Bob Doxsee of Point Lookout, NY grew up on Meadow Island where his family had a fishing camp. Listen to this story about his experiences there, part of Long Island Traditions’ Boating with the Baymen program in 2015.
Bay house owners face unique challenges in building and preserving their homes, due to their location in a precarious maritime environment. Storms and hurricanes, along with frequent vandalism routinely threaten these fragile structures. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 destroyed many of the bay houses, but some remain. Hard work and labor are necessary to maintain the […]
In this video Brian Warasila, a bay house owner, describes the joys and challenges of owning a bay house.
Listen to stories by bay house owners Brian Warasila and Mary Carson about the traditions of preparing favorite foods harvested from the waters of the bay near their bay houses.
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 […]
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 […]
John Buczak: Bayman John Buczak is a full-time commercial bayman based in Bay Shore. He is one of approximately 15 in Bay Shore. John catches crabs, eels, conch and killies. He makes several kinds of traditional traps including eel traps, killey traps and winkel pots. John is also a storyteller who likes to talk about […]
Maritime Folk Arts in Education The goals of this 4th-grade program include teaching students about a traditional occupation, family and community traditions, and educating teachers on folklife resources in the community. Because the maritime traditions are rapidly vanishing from Long Island, it is critical that students learn about these resources before they disappear. The program […]
Bay House Preservation Bay houses are small shacks that stand on the South Shore’s marshlands in the Town of Hempstead that were originally built in the 1700 and 1800s by fishermen, baymen and duck hunters for shelter while they harvested clams, salt hay or went duck hunting. Through the years they have been passed down […]
Long Island Traditions sponsors “Boating with the Baymen” a boat tour with local baymen and other maritime tradition bearers. This event is a unique educational opportunity to learn about the traditions of local baymen, commercial fishermen, decoy carvers, boat builders, clamshell artists, and other tradition bearers whose families have lived on the water for several […]