Summer II Cemetery Restoration Projects Resume

All the stars are in alignment and we're about to begin year 2 using our Caithness Host Community Benefit grant money to restore the David Hawkins, Richard Corwin and, hopefully, the Barteau, cemeteries. For the David Hawkins Cemetery I have obtained a special use permit, as well as a key to get in, from the USF&WS covering the period May 12 - 21. I'll be meeting with Hollis first thing Wednesday morning, hopefully the cemetery isn't too overgrown. If it is I may need to call on whoever is available to do a quick clean up. The Corwin Cemetery is not a problem because the homeowner in front of the cemetery, Jeff Bland, is giving us his total support. As for the Barteau cemetery, everything depends upon Judge Tannebaum.

We have plenty of money to repair all three cemeteries. Hollis' estimate for David Hawkins is $2,600 and for Corwin $880. We have $5,235 left from the original $11,000 grant, so if the Hawkins and Corwin cemeteries come in as estimated we'll have $2,243 available to repair the Barteau cemetery, should we ever find it beneath the growth.

On the subject of cemeteries, the County, bless their souls, removed the debris we placed in front of the South Haven Church cemetery. But the Town, cuss their souls, hasn't done a thing. Although it's not too bad yet, we'll probably have to drag a lawnmower there soon.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday of the South Haven Church Cemetery.

Marty Van Lith

Pictures Hamlet Walking Tour April 11, 2010

The Fire Place History Club conducted its 3rd tour of the Fire Place Historic District (Brookhaven Hamlet, NY) on April 11, 2010. About 50 people attended, led by John Deitz, on a leisurely walk from the Memorial Triangle to Painters' Restaurant.

We started at the Gazebo in the Fire Place Park. In the background is the Miller homestead. The park is in the center of a former Miller farm trout pond. The story of the highways, historic Brook Store and other farms in the area, as well as the origins of the Memorial Triangle and park, was told.

The former Valentine House -- Jacob Valentine was the long-time proprietor of the Brook Store in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Ellison family in the early 19th century.

Light refreshments were served by the Ludlows in the yard of the Chapel House.

Among the homes on the tour was the Richard Corwin homestead (below), and the longtime home of his son, Sylvester Corwin.

.. and the homestead of Nathaniel Corwin, another of Richard Corwin's sons. The Corwins were prominent farmers in Brookhaven Hamlet through the 19th century.

The final stop was Painters' restaurant, historically known as the Better 'Ole Tea Porch, founded by vaudevillians William Seeley and his wife Ma'mselle Florrie Rhodesia, "the lady society juggler."

The tour was one of several events in the Town of Brookhaven celebrating the 355th anniversary of its founding.

Tour guides of the Fire Place Historic District are available.

Photos by Marty van Lith and Richard Thomas

Brookhaven Hamlet Walking Tour Guide Now Available

The next Fire Place (Brookhaven Hamlet) Historic District walking tour will be held Sunday, April 11, 2010 starting at 2:00 P.M. from the Memorial Triangle/Fire Place Park and will continue north to Painters' restaurant. It will be led by John Deitz and members of the Fire Place History Club.

A free tour guide will be available to accompany the walk. This guide is now available online as a pdf file. This is the third walking tour guide of the Historic District prepared by the history club. The pdf file is formated as a booklet, and is best printed two-sided (duplex) on 8½ x 11" paper.

Other guides of the Fire Place Historic District are available online.

You Can't Get There From Here

30 March 2010 -- yet another Spring Storm. This one dumped 16 inches of rain in 24 hours, with moderate wind. Some minor coastal flooding. I passed by here about noon. Tree must have fallen but a short time later—on Beaver Dam Road at Edgar Avenue. By 2 pm, the Town of Brookhaven highway department had it all cleaned up. Just the stump of a tree—and a neighbor walking his dog staring in amazement—was all you could see. It's so rare these days that something good can be said about Town performance.

Photograph by Marty Van Lith

Brookhaven Hamlet, NY Walking Tour April 11, 2010

Click Image to enlarge

This event is one of several sponsored by the Town of Brookhaven in celebration of the town's 355th anniversary.

Vicious Storm Strikes Brookhaven/South Haven

A vicious early Spring storm hit the Northeast coast Saturday, March 13, 2010, with aftereffects into Sunday and Monday. Hurricane force gusts accompanied strong winds and heavy rain for much of Saturday, and strong winds continued into Sunday and Monday. Brookhaven and South Haven Hamlets felt the effects, but there was surprisingly little property damage. Parts of the hamlets were without power, telephone and cable service. And quite a few large trees were felled. Streets and yards were were littered with smaller branches. Fortunately, in spite of the winds, tides were not exceptionally high.

This tree on Beaver Dam Road toppled across the front yard, but missed the house.

A common scene through the hamlets as trees and limbs were cleared. This photo is at a residence at the foot of Mott Lane

This tree was felled on South Country Road. It's a bit surprising that it lasted as long has it did, being mostly hollow. While it struck the house, it did not appear as if major damage was done.

This tree, on South Country Road in front of the Presbyterian Manse, brought down some telephone lines but missed the power cables.

This is the side yard of the Post-Morrow Foundation headquarters on Bay Road. Photo contributed by Marty Van Lith.

Cemetery Maintenance Lawsuit Update

Just an update on how things are going with the legal proceedings for the Fire Place History Club's cemetery lawsuit—

The Town of Brookhaven responded to our 45-point reply to their first response, in which they had denied owning the cemeteries, claiming that they are privately owned and thus the Town is not responsible. They also denied responsibility for maintenance and care of abandoned cemeteries. They did not address one single point of the 45 points we made demonstrating that the Town is mandated by NYS law to maintain these cemeteries. Instead, they continued pursuing their contention that these are private cemeteries and none of their business.

We answered this second Town response by reiterating our first response and saying that it's irrelevant anyway since the law requires the Town to maintain abandoned cemeteries by "whomsoever owned" in any town.

While it was originally thought that the case would be settled by this Tuesday, March 9, it turns out that's the date on which all final paperwork is due in court. The decision will be made whenever Justice Tanebaum gets around to it, which our attorney Reggie Seltzer doesn't think will be anytime soon. So, we are still in limbo and may have to cancel some of the work we have grant money for Hollis to do.