Jeff Blossom: Bay House Model Maker Jeff Blossom was a resident of Freeport, where he lived from the late 1920s. Since he was a teenager, Jeff spent most of his time on the south shore’s bays and beaches, enjoying the company of his friends as they went duck hunting, clamming and fishing. He always spent […]
The Gospel Elders: African American Gospel Quartet The Gospel Elders were a traditional gospel quartet consisting of six African American gentlemen who emigrated from the south during the 1940s and 1950s, and lived on Long Island and Queens. They sang hymns and spirituals in a variety of musical formats including blues and a capella. They […]
Paul Ketcham: Boat Builder and Restorer, Amityville, New York Paul Ketcham, Jr. was born in Amityville in 1935 to a local boat builder family. During the 1930s depression, Paul’s family settled in Florida, where his father worked in the Daytona Boat Works. In 1944, following the death of his grandfather, Paul’s family returned to Amityville […]
Tom Jefferies: Bayman Tom Jefferies was born in Freeport, following a long line of fishermen in both the Jefferies and the Remsen families. Tom learned to fish from older fishermen on the Nautical Mile, including Frank Cona and others. His family owns a bay house, where he learned to harvest clams, crabs, mussels and other […]
Bill Hamilton: Bayman Bill Hamilton was born in Sayville and lives in Patchogue. He learned to fish, clam, and to catch oysters from local fishermen and baymen like Samuel Ockers; he also catches fluke, flounder, and eels using pound traps and fyke nets. Besides being a fisherman Bill is also a boat builder who makes […]
Chris Hale: Boat Builder and Model Maker Chris Hale has worked at many boat yards on Long Island, including Coecles Harbor Marina on Shelter Island, at Hampton Shipyard in East Quogue, and currently at Weeks Boatyard in Patchogue where he has worked since the 1990s. He works on traditional wooden boats ranging from skiffs and […]
Bill Fetzer: Bayman Bill Fetzer is an independent bayman from Bayville who works in Oyster Bay harbor on Long Island. He is active in the North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association. The North Oyster Bay Baymen’s Association was part of our Waterfront Heroes exhibit. View videos about our Waterfront Heroes here. “I first started clamming with […]
Ducks Unlimited: Waterfowl conservation Wetlands restoration. Environmental education. Wildfowl carving. Hear these words, and then think of Ducks Unlimited. This is their mission. Ducks Unlimited was started in 1937, when the dust bowl threatened to decimate the entire wildfowl population of the country. The mid-continent, where most waterfowl are born, is a long way from […]
Bob Doxsee: Deep Sea Clamming by Nancy Solomon Bob Doxsee, the owner of Doxsee Sea Clam Company, which closed in 2013, carried on the traditions of his family, one of the older families to settle on the south shore of Long Island. The Doxsees began as farmers and fishermen, including James H. Doxsee who was […]
Trinidadian steelbands have been in existence since the 1940s, when Trinidadians turned metal containers left by U.S. military forces stationed in Trinidad and Tobago into musical instruments. The groups were originally formed by young men and teenagers from economically depressed neighborhoods in Trinidad’s capital Port-Of-Spain and subsequently spreading to outlying towns such as Arouca, a […]
