New Book Explores Oyster Bay (LI) in Vintage Photos

Town Historian John E. Hammond’s latest book, Oyster Bay: Images of America, brings late 19th  and early 20th century Oyster Bay to life through period photographs and captivating captions.

Oyster Bay native John Hammond is probably best known to residents of the historic North Shore Long Island hamlet as the readable raconteur who for many years penned the “Village Views” column for the Oyster Bay Guardian newspaper.  His new, fifth book, Oyster Bay: Images of America (softcover, 128 pages, Arcadia Publishing. $21.99) won’t disappoint Guardian readers or those who admire him as Town Historian.

Oyster Bay uses photographs from the author’s collection and from the Oyster Bay Historical Society, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, and private collections to depict turn of the century life in the hamlet Teddy Roosevelt put on the map.

The book, which includes chapters on Village Life, Theodore Roosevelt, Schools and Churches, and the Gold Coast, has over 200 vintage images.  Among them are photos of Typhoid Mary’s home, the setting for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and the volunteer fire companies organized in 1888 and1890.

Oyster Bay is available now at booksellers, and online in the Bookstore of the Oyster Bay Historical Society.  The author will sign copies on Saturday, September 12 at 1:00 pm at the Matinecock Masonic Historical Society, 14 West Main St, Oyster Bay, and on Sunday, September 27 at 2:00 pm at the Borders bookstore in Syosset.

A portion of the proceeds of the book’s sales will go to the Angela P. Koenig Research and Collections Center Building Fund of the Oyster Bay Historical Society, and will be eligible under the Dolan Foundation’s Matching Grant.

The author is a Trustee of the Oyster Bay Historical Society, a Friend of Sagamore Hill, and Historian of the Matinecock Masonic Historical Society.  He is a graduate of the University of the State of New York and the Institute of Far Eastern Languages at Yale.

For more information, visit the Oyster Bay Historical Society website at http://www.oysterbayhistory.org or call its Director, Thomas A. Kuehhas, at 516-922-5032.

Superintendent Clouet and Assemblyman Bradley to Address White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations

White Plains Superintendent of Schools Christopher Clouet and New York State Assemblyman Adam Bradley will be the guest speakers at the September meeting of the White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations.  In the second of WPCNA's Leadership in Governance series, Dr. Clouet will talk about Leadership in Education; Mr. Bradley will discuss Leadership in Legislation.

Christopher Clouet, who took over as Superintendent of Schools on July 1, and Adam Bradley, Assemblyman for New York's 89th District, and White Plains Mayoral Candidate, will address the White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations (WPCNA) at its September meeting. The speakers will explore the dimensions of leadership in their respective arenas.  The meeting will be held at Education House at 5 Homeside Lane in White Plains, NY at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. Admission is free and audience participation is encouraged.

Dr. Clouet has eight years experience as a Superintendent, the last five as Superintendent of the New London, Connecticut Public Schools, a position he took because he liked the challenge of an under-performing district with high minority enrollment. Named Connecticut Multicultural Educator of the Year in 2000, he is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese in addition to English.  A graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, Dr. Clouet has master's degrees from Brown and Fairfield Universities and earned his doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is credited with improved elementary school performance in New London, strong fund-raising, and developing a diversified curriculum informed by teacher input.

Adam Bradley represents the 89th Assembly District spanning eastern Westchester south from Lewisboro through White Plains and Harrison. In the Assembly, he chairs the Subcommittee on Oversight of the Department of Environmental Conservation, and serves on the Committees on Children and Families, Election Law, Environmental Conservation, Foster Care, Insurance, Judiciary, and Veterans' Affairs.  A Westchester native, Adam received his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate degrees from Pace University and served as an Assistant County Attorney in Westchester County, where he practices family law. He describes himself as "committed to ensuring every New Yorker has a clean, safe environment to live in, an opportunity to receive a quality education, and employment in a safe work place."

These two dynamic and timely speakers are sure to draw a full-capacity crowd.  Each will take questions after his talk.  Come early to get a good seat!

The WPCNA, which is an apolitical non-governmental organization, provides a citywide forum on education, safety, health, government, the environment, and open space.  Its members are the autonomous neighborhood associations dedicated to preserving and improving the quality of life in White Plains.

For more information about Dr. Clouet please visit the White Plains Public Schools website at http://www.wpcsd.k12.ny.us/. For information about Adam Bradley, visit his website at http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=089. To learn more about the WPCNA, please visit: http://www.wpcna.org/.

Contact
Louis J. Bruno
White Plains Council of Neighborhood Associations (WPCNA)
914-574-2269
loubruno@wpcna.org