approximately 200 butterflies this year, and the day we were there they were fluttering around in full force in an array of colors. We kept trying to get photos of the blue ones, but they were too quick for us.

Of course, a trip to the island wouldn't be complete without stopping by Adventureland. The one thing I love about this place is that if you don't go on any rides you don't have to pay. I just paid $3 to go on the train around the park and that was it. As for Samantha and my landlord's daughter, they got the $23.99 P.O.P. bracelets, and considering we were there for over four hours, I still feel like I got my money's worth at Adventureland.  Granted it may not be as huge as a Six Flags park, and the rides may not be as scary, but it's definitely an easy way to have a few hours of fun on Long Island.

Now next year we'll have to make it to the glow-in-the-dark miniature golf in Deer Park or Medford. The kids definitely can have too much fun on this island!

Reunited and It Feels So Good: Hauppauge High School Class of '87's 25th Reunion

Hauppauge school spirit invaded Port Jefferson on Saturday, June 23 with members of Hauppauge High School's Class of 1987 holding an informal 25th reunion at Rowland Photography / The Gallery.

The event organized by Christine Weber Livingston and Jason Feinman drew approximately 25 former classmates. The two posted the event on Facebook in hopes of an informal, inexpensive and cozy event, and Kathy Kane Rowland made it possible by offering her photo gallery as the venue.

Old friends from the local area as well as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida gathered that night to catch up and take a stroll down memory lane. The reunion kicked off at 6:00 p.m. with plenty of hugs and warm hellos as people arrived. Chris Lynch and Jill Rossi were enthusiastically greeted everywhere they turned the second they entered the party. The two who met at an alumni happy hour three years ago became engaged a few months ago and everyone was looking forward to congratulating them.

Being in the village reminded Lorraine Gryniewich and Mary McCormick Ippolito of younger days when they would drive around Port Jefferson. David Juan remembered Jason taking care of a bully during their school years. One day Jason, who was a little guy, had enough of being picked on and swung his book bag at a fellow classmate slamming the guy into the lockers. It was definitely an incident that many remember to this day!

Nicole DeDominicis McBride traveled from Florida for the reunion and like many couldn’t believe 25 years had passed already. She had a great time catching up with everyone that showed up, but said as a nostalgic and sentimental person there were countless of others she would have loved to have seen.

And while many weren’t able to make the trip, others were there virtually for a short time thanks to Skype. People at the reunion got a chance to chat with Mimi Wright and John Taylor thanks to Kathy having a computer at the gallery.

Jason thought everyone looked great and loved hearing about the accomplishments of the mostly female attendees. He was impressed by Tracey Donehower’s volunteer work, and the mothers who juggle their children’s schedules, as well as their own interests and careers. He loved hearing about the wide range of professions from Colleen’s artistic career to Christine’s stint as a police officer.

Christine, who traveled from North Carolina, was blown away by her classmates. She posted on one of the Hauppauge alumni Facebook walls, "so current kids take a look at what you can accomplish by taking a good look at us." She's grateful for Facebook that not only made this reunion possible, but the 40th birthday party bash that was held a couple of years ago as well as the alumni happy hours that many from this class have attended over the past few years.

Everyone had so much fun that after 9:00 they headed over to the bar at Ruvo's, while others lingered over good-byes at the gallery. These former classmates definitely needed more than three hours to share their memories and lives.

I graduated a year before everyone, but always had friends from the Class of 1987. There are those like Denise and David Juan who I have remained friends with through the years and others who I reconnected with on Facebook. Many will agree that Hauppauge people are good people, and I have to say this group is an exceptionally great group. The Class of ’87 has always held a special place in my heart with my own class, and I am happy to say that many of them are still part of my life.

It’s nights like this one that remind us where we came from, and the good, solid foundation it provided in our lives. Here’s to more wonderful reunions in the decades to come!

Growing Up in Forest Brook Acres

My first home on Long Island was in the Forest Brook Acres section of Smithtown. Granted I never knew it was called Forest Brook Acres until later years, even though the school in the area was Forest Brook. One day I found my grandparents’ deed that called it that, and then I heard people looking for a house calling the area by that name.

I moved in with my grandparents when I was nine years old after my parents separated. All of a sudden the place I once visited on vacations was now my home. Moving from Queens to the suburbs left me a bit shell-shocked, but Smithtown turned out to be a great place to grow up.

I grew up on Brook Lane a dead end street off of Brooksite Drive. Many of the streets along Brooksite are dead ends, and they all had, and I believe still have, an opening at the end of the street that leads into Blydenburgh Park. My grandparents used to tell me not to go into the park without an adult, but of course I did. There was one time I went in there with the other kids from the neighborhood and had a snowball fight, and I got hit with one right in the ear. Then there was the other time my friend Nancy and I went into the park with her brother Frankie and his friends. Somehow during our adventure we walked over a log that crossed a muddy stream. Of course, a couple of the kids and I fell off the log, and I went straight to Nancy’s to hose off. Thank goodness when I got home my grandparents were sitting in the screen house, and I sneaked inside to shower off and change before they noticed what a mess I was.

Of course, living on a dead end street is perfect when you’re a kid. When you live on a dead end, drivers, well most, drive slower. Also, there’s less people coming and going. We walked to each other’s houses whenever we wanted, rode our bikes, roller skated and more. Our street was our playground and all the neighborhood kids were friends. I still remember Jessica who was about 10 years younger than us following Nancy and I around everywhere. Back then, her mother didn’t have to worry. She was having fun, and she was safe. The biggest danger for us was Frankie and our friend Jay trying to run over the back of our flip flops with their bikes. Why do boys do things like that? LOL!

It turns out my old neighborhood is more than a place filled with childhood memories, it is also a prime example of post World War II development in Smithtown. A couple of years ago, Smithtown Historian Brad Harris dedicated one of his Smithtown News articles to Forest Brook Acres. Like a number of the homes in my current neighborhood The Pines, a large number of houses in the Brooksite Area were built by the company Dawn Estates. The land development company was run by a lawyer named Bernard Kaplan, and his office, a Dawn Estates model home, sat near the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Jericho Turnpike where Dunkin Donuts is located today.

According to the historian’s article, there was once a large forest from Edgewood Avenue to Town Line Road in Hauppauge. Kaplan acquired 300 acres in this area after World War II, and the Dawn Estate Developers cut a street thought the woods that followed the course of a brook. This was the road that became Brooksite Drive.

The brochures for the neighborhood advertised it as “where peace and contentment dwell”. It was also “where nature made the country beautiful, filling it with vitamins, pure air and other health-giving qualities.’

It’s hard to imagine now, but according to the article there was once a shallow swimming hole that ran along the east side of Brooksite Drive. It’s the area where we find the end of Juniper Avenue today, and a scoop dredge was used to create the hole that even had a sandy little beach. The other day I was talking to a couple of long-time residents, and they said it was so shallow that you would probably call it more a fishing hole than a swimming hole.

Around 1947/1948, the Dawn Estates homes in Forest Brook Acres started out measuring 20’ x 20’ on a half acre lot with an unfinished interior and costing $3,300, according to Harris’s research. Most families living in the bungalows had a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and one bedroom and created a second bedroom in the attic. The dead end streets on the west side of Brooksite were the first to have houses constructed. The first streets were Sunrise Lane, Brook Lane, Shady Lane, Hickory Lane, Twilight Lane and Sunset Lane. Lanes such as Holly, Larch, Lilac, Rose and Forest were added later as more homes were needed. In the late 50s more homes were sold along Brooksite Drive and were sold for $4,999 for the shell that then measured 20' x 24'. If the buyers wanted it to be finished, it was $11,000.

I remember in 1979 my grandparents bought a new car for $7,000 and said it was the same amount as what they paid for the house in 1954. Our home actually had two bedrooms on the main floor, and my grandfather finished the attic that fit a couple of beds and even a cot or two. While it was great for when family came to visit, we still had to pull down the attic stairs to access it. And from the map I found, it looks like when they bought the house it was by then approximately 34’ x 34’. Today the house that the current owners built is probably about three times that size maybe even four times! It looks huge to me compared to the little cape I grew up in and lived in until 1995.

Nancy’s parents still live on Brook Lane, and I’m always amazed when I drive up the road and see how most of the once former little houses have grown. Yet, the tree lined Brooksite Drive with its dead end streets, especially Brook Lane, will always bring back childhood memories of simpler times for me.

The Pines: A Neighborhood Adventure

Today my blog posts goes real local to my neighborhood in Smithtown, The Pines.

If you live or have lived in the Smithtown/Hauppauge area, you’re probably familiar with The Pines. The area is tucked in between Jericho and Veteran’s Highway with Old Willet’s Path and Wyandanch Boulevard to the east and west.

It’s a neighborhood that I’ve been fortunate to live in for 17 years, and one that I’ve been familiar with since high school when I would visit friends.  When the weather gets nice, and I have some free time, I love to take a walk around the neighborhood.

I’m not poetic enough to describe the natural beauty, but sometimes I feel like Snow White lost in the forest. Each street is lined with trees and other greenery sprinkled with gorgeous flowers planted by its residents. The birds are usually chirping away and sometimes geese wander into the area, and a few years ago, I even spotted a couple of foxes running around one morning.

It’s hard to believe The Pines was actually barren at one time due to forest fires, and the area wasn’t named for the lush greenery we see today, but for the scrub pines that began to grow after those fires.

Of course, there are also the hills. They’re not too fun to drive up when there’s a bit of snow or to walk in general, but they add a bit more charm to the area.  The first time I actually drove down one of them with a group of friends when I was 18, my first impulse was to cover my eyes.

Smithtown Historian Brad Harris explained the layout of The Pines in an April 2010 article of The Smithtown News. The north and south roads cross over ridges and that’s where you’ll find the adventurous hills, while the streets going east and west follow the natural valleys and swales between those ridges.

According to Harris’s research for The Smithtown News article, development didn’t begin in the neighborhood until 1942. A Samuel Kaplan brought his Dawn Estates homes to what was once known as Section 5. It was Kaplan that built the first homes on Winston Drive, McArthur Lane and Churchill Lane, obviously inspired by WWII leaders. These small homes were 400 square feet with a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, attic and tiny basement.  At the time, the homes that stood on a half an acre of property were just a little over $3,000.

About a year later a real estate developer named Walter Shirley purchased 705 acres that surrounded the Dawn Estates home, and The Pines expanded to what we know the area to be today. Shirley’s Economy Cottages were 24’ x 26’ and had four rooms on the main floor. The name of the developer explains such streets as Walter Court and Shirley Court.

While ranches and high ranches were built throughout the decades and McMansions in recent years, you can still see some of the original capes and cottages that were built decades ago.

So when I take my little walks, a climb up a little hill or two, brings the rewards of connecting with nature. And spotting one of the original homes, takes me back to the beginnings of The Pines.  My little neighborhood can turn a nice, quiet day into quite the adventure.

A Small Journey Around the Labyrinth

Sometimes you need a few hours away from your daily routine. While many may think of Long Island as suburbia filled with homes, malls and shopping centers, the island is also filled with spots where you can get a little escape from your everyday life.

My friend Silvia and I have wanted to check out labyrinths in the area for a couple of years now, and today was the day we finally walked our first one.

My first choice was the one at Avalon Park and Preserve in Stony Brook Village, but the labyrinth was being re-seeded. Silvia got online and searched for “labyrinths on Long Island” and found one for us right in Sayville.

The Peace Labyrinth in Sayville is a simple one in a small park called The Common Ground, and it serves its spiritual purpose. Slowly walking along the path that twists and turns, you may think you may not make it to the center, but you will. It’s always a good idea to go into the labyrinth with a request with something you need help with. When you finally walk out of it, you’ll have your answer. Most likely the answer will be a simple one, but to understand, you need to walk one yourself. The park holds moonlight labyrinth walks on nights of a full moon, and with such a serene feeling after an afternoon walk, I do wonder how I would come out of it on a night when the moon is at its fullest.

Afterwards we headed for downtown Sayville, which like many Main Streets on Long Island is filled with cute little shops and restaurants. Silvia and I were saying we felt like we were on vacation exploring a new place instead of just a short distance from our own homes.

It have been a simple day, but a perfect example of how a short car ride can lead to a small town experience or even a bit of a spiritual one.