The Oyster Bay Historical Society...Long Islanders On a Quest for Local History

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Sunday, November 25, 2001

Long Islanders On a Quest for Local History

By SHANDRAY GABBAY

For Long Islanders interested in local history, two exhibitions at historical societies provide a glimpse of the Island's origins and development. At the Bridge Hampton Historical Society, the focus is on East End farming families who sowed their first seeds 350 years ago. At the Oyster Bay Historical Society, a collection of family photographs and heirlooms celebrates the lives of Italian-American immigrants who flocked to the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Oyster Bay residents at the Italian Immigrant Experience exhibit.

Phil Marino for the New York Times

Residents of Oyster Bay recently visited the local historical society's exhibition about Italian-American immigrants in the area.

But these shows are only a modest illustration of the growing interest among Islanders in their local history. In Nassau and Suffolk Counties, there are 120 historical societies, nearly one for every town, which put on exhibitions on a broad range of topics. This fall, besides the shows in Bridgehampton and Oyster Bay, the offerings include "Not for Pride or Glory," at the Northport Historical Society, about the town's role in World War II, and "Discover Setauket: Brookhaven's Original Settlement," at the Three Village Historical Society, which traces local events from pre-colonial days to the present.

"When it's a part of their own personal history and things that they can remember, they relate to it," said Wally Broege, director of the Suffolk County Historical Society. "I believe there's more interest in things people can relate to."

Most of the local societies have an average of 200 members. But some, like the Suffolk County society, have close to 1,000 members. The Friends for Long Island's Heritage, which calls itself "a citizen's support group" for local history, has over 4,000 members.

Though most of the societies print a periodic newsletter, a few publish quarterly journals, like the Oyster Bay Historical Society Freeholder. The Long Island Historical Journal, published by the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is devoted to the study of local history from colonial times to the present.

The growing appetite for local history can also be found at the Island's larger museums, like the Nassau County Museum of Art, which had a show last year on the American Revolution that included sections on the Island's role in that war, and Guild Hall, which, in 1998-99, had an exhibition on colonial times in East Hampton. Then there are the Island's colleges and universities, including St. Joseph's College and Stony Brook, which offer courses in local history.

"In the last five years, my students have been more interested in local history," said Rosalyn Baxandall, professor of American studies at the State University of New York's Old Westbury campus. "They choose to do papers when they don't have to; if it's a paper on slavery, they'll choose Long Island slavery."

Some historians argue that this phenomenon has its roots in the bicentennial, which fostered a nationwide interest in local history. Others say it is more broadly related to the growth of the suburbs after World War II. In the past few years, this growth reached critical mass, as suburbanites became a majority of Americans, according to the Census Bureau. As more people live in the suburbs, and identify themselves as suburbanites, they develop a hunger to learn about where they live.

"There's a genuine interest in the people who live on Long Island, in how their communities got settled and got started," Dr. Baxandall said.

She added that the Sept. 11 terror attacks had created a new wave of American nationalism, which, in turn, would create even more interest in local history. Other Island scholars echoed this view.

"Especially in these times, people appreciate knowing about their roots," said Mildred DeRiggi, a historian with the Long Island Studies Institute, which was founded in 1986 and is devoted to the study of Long Island local and regional history. "This feeling of connecting with the community is very important."

Though a state requirement that local history be part of the fourth-grade curriculum was dropped in 1998, many Island elementary schools continue to teach this subject. Dr. DeRiggi said this has resulted in more parents becoming interested in it.

"As the children became interested, so did the parents," she said. "They became interested in their genealogy and looking up their roots."

Often when Islanders look for their roots, they are looking for relatively contemporary ones.

"In the past there has been focus on figures going back to the colonial period," said Salvatore J. LaGumina, emeritus professor of history at Nassau Community College in Garden City. But, he explained, even among historians, there is more interest in "the contributions made by more recent Americans."

Edward J. Smits, Nassau County's historian, said the Island's historical societies and local museums have been focusing more on shows displaying artifacts from the recent past.

For example, the show in Bridgehampton, "True East: Farming Ancestral Lands on Long Island's East End," is a show about both the past and the present. A collection of nearly 50 photographs taken by Wendy Chamberlin in 1999, the exhibition chronicles life on the Corwith, Halsey, Foster, and Zaluski family farms. The first three were founded in the 1650's, and the Zaluski farm in the early 1900's; they are all operated by descendants of the original owners. The show will be on view through Jan. 5.

"The Italian-American Experience in Oyster Bay" includes family photographs, marriage certificates and school diplomas of four generations of Italian immigrants living in the Oyster Bay/Glen Cove area. The show remains on display through January.

In the spring issue of the Long Island Historical Journal, several articles will focus on the more recent past, like events beginning in the 1950's, said Marsha Hamilton, the journal's editor.

"We saw a need to address some important issues of the last part of the century, as we're trying to look ahead and plan for the future," Ms. Hamilton said. "As long as we can relate Long Island history to greater issues and events of the world, it will continue to be of interest."