Oyster Bay Historical Society Calendar of Events

The long-running Spring 20/20 Lecture Series kicks off on Tuesday March 13 at 7:15 p.m. with Michelle Temares speaking on The Untold Story: WWI and WWII Poster Art at the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library, 89 East Main Street, in Oyster Bay.

A member of the Society of Illustrators and the National Art League, Michelle Temares teaches and lectures on fine art at the Planting Fields Arboretum, at the Society of Decorative Painters, and at her own Bella Michelle Studios in Garden City, New York. The author of Painting Floral Botanicals and How to Design Your Own Painting Projects and over 40 illustrated articles, she has been called "a favorite author" by the The New York Times, an "engrossing speaker" by F & W Publications, and a "renowned artist" by the Decorative Artist's Book Club.

The Annual Holiday Party will be held on Saturday, December 9, 2006 from 4:00-6:30 p.m., beginning with a joyous holiday concert led by the Rev. Ken Nelson at the Hood AME Zion Church on the corner of South and Summit Streets at 4:00 p.m. After the concert, the holiday celebration will continue at the Earle-Wightman House, which will be decorated in old-fashioned candlelit fashion. With refreshments and music setting a festive mood, you'll ring in the holidays at this annual party for Society members and friends. Contributions appreciated. For additional information, call the Museum at 922-5032.

The Oyster Bay Historical Society's new Exhibition Irreplaceable Artifacts, featuring significant artifacts from the Society's collections, launches Sunday, November 19, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. with a lecture on the Art of Collecting by John Loring, Tiffany & Co.'s longtime Director of Design. Mr. Loring, who was New York bureau chief for the Architectural Digest before joining Tiffany's in 1979, is the author of more than a dozen books about Tiffany, the man, the store and its style, including Tiffany Jewels, Tiffany Diamonds, Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co., Tiffany Timepieces, Tiffany Flora & Fauna, Tiffany in Fashion, Magnificent Tiffany Silver, Tiffany Pearls, and Tiffany's 20th Century.

Mr. Loring's lecture, at the Oyster Bay Community Center on Church Street, will be followed by a champagne and hors d'oeuvres Reception at the Society's Earle-Wightman House Museum headquarters. The Reception is $25; $20 for members. Proceeds will benefit the Building Fund for the Society's much-needed library and collection storage facility. Space is limited. Please call the Society at 516-922-5032 to request your invitation.

Click on the filmstrip below for a slideshow preview of the Irreplaceable Artifacts Exhibit.

In a colorful prelude to the Society's forthcoming Fall Exhibit, Irreplaceable Artifacts, historians Raymond and Judith Spinzia, will lecture on Sunday, October 29, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. at the Oyster Bay Community Center on Church Street. Popular for their unabashedly gossipy style, the Spinzias will serve up anecdotes about famous Gold Coast residents uncovered as they researched their new, two volume book, Long Island's Prominent North Shore Families: Their Estates and Their Country Homes. The Spinzias, who are preparing a third edition of their classic reference work, Long Island: A Guide to New York's Suffolk and Nassau Counties, have been featured in Newsday, The New York Times, and other newspapers, as well as on local TV and radio, including WQZR. Their lecture will be followed by a champagne reception at the Society's Earle Wightman House headquarters. Admission is free and open to all. For more information, call the Society at 516-922-5032.

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Oyster Bay Town Historian John E. Hammond will deliver the second lecture in the 16th Annual 20/20 Series on Tuesday, May 2, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. at the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library  . Mr. Hammond, who is Chairman of The Friends of Sagamore Hill, will talk about 1906: An Exciting Year in Oyster Bay History. Admission is free and refreshments will be served following the lecture.

John Hammond, who has a B.A. from the University of the State of New York, and is a graduate of the Institute of Far Eastern Languages at Yale University, is the author of four books, including Matinecock Light, When the Sirens Sound: The History of the Atlantic Steamer Fire Company and the Fire Service in Oyster Bay, and Crossroads: A History of East Norwich. His most recent book,Oyster Bay Remembered, is a compendium of his weekly columns for the Oyster Bay Guardian. A Trustee of the Oyster Bay Historical Society and a past President of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library, he is a frequent lecturer on Oyster Bay History and consultant on historic preservation. Mr. Hammond's audio-visual tour of T.R.'s Oyster Bay is sure to draw a large crowd, so come early for good seating.

Arthur Donovan, Emeritus Professor of History at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), will deliver the first lecture in the 2006 20/20 series on Tuesday, March 14, 2005, 7:30 p.m. Professor Donovan, whose history of containerization is due out in April 2006, will preview his new book in his talk: 50 Years of Containerization: A Brief History of a New Way of Moving Freight That Revolutionized the Global Economy. The talk will be held at the new Series location, the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Library in Oyster Bay. Admission is free and refreshments will be served following the lecture.

A Harvard undergrad, Donovan did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, and got his Ph.D. in history at Princeton. Before settling at USMMA, he taught the history of science and technology at the University of Illinois, West Virginia University, and Virginia Tech. A popular speaker, he is the author of a number of books and articles, including The Abandoned Ocean, a history of U.S. maritime policy, co-authored with former U.S. Maritime Administrator Andrew Gibson.