Tag: local history

FYI Friday: The “Three Condors” Sculpture

Anyone who’s visited the Cold Spring Harbor Library has encountered the immense metallic sculpture welcoming them into the parking lot. But did you know that this statue, titled “Three Condors,” was created in 1967 by Hungarian-American artist George Gach?

Anyone who’s visited the Cold Spring Harbor Library has encountered the immense metallic sculpture welcoming them into the parking lot. But did you know that this statue, titled “Three Condors,” was created in 1967 by Hungarian-American artist George Gach?

Born in Budapest, George Gach (1909-1996), son of the eminent Hungarian sculptor Stephen Gach, relocated his family to Long Island in 1952. George devoted himself to painting, sculpting, and art instruction, creating over 1400 award-winning bronze sculptures and 997 paintings during his lifetime. His daughter, Susie Gach Peelle, remains a local painter and artist, and her work was recently featured in the Library’s art gallery.LionKing01

The sculpture “Three Condors” was commissioned by the Talve family almost fifty years ago for their company, Franklin Stainless Corporation. The stainless steel form represents the three brothers who founded the company, and was used as its corporate logo until 2008, when Franklin Stainless was sold. In 2011 the Talve family donated the piece to the Library, with a re-dedication ceremony held in April of the next year.

Sources
George Gach
Susie Gach Peelle

FYI Friday: The Big Oak of Lloyd Neck

If you’ve ever browsed the paintings on the walls of the Library, you may have noticed a watercolor print titled “The Great Oak,” created by Pauline G. Emmert and depicting a large, black oak tree local to Lloyd Neck. But did you know that this tree was approximately 550 years old when it was felled by Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2006?

If you’ve ever browsed the paintings on the walls of the Library, you may have noticed a watercolor print titled “The Great Oak,” created by Pauline G. Emmert and depicting a large, black oak tree local to Lloyd Neck. But did you know that this tree was approximately 550 years old when it was felled by Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2006?

Painting - Pauline Emmert
“The Great Oak,” by Pauline G. Emmert

“The Big Oak,” as it was commonly known, began its life before Columbus came to the New World and grew to the massive height of 90 feet, with its trunk reaching 36 feet in circumference and its branches spreading out to 150 feet. It lived through the birth of a nation – at which time it was already over 300 years old – and was a common tourist attraction even up to its last years, by which point its bulk was being supported with cables and pipes. The ancient oak was even listed on a national register of historic trees.

Following its demise, the Big Oak lived on in a variety of ways. Much of it was used to create a reading room and museum in the renovation of Lloyd Harbor Village Hall, and an 18-foot table residing there was made from branches that had previously fallen from the tree. Acorns shed by the tree during its final year were collected and put in cold storage for future planting attempts.

A slice of the Big Oak is on display at the Village Hall library.

Oak slice
©The Huntington Patch

 

Sources / Further Reading:

The New York Times, “Laid Low After 550 Years, a Giant Oak Tree Has a Big Future”
The Huntington Patch, “‘Big Oak’ Piece Unveiled at Lloyd Harbor Village Hall”

FYI Friday: East Side Schoolhouse’s Desk On Display

If you’ve visited the lobby area of the Library recently, you may have noticed the antique wooden desk on display across from the Circulation Desk. But did you know that the desk once belonged to the principal of a schoolhouse on Main Street in Cold Spring Harbor, back in the early 1900’s?

Maggie Norton Desk 3

If you’ve visited the lobby area of the Library recently, you may have noticed the antique wooden desk on display across from the Circulation Desk. But did you know that the desk once belonged to the principal of a schoolhouse on Main Street in Cold Spring Harbor, back in the early 1900’s?

Prior to the existence of the DNA Learning Center, the East Side School, a two-story wooden schoolhouse, was located on this site. This building lasted from 1870 to 1924, housing 1st through 5th grade on the first floor, and 6th through 8th grade on the second. The principal of the school, Miss Kitts, kept the antique desk on the second floor and used it to hold attendance records.

East Side School
[East Side School circa 1890
c/o Huntington Historical Society]

In 1925, a new brick schoolhouse was built on the site, and eventually in 1987 this building became the Dolan DNA Learning Center, the school having previously moved to a new space due to overcrowding.

The desk is on permanent loan to the Library thanks to Bill Norton, who inherited it from his mother Margaret “Maggie” Norton after she passed away in June 2015 at 105 years old. Margaret was born in Cold Spring Harbor and lived there nearly her entire life, teaching at both the Main Street School and the former East Side School, now Goose Hill Primary School.

Those interested in more details of Margaret Norton’s life or historical Cold Spring Harbor can check out her book, Maggie’s Memories, from our collection, or read this article from The Long Islander written on the occasion of her passing.

Sources: Maggie’s Memories  |  Goosehill Primary School  |  The Long Islander

Civil War Plaque, 1861-1866

The Civil War plaque that is on permanent exhibit next to the Information Services Desk was researched for several months. Documents from the Local History Collection confirm that on June 7, 1912, at a meeting of the Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society,  Mr. J.H.J. Stewart proposed to erect a memorial tablet to honor residents that enlisted during the Civil War.  For more information about the history of the plaque and to read the names that appear on it, please download the brochure.

civil war plaque