Tuesday, April 15, 2014

A Famous Member of the South Haven Church Gets a Headstone for His Grave

From: Richard Thomas
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 1:13 AM
Hi,

Last Friday, 102 years to the day after he was buried in his local family cemetery, a member of South Haven congregation finally got a headstone for his grave.

When he died on Apr. 9, 1912, newspapers across the nation carried the news of his death, including the Boston Journal, the Evening News of Sault  Ste. Marie, Michigan, the Evening News of San Jose, California, and the Seattle Daily Times of Seattle, Washington, as well as the New York Times and local papers on Long Island.

His funeral was held in the South Haven Church on Apr. 11, 1912, and he was interred in the family cemetery, which is located north of the LIRR, east of Yaphank Ave./Old Stump Rd. and west of Old Barto Rd.

The Clerk of Session inserted a memorial minute in the Minutes of Session telling of his death.  (See attached.)

The year before his death he had completed the construction of his second railroad in Alaska for which he had been the Chief Engineer.  His last railroad was constructed for the copper mining interests of J. P. Morgan and the Guggenheims.

His family was living in Seattle when he fell ill in New York and his wife and two children arrived the day after his death.

In 1930, a peak in a mountain range in Alaska was named for him, Mount Hawkins.

And even today, there is a lesson-plan for use by high school teachers in Alaska to inform the young people of Alaska about the great achievements of E. C. Hawkins, who was born in our community and was a member of our church.

You can see his first Alaska railroad here:

http://youtu.be/rr39-eGIOlo White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, E. C. Hawkins’ first railroad, providing a rail route to the Yukon, is an International Historic Engineering Landmark

http://youtu.be/QBSuNz3g0oA Clearing the snow on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad

Last Friday, four of his direct descendants: great-grandson and great-granddaughter from Seattle, and his great-great granddaughter, and great-great-great granddaughter from near Washington, DC, came to Brookhaven to witness the unveiling of their ancestor’s new monument.

His second Alaskan railroad was the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. 

His “Million Dollar Bridge” is still a tourist attraction and is now used for automobile traffic. E. C. Hawkins’s son, Mason Hawkins, grandfather to two of our guests, worked on the railroad also.

http://youtu.be/Tw-koFqE8RM Bridge Designed by E. C. Hawkins at the foot of the Miles and Childs Glaciers

I gave the family a tour of our church.  E. C. Hawkins’ brother, Emmett, had served as a trustee and elder of the congregation, and his sister-in-law, Mattie (Whitson) Hawkins, was our congregation’s first woman elder.

In fact, many of their ancestors, who are buried in the same cemetery, were officers of the South Haven congregation.

The two handouts I gave to members of the family, which describe the relationship of their ancestors to the South Haven congregation, are attached (HawkinsEC_dedication,pdf and DavidHawkinsCemetery_SouthHavenChurch-officers.pdf).

Both of his railroads were covered by popular magazines of the day:

https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=R75ZAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en_US&pg=GBS.PA419 “Building a Railroad into the Klondike” by Cy Warman, McClure’s Magazine, January, 1900.

“It Had to Be Done” by Carlyle Ellis in Technical World Magazine, March 1912.

Richard Thomas

Friday's Commemoration for Erastus C. Hawkins

From: Martin VanLith
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 7:21 AM
Dear All,

We had what I think was a successful day on Friday. The Patera and Wisbeck families arrived from Seattle the day before, Nina and John Patera's daughter and granddaughter came up from Virginia. They stayed at the Springhill Hotel on Horse Block Road, they  got to see our nationally infamous landfill. 

We all arrived at the refuge a little past 11 in the morning and, after introductions, walked down the carriage road to the cemetery. Attached are some pictures taken by John and I. 

Nina Patera, pink sweater, and Will Wisbeck, tall fellow standing behind her (sister and brother), are the only two great grandchildren of Erastus C. Hawkins.



L-r- John, granddaughter Michaela and Nina Patera, Kathy and William Wisbeck, and Christina Patera:  


Beautiful day, 60ยบ. 


Pizza Lunch at Post Morrow Annex


 At Ellen Williams house (Selah Hawkins) -


 At the Robert H. Hawkins House -


 Painters Restaurant - 


 --Marty

Sunday, April 6, 2014

You missed a fiery speech

Adrienne Esposito enters state Senate race for Lee Zeldin's seat

Originally published: April 6, 2014 4:33 PM
Updated: April 6, 2014 4:44 PM
By DAVID M. SCHWARTZ  david.schwartz@newsday.com

Andrienne Esposito, in Patchogue Sunday afternoon on April 6, 2014, where she announced that she will run for state senate.(Credit: James Carbone)

Adrienne Esposito, a well-known Long Island environmental activist, formally entered the race for state Senate on Sunday, saying she wants to expand her focus beyond the environment.

She said "working class" concerns, including jobs, property taxes and women's issues such as affordable day care and equal pay, would be her focus. Esposito spoke before a group of about 50 supporters and elected Democrats who came out to support her at an East Patchogue park.

"I want to fight for more things, more solutions," Esposito, 53, of Patchogue, said.

If successful in any Democratic challenge, she would face Conservative Islip Town board member Anthony Senft, who has Republican backing to fill the upcoming Third District vacancy.

She said she was not prepared to make an announcement regarding her employment as executive director of the nonprofit Citizens Campaign for the Environment. Republicans have called for he to resign her position.

Esposito is not a registered Democrat -- she's not registered with any party, known as a "blank." But Suffolk County Democratic chairman Richard Schaffer said she's a known and respected participant in political circles.

"She's pretty much in line with Democratic values," he said. Democrat Joseph Fritz, an attorney, has also expressed interest in running for the vacant Senate seat. Schaffer said he is neutral on the potential primary, but said he's having conversations with Fritz.

The Third District seat, which GOP state Sen. Lee Zeldin of Shirley is vacating to run for Congress, is one of three on Long Island that could be crucial to Democrats to tip control from a coalition of state Senate Republicans and several dissident Democrats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FW: Library Trustee & Budget Vote - Tuesday, April 8.

From: larry tierney
Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2014 10:15 AM
To: Larry Tierney
Subject: Library Trustee & Budget Vote - Tuesday, April 8.

 

Library Trustee and Budget Vote - Tuesday, April 8. You can vote at BOTH Libraries. 

Brookhaven Free Library: please vote for Reinhardt Schuhmann. (one opening)

South County Library; please vote for Annelies Kaman, Waveney Klaiber and Ada Graham  (three openings)  

You can vote at both libraries, but only for the candidates for each library board.

--------------------------------- Brookhaven Free Library -----------------------------------

Reinhardt Schuhmann  My interest in serving as a Trustee stems from my interest in maintaining the Brookhaven Free Library as both a very effective library and a charming asset to the South Country School District.  Brookhaven Hamlet has a wonderful community spirit, and the Library is the heart of our community.  I have participated in many events at the library over my 25 years here, both as an audience member and as a musician.  As a Trustee I would welcome the opportunity to ensure that the programs and events at the Brookhaven Free Library continue, and strengthen, so South Country residents may continue to enjoy our local treasure: The Free Library.   My professional qualifications include a Ph.D. in experimental physics and nearly 25 years experience in scientific publishing.  For the past 12 years I have been Managing Editor of Physical Review Letters, an international journal that is available both on paper and electronically, formats that are both quite familiar to me. The Managing Editor position includes, among other duties, management of more than twenty editors. Other relevant experience includes nine years as a Director of the Brookhaven Village Association.

 

-------------------------------    South Country Library (Bellport) ------------------------------- 

Elect Annelies Kaman, Waveney Klaiber & Ada Graham 

ANNELIES KAMRAN  I am a native of this district, born and raised here and a former employee of the South Country Library (at the circulation desk). As such, I feel it is beneficial for the Board of Trustees to have the perspective of someone who has inside knowledge of the workings of a library, in addition to being both a patron and a taxpayer. I therefore have well-developed ideas about what a library can be. I would especially like to encourage programs that make use of existing library equipment to develop skills, such as hackathons and computer coding workshops for children, teens and adults.  I believe that the Board members should take an active role in fundraising for the library, helping to apply for grants and partnering with other local institutions. I also believe that my background in volunteer grant writing for the Wertheim National wildlife Refuge in Shirley would be of real use to the library, helping to maintain or expand resources while keeping taxes in check.

WAVENEY KLAIBER  I have served on the library Board since 2011. In my twenty-eight year career with the Federal Government, I worked at the IRS in various departments, adjusting accounts, collecting revenue and assisting taxpayers to resolve their tax problems. I also coached and mentored new hires and my peers in the correct application of revenue procedures based on the IRS Code. Prior to working with the Government, I worked with Chase Bank, as a bonded employee handling currency, notes, and bank accounts. I was a member of the PTA and Girl Scout Leader of Troop 425. I studied Business Administration at Suffolk Community College, Brentwood Campus and English at SUNY Stony Brook where I edited the Literary Magazine. I received the Gallatin Award for Meritorious Service to the Federal Government upon my retirement in 2008.

ADA GRAHAM  I have lived in the South Country District for the past 15 years. My professional career encompassed over 25 years of successful customer training and documentation leadership, having directed the hiring and training of software development engineers and interns, developed training and testing materials for major power production utilities, lead the technical writing efforts for several major software companies, and served as a business analyst for customer education and corporate operations.  Prior to that, I taught English and writing at universities and junior colleges and was English Department Chair at several public high schools.

  I currently volunteer at Seatuck Environmental Assoc., serve as treasurer of the Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society, work as a tax-aide for AARP, and assist Gateway Theatre as an education consultant.

Brookhaven Free Library from votes 10:00 am to 8:30 pm @ Brookhaven Free Library 

South Country Library

votes from 9:30 am to 9:00 pm @ South Country Library