In celebration of its bicentennial, The Library of Congress, the world's largest library, initiated the Local Legacies Project, which documents aspects of our nation's diverse cultural heritage.

At the suggestion of Congressman Peter King, the Oyster Bay Historical Society, guided by Director Tom Kuehhas, joined the Local Legacies initiative with a project on The History of Oystering in Oyster Bay. This project documents an occupation "that defined the community life." Others across the nation document "the creative arts, crafts or customs...festivals and parades; and how communities celebrate local and national historical events."

According to Director Kuehhas, "What began as a small fact-finding mission has blossomed into a half hour documentary detailing the history of local oystering. And, whereas I had originally foreseen the oystering roundtable (the first Lecture in the 20/20 Series) as the culmination of the project, much remains to be done before it is finished!"

The 20/20 roundtable discussion, held in collaboration with the Friends of Raynham Hall Museum, was productive and well-received according to Dagmar Fors Karppi's report in the Oyster Bay Enterprise-Pilot.

"The tenth annual 20/20 Lecture series got off to a rousing start as the first installment of the history of the Oyster Industry took place on March 21 at the Matinecock Lodge. The spellbound audience listened to a panel consisting of Gloria Bayles Tucker, Dave Relyea and Franklin Flower."

To date, many individuals have come forward to provide artifacts, documents, and photographs, while others have been interviewed. The Town's audio-visual division of the Public Information Office lent its technical expertise to the project as well. Fritz Coudert volunteered to act as the executive producer of the project. Coudert stated, "We want to put together a documentary on Oyster Bay and its oystering history that the Town and its residents can be proud of."

Although much has been done already, more information and materials are needed to complete the project. As reported early this year in the Enterprise-Pilot, "Mr. Kuehhas is looking for anything relevant to oystering from the public."

"Mr. Kuehhas would appreciate it if anyone with material they would like to share -- for computer scanning purposes -- to contact him at the OBHS, 922-5032. 'I will not keep anything unless you want to donate it to the Society,' he said. 'It is just for inclusion in the project.'"

It is anticipated that the materials collected for the Project will become a permanent part of the Oyster Bay Historical Society Museum and will be represented on this website. A selection will also be available on the Library of Congress website, which presently includes samplings from several other projects.

As the project continues, Society Director Kuehhas, Representative King and the other Local Legacies Project participants look forward to a reception in their honor on May 23, 2000 hosted by the Library of Congress in the Great Hall of its restored 1897 Thomas Jefferson Building.

P.S. The Local Legacies Project resulted in a video called the Oyster in Oyster Bay described by Dagmar Fors Karppi in her October 4, 2002 article, "Oystering Video Premiers to Raves" in the Oyster Bay Enterprise Pilot.

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