The Village Times Herald - November 24, 2022

PHOTO BY BILL LANDON

All Souls announces Lessons & Carols Christmas Concert

All Souls Church will present a Lessons & Carols concert on Saturday, Dec. 3.

The concert will feature Stony Brook University soprano Heidi Schneider and tell the Christmas story in scripture and song. Schneider’s solos will include “Ave Maria,” “Silent Night” and “Away in the Manger.” Local musician Bill Clark and his Brave Trio will also perform “Mary Did You Know” and “What Child Is This.”

All attending will be invited to sing “Come All Ye Faithful” and “Hark the Herald Angels” as All Souls organist Dan Kinney plays the church’s 1855 Tracker Organ.

The readings will be done by clergy and laypeople from Setauket Methodist, The Stony Brook School, Caroline Church, St. James Episcopal, Messiah Evangelical Lutheran, Stony Brook Community Church, the Three Village Church, Setauket Methodist, Religious Society of Friends in St. James, and All Souls.

There will be a 15-minute intermission and refreshments will be served. The program will begin promptly at 6 p.m.

All Souls Church collects food each week to help feed the hungry at the St. Gerard Majella’s food pantry. Bring a can of food to donate if you want to help feed the hungry in our community.

Heidi Schneider, Stony Brook University soprano, will be among those performing at the All Souls holiday event Dec. 3. Photo from All Souls Church

All Souls Church is located at 61 Main Street, Stony Brook. Call 631-655-7798 for more information.

BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

After more than two decades of public service, Brookhaven Town Clerk Donna Lent (I) has retired after nine years in that office.

town records in real time.

Regarding office operations, Lent said she has no concerns, for now, as she knows it will be “smooth sailing” for the current staff members. However, she does worry that whoever is elected town clerk may not keep the same staff.

TOWN

The announcement was made at the Nov. 10 Town Board meeting, where Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and council members thanked Lent for her service.

“It was a lovely day,” Lent said in a phone interview. “I was not expecting the big send-off from the board that they gave me, which was very generous.”

Lent ran for her third term in office against Ira Costell (D) in the 2021 election. She said she started having a painful case of sciatica after getting hurt in May. Lent was on medical leave for six weeks.

“It just got me thinking,” Lent said. “Here I turned 70 in September, and my husband retired in 2015.”

She initially thought she would retire in August, but she said Romaine asked her to stay longer.

Her first day of retirement was Nov. 14, just a few days after the Town Board send-off. Lent said she stayed on to help in the office because both of her deputies had their children’s birthday parties during the weekend. Soon after her last day, Lent and her husband moved to South Carolina.

Deputy Town Clerk Lauren Thoden is now serving as interim town clerk. A special election will be held in the near future, and the winner will complete Lent’s term which ends in 2025.

Lent said during her tenure she was immersed in the day-to-day operations of the office. She also oversaw the implementation of the town’s electronic content management system, which included a central-scanning repository where the town clerk’s office can scan both department and

“My advice to the new clerk would be to keep the people who know what they’re doing and just let them do it,” she said.

Most people don’t understand the multitude of tasks the office is responsible for, she added, and the new clerk needs to know all the ins and outs of how everything works.

“It’s important to have some continuity,” she said.

Before being elected town clerk, Lent managed a lawyer’s office. She entered public service in 2001 when she became former state Assemblywoman Patricia Eddington’s chief of staff. When Eddington (WF/D/I-Medford) went on to become Brookhaven town clerk, Lent was appointed deputy town clerk.

As Lent looks back at her career, she feels fortunate.

“I was really so privileged to be able as a staffer to end up being an elected official and so honored to have held that position and get reelected twice to serve the residents of the Town of Brookhaven,” Lent said. “It really was a job that I loved.”

In a statement, Romaine thanked Lent.

“Donna Lent has a long history of public service to the Town of Brookhaven, and she will be missed by all of us at Town Hall,” he said. “Her efforts to make the department run more efficiently helped to streamline public facing operations, making it easier for residents to conduct their business with her office. On behalf of the Town Board and all the residents of Brookhaven Town, I say thank you Donna for your many years of exemplary service as Brookhaven town clerk.”

Donna Lent leaves Town Hall for the last time as Town Clerk. Photo from Donna Lent

Ed Flood wins Assembly District 4 election, Englebright reacts

BY RAYMOND JANIS EDITOR1@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

to be effective.

“I hope he is able to be relevant,” Englebright said. “The reality is he will be serving in the minority, and he will have a real challenge in just being able to accomplish rudimentary things.”

POLITICS

In a major upset, Republican Party challenger Edward Flood, of Port Jefferson, has defeated Steve Englebright, incumbent state assemblyman (D-Setauket). Englebright, who chairs the state Assembly’s Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, has held the seat since 1992.

Flood maintains a 700-vote lead over Englebright in Assembly District 4, with a current vote count of 24,189-23,489, according to a Suffolk County Board of Elections official. While those tallies are still uncertified, the source suggested the race is safe to call in Flood’s favor.

The 4th District covers Setauket, Stony Brook, Strong’s Neck, Poquott, Port Jefferson, Belle Terre, Port Jefferson Station, Terryville, and parts of Coram, Selden and Gordon Heights.

In a phone interview on Friday afternoon, Nov. 18, Flood said he learned of his victory shortly after noon following a 10-day wait. While this result stunned many within the community, it was no surprise to his team. “On Election Day, we expected to win, and we expected to win narrowly,” he said.

While the results are still uncertified, Englebright offered his thoughts on the race during a phone interview on Sunday morning. He remarked on the several factors that contributed to his defeat, notably the effect of U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin’s (R-NY1) gubernatorial campaign on races down the ballot.

“It appears that I have not prevailed in this election, so I am, of course, disappointed,” the assemblyman said. “The turnout was low, and the results were, in part, also because there was in this region of the state more focus on the Republican head of the ticket than there was on the Democratic one.”

Throughout the campaign, Flood focused on the issues of crime and the economy. While the assemblyman-elect attributes his win, in part, to declining trust in Albany, he

credited those involved in his campaign.

“I think it was a combination of the general attitudes toward politics right now — what’s going on both statewide and nationwide, the issues that we were hitting on — and then our ground game,” he said. “We had a lot of volunteers. … Once we did some polling and realized our message was resonating, it just needed to get out.”

For Englebright, the result reflected a regional trend in this election cycle away from the Democrats. “We lost four [state] Senate seats — two of which were incumbents in Nassau County — and … it looks like we lost five [Democratic] Assembly seats if you include the two in Brooklyn,” he said. “It was a disappointing evening for all Democrats, really.”

Despite his differences from the incumbent, Flood remarked on the qualities he admired in Englebright. “Assemblyman Englebright, at the end of the day, is a gentleman,” Flood said. “He was in this position for 30 years, a [county] legislator for nine. For someone to go through 39 years and never have an ethical thing come up, never have a scandal, it goes to the quality of the human being.” The successful Republican candidate added, Englebright “has been a champion of the environment, and that’s something I want to continue.”

Unlike his predecessor, Flood will be a minority member of the Assembly and a freshman legislator. Given these factors, Englebright encouraged Flood to find ways

He added, “I hope that he’s able to be productive for the best interests of the people of the district, but all things are relative and it’s a seniority-based system. As a freshman and minority member, it will be a challenge.”

In his interview, Flood reiterated a previous message about his intended role in Albany. While he brings some ideas and policy preferences to the office, he insists that his service requires collaboration with the communities he represents.

“I’m there to serve the people and their needs,” he said. “For a lot of people throughout the district, there are very similar needs and priorities that we want. We want good schools, safe neighborhoods, economic opportunities. We want the prices of things to come down, and we want to be able to manage to stay on Long Island.”

He concluded, “My door is always open to see what the needs of the community are and act appropriately. At the end of the day, I was elected to [advance] the needs and the work of the community, not necessarily my own needs.”

After serving in public office for nearly four decades, Englebright will soon return to life as a private citizen. However, the outgoing assemblyman pledged to stay involved in the community and remains committed to the principles and policies guiding his time in office.

“I’m in every way looking forward to continuing to make contributions to the community,” he said. “Ultimately, we are one community, and we have a need to respect our common heritage and continue to do everything possible to protect our quality of life by investing in young people and joining together to protect things that matter, such as the water quality of our harbors and drinking water,” adding, “These are things we should continue to work together on.”

Above, Assemblyman-elect Edward Flood (R-Port Jefferson). File photo by Rita J. Egan

I used to go head to head with my daughter. We would fall into the same dynamic over and over. Experiencing the typical teenage years when they are fraught with stress and rebellion is not an easy task. Often we would assume an argument before it even started. This was also true for the relationship with my mom as she aged and experienced difficulties in her life. I finally realized if I wanted things to change, I had to do the changing. Something clicked in me. I needed to learn more about how I felt and was reacting when these tenuous situations arose. It was time for me come to terms with how I handled these triggering events or else I would not have positive outcomes. I also realized I had to listen more to understand what was going on for this very important person in my life and be more compassionate of the anxiety that they were feeling.

Right now as the equity and bond markets have reached new lows for the year, inflation has raised its ugly head, and the Fed tries to steer the economy through boom and bust, you can find yourself feeling out of control, frustrated, anxious or even angry at how things have turned around. These are common reactions and feelings, but now we need to take the time to think, have we felt this way before? Sure we have!

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Former aide arrested for using elderly client’s EBT food card in Smithtown Suffolk County Police arrested a former aide on Nov. 12 for fraudulently using an elderly client’s EBT card in Smithtown more than a dozen times in 2020. Shatia Parker, an aide who advertised on Care.com, allegedly used an elderly client’s EBT card to make 17 unauthorized purchases at a grocery store in Smithtown between October 2020 and December 2020. The unauthorized transactions ranged between $37 and $193. A family member contacted police after noticing a discrepancy on receipts. Following an investigation by Fourth Precinct Crime Section, Parker, 30, of Riverhead, was arrested and charged with 17 counts of Petit Larceny.

Clothing stolen from donation bin

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the men who allegedly stole donated items from a Smithtown drop bin in September.

The man pictured below, along with another man, allegedly entered a PAL clothing donation drop bin, located at 712 Route 347, and stole multiple bags of clothing and other household items, on Sept. 3 through Sept. 9, between 10:27 p.m. and 10:49 p.m.

Stony Brook attorney indicted for

stealing funds from clients

Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced Nov. 14 the indictment of Douglas Valente who is charged with two counts of Grand Larceny for allegedly stealing from two of his clients. Valente, 56, the principal attorney at the Valente Law Group based in Stony Brook is alleged to have stolen more than $425,000 from his attorney escrow account over a 6-month period in 2020. He is charged with two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree.

Just

Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate a man who allegedly stole assorted clothing from Macy’s located inside the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove at 5 p.m. on Oct. 11. The merchandise was valued at approximately $460.

According to the investigation, between April 14, 2020, through May 31, 2020, Valente is alleged to have stolen $181,201.67 from a 78-year-old client. During the time period of Sept. 28, 2020, through Oct. 13, 2020, he is alleged to have stolen $248,027.84 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender. Valente allegedly used the funds belonging to both clients on his own personal and business expenses.

Pedestrian killed in hit-and-run

Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian in Holbrook. A passing motorist called 911 at approximately 6:45 a.m. on Nov. 20 to report a body on the side of Veterans Memorial Highway at Grundy Avenue. Following an investigation, it was determined the man was crossing eastbound Veterans Memorial Highway when he was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene. The man, Alan Lepre, 59, of Holbrook, was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS.

Wanted for Lake Grove Petit Larceny

released! Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Fourth

Do you recognize this man? Photo from SCPD

man?

Photo from SCPD

Shatia Parker

Patriots punch ticket to LIC

BY BILL LANDON DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Melville junior Brody Morgan on a punt return went the distance for a Patriot touchdown covering 36 yards.

The win propels the Patriots to the Long Island Championship game where they’ll return to Lavalle Stadium to face Farmingdale (11-0) for the Long Island Class I title Saturday, Nov. 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

SPORTS

Thirty five years is a long time to wait, but the Patriots of Ward Melville satisfied that hunger with a convincing win over the Longwood Lions to capture the Division I Suffolk Championship game at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium — their first Suffolk title since 1987.

Ward Melville quarterback Andrew Belli orchestrated four Patriot touchdowns, three through the air, along with a 20-yard run for the 34-19 victory Saturday, Nov 19.

Belli connected with seniors Lorenzo Velez on two plays, good for 35 yards, and found Trevor Murray down the right sideline on a 15-yarder for the score. Ward

Tickets can be purchased at gofan.co/app/school/ NYSPHSAAXI.

Pictured clockwise from above, the Ward Melville Patriots celebrate their county victory; Patriots senior wide receiver Lorenzo Velez scores a touchdown; Ward Melville senior quarterback Andrew Belli orchestrated four touchdowns in the Suffolk Division I title game; and Patriots junior Brody Morgan escapes a would-be tackler.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Ward Melville

Longwood

Popular caterer celebrates a milestone birthday

BY RITA J. EGAN RITA@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

As co-founder and co-owner of Elegant Eating in Smithtown, Myra Naseem is accustomed to special occasions. At the end of October, instead of being on the planning end of a party, it was her turn to be honored as friends and family celebrated her 80th birthday.

Naseem, who goes all out to decorate the interior of her house every year for Halloween, commemorated her milestone one night with family and friends at her home with a costume party. The next day she, her two daughters Lyla and Kaneez, granddaughter Giselle and female friends enjoyed a tea party at the Smithtown Historical Society’s Frank Brush Barn.

The historical society’s executive director Priya Kapoor is a friend of the octogenarian and was on hand for the festivities. She looks up to Naseem, she said, and described her as a mentor.

“She is my biggest cheerleader who supports me no matter what,” Kapoor said. “She is my person no matter where we are. I feel home when I am around her.”

Naseem’s daughter Lyla Gleason said she, her sister and daughter read 80 things about their mother they loved at the tea party. She said they were touched as many of her mother’s friends, impromptu, stood up and added to the list of things they appreciated about Naseem.

Gleason remembers when her grandmother turned 80 years and was already retired and living in Florida. At the time, she thought 80 was old, but looking at her mother, she doesn’t feel the same way.

“She’s still in the prime of her life,” Gleason said.

With the pandemic’s negative effects on businesses, Naseem could have retired from her off-site catering business. She admitted she enjoyed some downtime during the shutdowns. However, she continues to run the business with partner Neil Schumer. She also attends events to ensure everything is set up to meet a client’s expectations.

Naseem credited her successful partnership with Schumer to always coming to a solution even though they sometimes disagree on the best approach. He is like family to her. For Schumer, the feeling is mutual.

“After 40 years we are best friends, we are family,” he said. “We have a bond that can’t be broken. With Myra, her heart is to make everyone happy. She always says the positive. I couldn’t ask for a better partner, better friend, better family.”

Kaneez Naseem said she admires that her mother continues working and attending social events outside of her job.

“I’m glad that she’s where she is in life right now,” she said.

Kaneez Naseem recognized her mother could have fully retired when the pandemic hit,

but she said it’s hard to imagine her not working. The daughter added she loves when people tell her how much they enjoyed the parties her mother has catered.

“She puts such care into every party as if it was for me or Lyla,” Kaneez Naseem said. “She’ll always want to make it like home and perfect.”

Myra Naseem said when she was younger, she had no idea that people would hire someone to cook for a party.

“I didn’t even know there was an industry called catering,” she said. “It was just a fluke.”

The former home economics teacher and Schumer started the business in her Smithtown home. The venture started after Naseem prepared a few menu items for her older daughter Lyla’s bat mitzvah. The caterer she used, who Schumer worked for, asked her to work for them. She did for a while, and when it was Kaneez’s turn to have her bat mitzvah, the business owner couldn’t have it at his place, so Myra Naseem catered it herself.

People from her temple started asking her to cater their parties, she said. Naseem began catering on a regular basis while still teaching for the first six years she ran the business.

“I liked it right from the beginning,” she said. “I think it’s very intuitive. It was almost like a very easy segue. Whether you’re running a classroom or you’re running a party, everybody gets a task and everybody’s doing their thing.”

In 1987, after her youngest graduated from Hauppauge High School, Naseem and Schumer opened their first storefront in Stony Brook, and the business officially became Elegant Eating Ltd. As the business grew, they moved to its current location on the Smithtown Bypass.

With both girls away at college, she said it was easier to juggle teaching and catering. By the time she retired from teaching in the 1990s,

she had already been working in the New York State education system for 30 years, with 24 of those years being spent in the Central Islip school district.

A graduate of SUNY Oneonta and New York University, where she obtained her master’s, Naseem said she grew up during a time when young women were made to feel they could only become a secretary, nurse or teacher.

“I think that today the young girls have a very different footing,” she said, adding the best advice for the younger generation is to remember you have to start at the bottom and work your way up.

“You need to see the foundation before you can be at the top of it,” she said.

Naseem’s parents were business owners, too. Born and raised on Long Island, her family moved to Patchogue when she was 5. Her parents owned a dress store in the village and decided to sell it and moved to Smithtown when she was 18. They opened a new dress store on Main Street, where Horizons Counseling and Education Center is located today. When her brother died at the age of 25 after an automobile accident, her mother wanted to leave New York, and her parents moved to Florida. At the time, Naseem was divorcing her husband, and with her daughters only 2 and 3 years old, she moved into her parents’ Smithtown home.

Kaneez Naseem said growing up, she didn’t realize what a positive role model her mother was.

“I don’t know that I appreciated it as a child, but I certainly do now, when I look at her and the way she lived her life,” she said.

The daughter said she realized how courageous her mother was to divorce when she was so young. She said if her mother ever struggled, she never showed it.

“It was us three girls,” Kaneez Naseem said. “It was me, Mommy and Lyla. That was normal to me.”

Gleason agreed, and as she looks back, she too has a deeper appreciation for all her mother did and achieved. When she was younger, she said, she thought what her mother did was normal, but over the years she has come to realize she made some bold moves.

She described her mother as a pioneer who was liberated and empowered.

“Women weren’t supposed to be empowered in those days,” she said. “It was unusual to see a woman take charge and start a career and do all these things without a husband.”

Gleason added her mother taught her daughters that a woman could do things in life with the support of family and friends and didn’t necessarily have to have a romantic partner. She said it has made her and her sister the independent women they are today, and Gleason is now teaching her daughter the same.

“Your life is not all about being in a marriage or partnership,” she said. “Your friends and family can be just as important and supportive as a traditional husband.”

Looking back at life, Myra Naseem said while there were tough times both personal and in her career, she said it was important to stay positive and always realize how fortunate she is. She compares herself to the Weeble toys that are built to wobble but not fall down.

“I always come right side up no matter what happens to me,” she said. “Whether I have a terrible experience or something gets broken or I’m sick or I have to make a big decision and maybe don’t make the best decision, I always come up straight. I always come up headfirst.”

Myra Naseem, left, recently celebrated her 80th birthday with family and friends. Center, Naseem is the proud mother and grandmother of daughters Kaneez, back row, Lyla, left, and granddaughter Giselle, center. Right, Naseem with Elegant Eating partner Neil Schumer. Photos from Lyla Gleason

Conductor/composer Mark Orton, former resident, dies at 93

Conductor/composer and former Three Village resident Mark DeForest Orton Jr. passed away Oct. 17 at the age of 93.

Mark was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Mark Orton and Margaret Kalman Orton and spent his first decade there. He took an early interest in music which was fostered by his grandfather Charles Kalman, director of the Minneapolis (now Minnesota) Symphony Orchestra and a prominent arts philanthropist. At 5 years old, Mark would “conduct” nightly in front of the family Victrola phonograph. Through his grandfather, he was introduced to the celebrated conductor Eugene Ormandy, who, after hearing of Mark’s hobby, had a miniature conductor’s podium, music stand and baton made especially for him. Ormandy would later become one of his mentors.

Mark went on to study music at Colorado College — with David Kraehenbuehl and Willi Appel — and at The Julliard School in New York — with Vincent Persichetti and Robert Hufstader — where he earned a master’s degree in choral conducting. In his early career in New York City, he was associate conductor under Robert Shaw with The Robert Shaw Chorale and later conducted both The Summit Chorale and The Collegiate Chorale, with which he recorded several records for RCA Victor. He worked with many notable 20th century composers including Paul Hindemith, Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc.

In 1965, Mark met his wife Diane Breslow, who at the time was working with The Collegiate Chorale. They married and moved from New York City to Long Island where Mark took up a teaching position at SUNY Stony Brook. He directed the BAFFA orchestra and chorus and also taught private lessons in conducting, piano and voice. At the same time, he began what would be a 35-year residency as music director of the Setauket Presbyterian Church. He built a remarkable musical community there, the evidence of which could be seen in each year’s Easter and Christmas concerts when he would cram a chamber orchestra and a full choir into the small balcony to perform full requiems and masses. During the course of his career, Mark also wrote and arranged hundreds of compositions for choir, both liturgical and secular.

In 2002, Mark was named The Village Times Herald Man of the Year in the Arts.

Career aside, Mark was a family man through and through. He was a devoted husband and father and coached Little League baseball and soccer, chaperoned ski trips, and was himself an avid swimmer and borderline polar bear — swimming miles in the Long Island Sound in a questionable stars-and-stripes Speedo well into October.

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Mark DeForest Orton Jr.

Born between the wars, he was a gentleman of the old school, known for his graciousness and old-world style. That said, he was quite comfortable pushing fashion boundaries, sporting dashikis, Russian bomber hats and sombreros alongside his conductor’s tux. Secrets of his longevity include time with his grandkids, playing Bach fugues on the piano, regular servings of crème brûlée, and martinis dry enough to double as paint thinner.

In later life, Mark and Diane left Long Island and settled near two of their children in Hood River, Oregon.

He is survived by his six children Jenifer Calandri, Melissa Morris, Dickson Cunningham, Mark Orton III, Alexandra Petros and Michael Orton, along with 10 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, a host of nieces and nephews, and roughly one-third of the feral cat population on Long Island.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hood River Music in the Schools program at the website hrcef.org/contributeprogramsnew. Checks should be made out to Hood River County Education Foundation and sent to HRCEF, 1011 Eugene St., Hood River, OR 97031. Memo: In memory of Mark Orton.

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EditorialThink big, shop small

After tackling the Black Friday frenzy at local malls and major department stores, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is set aside for our small businesses.

For over a decade, holiday shoppers have taken part in Small Business Saturday, an initiative created by American Express and the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation in the midst of a recession.

The annual event is an excellent opportunity to patronize mom-and-pop stores in our towns and villages. Many of these places provide personal services that consumers can’t find at larger retailers or by shopping online, such as exceptional customer service and wrapping gifts.

When shoppers support a neighborhood store, they are also helping the surrounding community. Many small business owners sponsor local sports teams or events. Those same owners also pay sales taxes to local municipalities, involving dollars going back into nearby public schools, parks, roads and so much more.

The multiplier effect of small businesses creates more jobs in our communities, too. With many mom-and-pops suffering from the aftereffects of pandemic shutdowns, shoppers at local businesses play a part in keeping small brick-andmortar stores open and people employed.

We know with lingering COVID-19 concerns, it can be overwhelming for some to step into a store sometimes. Many have become accustomed to ordering online, but if you can’t get out or don’t want to, many local businesses have websites or social media pages where buyers can purchase goods online.

There are also quiet weekdays to stop by a local store and check out their unique items. Shopping small doesn’t have to be restricted to one day out of the year.

After a long day of shopping, remember small businesses aren’t limited to clothing or gift stores, either. Get a bite to eat or a drink at a restaurant or bar in town. Buy a gift certificate to your favorite Friday night spot for a friend or family member. Or maybe someone waiting at home would appreciate flowers from the local florist. Have a loved one who loves yoga, dancing or self-defense classes? Many schools and gyms offer gift certificates, and it’s an easy way for people to try out a business before committing to it.

Most of all, frequenting small businesses creates a stronger sense of community. The last few years have been difficult for many, and the support of others, especially neighbors, can make a huge difference in someone’s life and livelihood.

It is time that we think about the big picture. If we fail to support our local small businesses, then we will soon be left with vacant storefronts. Blighted downtowns can affect property values and diminish the quality and character of our community.

This Saturday, remember to patronize your local momand-pops. It may seem like a small gesture, but it can make a big difference for our community.

WRITE TO US … We welcome your letters. They should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited for length, libel, style and good taste. We do not publish anonymous letters. Please include a phone number and address for confirmation. Email letters to: rita@tbrnewsmedia.com or mail them to TBR News Media, P.O. Box 707, Setauket, NY 11733

Letters to the editor

Electrifying the Port Jeff Branch line is a priority

I would like to present some of the ongoing work concerning the electrification of the Port Jefferson Branch line.

I had a substantial call with Sammy Chu, the MTA board member for this area. He’s new to the job and going through a learning curve, but he’s interested in the North Shore. I explained to him the economic and transportation benefits to the North Shore if improvements are made to the Port Jeff line.

When I spoke with other MTA officials, however, they had a lot of costly proposals. These proposals were so grand that I came away with the impression that they were not sincere about ever doing anything here.

There’s $10 billion on the table for the MTA in federal funding through the infrastructure bill. The Long Island Rail Road spends hundreds of millions of dollars eliminating grade crossings in Nassau County and tens of millions of dollars fixing bridges. We can do both of these engineering tasks cheaply by moving the existing Port Jefferson train station west to the Lawrence Aviation Superfund property.

The LIRR should put a little thought and planning into the Port Jefferson line. Our public railroad needs to think more about its communities and remember that we, the residents of the North Shore, pay taxes, too.

There will be a lot of development on both sides of the tracks, so eliminating the grade crossing bottleneck will be a positive project for the area. There is also a solar component to the Lawrence Aviation plan.

To see these plans come to fruition will require leadership, and our local leaders already appear to favor this vision overwhelmingly. Now we must think of other ways to jumpstart this endeavor, inching closer to implementing our collective vision.

Perhaps we can bring LIRR planners to Port Jefferson. Alternatively, we could bring the political leaders together. We need to get people in the same place, at the same time, to adopt the same objectives.

Bruce Miller

Port Jefferson

Editor’s note: Bruce Miller served as Port Jefferson Village trustee from 2014-22.

Steve Englebright, a true champion

Often when one reads praise about someone in the political arena it is perceived as hyperbole or puffery intended to gin up support for an election. But the dust has settled on Nov. 8 and Election Day is over. This letter is simply intended to honor an individual who has meant so much to this community, and the broader community of Long Island and New York state as we all

lost a true champion and valuable asset with the recent defeat of state Assemblyman Steve Englebright [D-Setauket].

I had the privilege to witness Steve’s entry onto the local scene in the early 1980s and cannot think of any individual who has done more to shape the future of our neighborhoods during this extended period of service. Whether broadening our understanding of the need to protect our drinking water in the Pine Barrens, to safeguarding Setauket Harbor, or educating many on the value of the cultural, historical and natural resources of Long Island, Steve helped inspire many legislative changes which improved the lives of those who call this special place home.

Though I began working with Steve as an environmentalist and advocate for sensible planning in Brookhaven in the ’80s, Assemblyman Englebright lit a burning passion in me in the early 2000s in local history by sharing about the Culper Spy Ring. They were patriots in our own backyard who helped provide crucial intelligence during the Revolutionary War to help Gen. George Washington prevail over the British. This led me to research and produce a selfguided cellphone tour replete with signage which has been accessed by thousands to share this amazing story of local history. Anyone interested can still call 631-4984740 to celebrate this unique aspect of the richness of our area.

In a similar sense, Steve has exhibited a commitment to disseminating intelligence, selfless service to others and a love of community which is unrivaled. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Patriots of old who shaped our nation but must realize there are still patriots among us who have helped save our way of life and defended our freedoms. Prime among them in this area has been Steve Englebright and I will be forever grateful for all he has accomplished on our behalf.

Ira Costell Port Jefferson Station

Shop local this holiday season

In these difficult economic times, as a result of inflation, it is especially important to patronize your neighborhood businesses. Do it not only on annual Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26, but every day of the year. Small independent businesses are at the mercy of suppliers, especially third-party brokers who control the price they have to pay for merchandise.

I don’t mind occasionally paying a little more to help our local stores survive. The employees go out of their way to help find what I need. Customer service is their motto.

As independent mom-and-pop stores, they don’t have the bulk-buying purchasing power that Amazon or other large national chain stores have. The owners can’t negotiate lower prices from suppliers. This is why they sometimes charge a little more.

It is worth the price to avoid the crowds and long lines at larger stores in exchange for the convenience and friendly service your neighborhood community store offers.

Remember these people are our neighbors. They continue to work long hours, pay taxes and keep as many staff employed as possible. Many maintain the tradition of offering job opportunities to students during the holidays and summer.

Customers also patronize other commercial establishments on the block. Foot traffic is essential for the survival of any neighborhood commercial district. If we don’t patronize our local community stores and restaurants to shop and eat, they don’t eat either. This helps keep our neighbors employed and the local economy growing.

The owners of independent momand-pop stores are the backbone of our neighborhood commercial districts. Show your support by making a purchase.

Larry Penner Great Neck

opinions of columnists and letter writers are their own. They do not speak for the newspaper.

The

Investigative suggestions for future Republican house committees

Yes! Republicans have retaken the house. Now, we can really get down to some important, democracy building and unifying investigations. Undoubtedly, these investigations will get to the bottom of some important political questions that people absolutely want answered.

done in two years — with the important questions, I have ideas for investigations that I’d like to lob in as well. They range from the obvious, to the quirky to the frivolous, but, I figured I might as well make my suggestions now.

poised to tear off his jersey many years ago against the Yankees? Is it safe for purist baseball fans to root for him again? Will he be eligible for the Hall of Fame someday?

D. None of the above

BY DANIEL DUNAIEF

Hunter Biden is and will be a prime target. How can he not be? If you look at some of the pictures of him that newspapers have found, he looks guilty, and that should be more than enough.

Besides, who doesn’t like a few insightful, incisive and critical First Family questions?

Once they finish — assuming they can get it

I’m going to write it here because you know it’s inevitable. Hillary Clinton. She might be a private citizen now, and she might have run for office six years ago, but she’s got to be responsible for something. Maybe she knocked the nose off the sphinx. Or maybe she tilted the Tower of Pisa. Come on, she’s got to have done something wrong.

I’d like to know why my email fills with stuff I talk about, but don’t type into my computer. Is someone listening? My wife and I might discuss a trip to Bora Bora and then, the next morning, I find an invitation to visit. Is someone listening all the time?

Jose Altuve. The Houston Astros star second baseman, whom baseball fans in other stadiums, particularly Yankee Stadium, love to hate, still seems to be operating under a cloud of suspicion. Did he cheat? Did he have a tattoo that he didn’t want anyone to see when his teammates seemed

Open Water. Did you see the movie? It was incredibly popular. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but, well, I’m going to do it anyway. These two people suffer through endless torment and fear after their boat leaves them behind while they are scuba diving. It’s not a feel good movie. Injured, cold and miserable, they try to fight off sharks — guess who wins that one? Afterward, I overheard someone say, “seriously? I watched those people for two hours for that?”

Jan. 6th. There’s likely to be a committee investigating the committee investigating the riots. Fine. But wouldn’t it throw Democrats, Republicans and conspiracy theorists for a loop if another committee then investigated the committee that investigated the original committee? It’d be like seeing images several times in a combination of mirrors.

Tom Brady. Okay, I know he’s not having

his usual spectacular world-beating season, but the guy is 45 and strong, muscular, athletic 20-year-olds are putting everything they have into throwing him to the ground. How is he still functioning? He’s not playing golf. Did someone replace him with a robot? Has he discovered some magical diet or fountain of youth that makes it possible to compete at such a high level when he’s at such an advanced age? I throw a ball with my son, and it takes me a week for my arm to recover. The world needs to hear his secrets.

Socks. I’m not particular about my socks. White ones that go above my ankle are fine. Most of the time, I buy socks that look like the ones I already own, which makes matching them pretty easy. And yet, somehow, I wind up with an odd sock more often than not. Where is that missing sock? Is someone stealing socks from driers?

Asparagus. I kind of like the taste, but I’d prefer that my pee didn’t smell later. Can’t someone do something about it? It’s the only vegetable that has that effect. Let’s figure out a better-smelling asparagus.

The success of our family Thanksgiving this year hinges on new pies

Here comes my favorite weekend of the year: Thanksgiving. It starts on a Thursday, as all good weekends should. We, the Dunaief Clan, have managed to extend it into three, even four days. We deserve no less. Like many American families, our immediate members are stretched across the entire continent, from the California coast to the middle of Suffolk County on Long Island, and from below the Mason-Dixon Line and the Florida Peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico. They need that much time just to get to Grandma’s house and back.

LEAH S. DUNAIEF

What’s waiting for them when they arrive? Food! All kinds of favorite foods. And love. Lots of love that bridges

three generations with mighty hugs. Why, it even takes a good part of that long weekend before all the members of the family finish hugging each other, at which point we sit down to eat. We get back up some hours later, only to regroup for the next meal. We know we are among the fortunate in that regard and give thanks.

Food means so many different things. There are the traditional historic dishes that symbolize the meal eaten by the Pilgrims. But we have added so much more to the basics. And each person has a favorite that tickles them when they look at the offerings on the laden table and know it was prepared especially for them. Food is love, and special foods carry that message.

It still amazes me to be surrounded by the many members of my tribe. Almost 60 years ago, before I was married, there was just me. Then, three months later, there were the two of us, my husband and I. Now there are children and children-in-law, and their children and eventually, their children-in-law. Together we populate the dining room and fill the house with chatter and laughter.

One of the high points of the weekend follows Thanksgiving dinner, when we are still sitting around the table, digesting sufficiently until we can have dessert, and we tell each other what we are most thankful for that occurred in the past year. In that way, I get to catch up on some of the events in my loved ones’ lives, and they on mine.

Speaking of dessert, the pumpkin pies will be an issue this year. For all the Thanksgivings we have celebrated here, 53 to be exact, we have enjoyed the classic finale from Good Steer. Their pies pleased all our taste buds, from my children to my parents, who would join us from the city during those early years. Alas, the Good Steer on Middle Country Road is no more, the family having closed the business.

So, faced with this significant void, I have done some research and have come up with replacements. Whether they will be acceptable remains a sensitive question. I’ve had a number of friends offer suggestions, and I thank them kindly because they understand how important it is to find an alternative source. After all, no

two differently-made pumpkin pies taste the same. The result here hangs in the balance until Thursday eve. Keep your fingers crossed for me, as my reputation as the Best Thanksgiving Grandma depends on this important outcome.

Actually I have a monopoly on the title. Thanksgiving is always celebrated at our house. My in-law children know and accept that arrangement because I trade Thanksgiving for Christmas. That seems to work for everyone in the family.

This year, we have a special event to celebrate. My oldest grandson has asked the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with to marry him, and she has accepted. We will welcome her enthusiastically, and I will give thanks for the blessing of seeing our family continue to grow.

Wishing you all, Dear Readers, a Happy Thanksgiving with the foods you enjoy and the people you love, whether they be relatives or close friends or perhaps those you recently met and have chosen to share this celebratory meal.

On this day, we are reminded that we are all Americans together.

Discovering the changes in East Setauket through the centuries

BY BEVERLY C. TYLER DESK@TBRNEWSMEDIA.COM

Just before the turn of the 20th century, the Three Village area presented a vastly different appearance than it does now. The shipbuilding era had been over for more than two decades, and the industries that manufactured pianos and rubber goods had come and gone. The community had only the tourist trade and some coastwise shipping and fishing to supplement the farming that had been its backbone since 1655.

HISTORY CLOSE AT HAND

The roads through the villages were unpaved, and in the late winter, the narrow streets were rutted and muddy. When it rained it was sometimes difficult, often impossible, for a horse and carriage to travel the roads composed of loam and clay. When the roadway passed near an underground spring, it was also often flooded. Traveling on foot was more common than today and a necessity when the roads were impassable.

The local area had fewer homes and they were often unpainted. The older shinglecovered houses presented a light gray, somewhat drab appearance as they stood alongside the uneven winding roadways.

The farms and fields that dominated the landscape through the early years of the 20th century were occasionally broken by small areas of woodland or meadow and by orchards of apple trees.

Throughout the 19th century, trees were cut to be used for firewood. Most of this wood was cut into cords and shipped in Long Island-built sloops and schooners to New York City to heat homes and businesses. The areas where the trees were cut down were cleared of stumps, plowed and planted. Some fields were left as meadow for grazing or to recover from too many years of farming. In most places you could look from wherever you stood to where the fields disappeared over a hill. The view would be broken by only a house or a small stand of trees.

By the last quarter of the 19th century, coal was rapidly replacing cordwood as the main heating and cooking source. Coal was shipped by canals from the coal fields of Pennsylvania to the east coast ports of New York and New Jersey. As steam power improved, rail transportation rapidly replaced canals as the main carrier of coal to east coast ports.

Just before the turn of the 20th century, the hamlet of East Setauket consisted of a group of small stores and a few homes. Surrounding East Setauket’s location were fields and meadows sloping gently down to Setauket Harbor. The creek that ran under the road divided the hamlet almost in half and was crossed by a narrow wooden bridge that provided an unobstructed view of the creek as it emptied into the harbor.

At the east end of the village, on the south side of the road, were three homes belonging to members of the Jones family. Two of the homes, still standing in their original locations just east of the Three Village Church, belonged to Capt. Benjamin Jones and his brother Walter Jones, Jr. Benjamin had been master of many ships including the Mary and Louisa, built in the Bacon shipyard in East Setauket. The 150-foot bark sailed, in 1858, on a three-year voyage to China and Japan while he was her captain. Walter Jones, Jr. owned and operated a general store that stood where the Citizens Bank is now. Benjamin and Walter were both sons of Walter Jones, Sr. and Charity Smith Jones. Their home, standing where Tai Show Japanese Restaurant is today, was built in 1754 and bought in 1760 by Ebenezer Jones, Walter’s father. Walter lived there from the time he was married on Jan. 28, 1824, until he died on March 23, 1877. His home was called Mansion House by members of the Jones family because it was the home of Walter, Sr., the then patriarch of the family that included nine children. The house was also known as Old Shinglesides.

In 1895, Charity Smith Jones, then in her 90th year, was still living in the home where she had raised her family. The Mansion House was an impressive structure inside and out. The kitchen included a brick oven and a black settle. The dining room and sitting room were both lined with wainscoting. The sitting room included deep window seats, a number of cozy chairs and a big fireplace. The parlor, across the entry hall from the sitting room, was elegantly paneled on the ceiling and three walls and included a large fireplace on the west wall. In this parlor, Charity Jones, described in an article in “Popular Monthly” magazine as “a sweetfaced old lady who is the pink of antique perfection from her spotless black cloth slippers to the white handkerchief over her head,” talked about her life. “I was born in 1806, and Captain Jones brought me to this house when I was a bride of eighteen. That was in 1824, and the house was just as old then as it is now … I have lived in this house bride, wife and widow for seventy years, and when Captain Jones died he left it all to me.”

The Mansion House stood on its original

site until 1962 when it was moved to make room for the construction of the East Setauket Post Office (now Tai Show North). Moved and restored by Ward Melville, the house now sits overlooking a small pond along Gnarled Hollow Road at Mills Lane. Charity died on Aug. 11, 1897, in the 92nd year of her life. She is buried in the Presbyterian Churchyard in company with her husband and many of her children.

The hamlet of East Setauket continued to change throughout the 20th and into the 21st century as businesses grew or failed and changed hands. Bright spots now include the redesigned and beautified East Setauket Pond Park. Future bright spots include the historic Roe Tavern, which is planned for Town of Brookhaven property just east of the East Setauket Veterans Memorial Park. All of these stories and more are a part of the fabric of the hamlet of East Setauket.

Beverly C. Tyler is a Three Village Historical Society historian and author of books available from the society at 93 North Country Road, Setauket. For more information, call 631-7513730. or visit www.tvhs.org.

Above, The Stores at East Setauket by Edward Lange, circa 1880. The last store on the right side of the street was the general store of Walter Jones. The family home is partly visible just past the general store. On the left side of the street, the Roe tavern is visible just past the fenced-in empty lot. The distinctively different roof lines of the two sections of the Roe Tavern are clearly visible. The original Lange watercolor is a part of the current exhibit ‘Land by Hand: Edward Lange’s Long Island’ on display through Dec. 18 at the Long Island Museum. Image from the Long Island Museum