Brad Brewer is the founder of New York City’s Brewery Puppet Troupe. As a child in the Soundview projects in the Bronx, Brad was obsessed with the art of puppetry, which he learned from puppeteers Kermit Love, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz. Brad is the creator, designer and builder of the “Crowtations,” four internationally known […]
Josephine Smith Josephine Smith is an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and resides on the Shinnecock Territory near Southampton, Long Island. Josephine has been an educator at the Shinnecock Nation Museum, the Shinnecock Indian Education Program and currently serves her nation as the Cultural Resources Department Director. As an indigenous cook, artist of […]
Stu Markus: Singer-Songwriter-Performer Arranger-Music Historian A fixture on Long Island’s folk and acoustic scene since the mid-1990s, Stuart Markus has been writing songs since middle school and has played professionally for nearly three decades. Listed in Newsday as one of “Long Island’s Best” and sometimes called the Island’s “hardest-working man in folk music,” Stuart actually grew […]
Mark C. Nuccio: Artist, Poet, and Author. Mark C. Nuccio is an an accomplished artist, poet, and author with over 55 years of dedication to his craft. He has exhibited his paintings and woodcuts in over forty group and solo shows, including the prestigious Library of Congress, which holds three of his works […]
Craig Oddo: Bayman and Fisherman Craig Oddo lives in Glen Cove on the North Shore of Long Island. He is a full-time bayman and fisherman. Craig catches eels, conch, clams and other types of fish and shellfish. He uses a garvey, a flat bottom boat, so that he can go into shallow creeks and harbors […]
Larry Udell: Decoy carver Larry Udell is retired from the lumber industry and he is also a retired waterfowl guide. He took friends hunting for pleasure. Although commercial duck hunting was outlawed in 1917, guides continue to take recreational hunters to the various marsh islands of the south shore. Like other duck hunters, Larry’s grandfather […]
Lenny Nilson: Bait fisherman Lenny Nilson was born in Bay Shore in 1947 and spent the first five years observing his father who had a shrimp and killie business. By age 16 he began working on the bay. He has worked as a commercial fishermen for the Sunrise Fish Company, and currently owns L & […]
John Davi: Lobsterman John Davi is a lobsterman who works out of Port Jefferson. He catches thousands of pounds of lobsters in a good year, but due to a variety of factors there are fewer lobsters on Long Island Sound. As a result John has worked at other things in order to work year-round. John […]
Pete Ames: Master Fishing Rod Maker Born in Little Neck, Queens, Pete Ames is a 3rd generation fishing rod maker who has made hundreds of fishing rods for sport fishermen on Long Island. He is one of a very few traditional rod makers left on Long Island, a craft that he learned from his father […]
Tony Sougstad: Dragger Fisherman Tony Sougstad was a dragger fisherman who lived in Freeport from the 1960s. He became a dragger boat captain in 1970, after working as an engineer, because he preferred working on the water—a tradition common in Norwegian families. He caught a variety of species, including fluke, flounder, squid, and whiting. Like […]
