BRENTWOOD HS LACROSSE STADIUM DEDICATION
POSTED 4/5/12
     On Saturday, May 12, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM, the Brentwood High School Lacrosse Stadium will be dedicated in honor of Coach Bob Hoppey. Click here for further information.

THE MONTH OF APRIL
POSTED 4/5/12
     Here is a link on the web where you can learn all about the month of April. You may find some interesting facts about this month that you didn't know.
April

SAD NEWS
POSTED 4/22/12
Dear Colleagues,
     I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but at the request of Vivian's husband I am passing on this news about one of our BHS colleagues.
     I spoke with Marty Nelson last night, husband of Vivian Gaitan-Nelson, former BHS Guidance Secretary. It is with great sadness that I tell you Vivian is in the terminal stages of cancer. It has spread to her brain and she is in Sloan-Kettering. Marty said she might be cheered up by some cards from BHS colleagues; send them to Vivian at:
645 Blue Point Road,
Holtsville, NY 11742.
      Please keep Vivian and Marty and their family in your thoughts and prayers.

SONDERLING CLASS OF '82 REUNION
POSTED 4/22/12
Hello.
      I'm Camille Cono from Sonderling's class of 1982. We are hosting our reunion this summer. I'm extending an invitation to all retired teachers to come and attend. We would love to mingle and reminisce with you.
Courtyard Marriott, Ronkonkoma, NY.
July 13, 2012. 7-11 pm
     Please contact Reunions of America or me for further info.
     Be well and thank you for sculpting us all!
Sincerely,
Camille Cono
handymomcc@aol.com

     VJ had been a spirited Brentwood High School graduate. He was one who decided to return to Brentwood to teach in the same building that he'd attended as a student. He'd always loved history, so he was a natural to teach it.  This account in his own words, is how he connected the dots during his lifetime and expressed it in Book Two of the Writers Group Project in 2003. 

ROBERT DAVID LION GARDINER: A FRIEND OF THE COMMON MAN, A VISIONARY
by Vin Carnevale
      My memory of Mr., Gardiner takes place on a spring day in 1951. Both he and my father were driving around Bay Shore, New York in search of a piece of property which might serve as a location for a new home for my family. Mr. Gardiner suggested that my father buy land along Sunrise Highway, but dad wanted to live where there was no traffic. Before the end of the day, my dad had purchased from Mr. Gardiner three pieces of land. One parcel would serve as the location for our home (1524 North Gardiner Drive) the others as investment properties. As Mr. Gardiner would say, "Real estate is the wave of the future. It will serve as a good life insurance policy." His vision was right on target.
     Robert David Lion Gardiner, distinguished proprietor of Gardiner's Island until 1964, and owner of the Sagtikos Estate, is a remarkable individual beyond the estimate of his own considerable personal qualities. Mr. Gardiner represents the only instance in the history of the United States in which ownership of real property has descended since 1639 according to the law of primogeniture. He is the direct descendant of Lion Gardiner, who purchased the Island in that year from Wyandanch, Sachem of the Long Island Indians. Ownership has remained in the hands of the Gardiner Family for the past 327 years since that time.

Why did we do it?
     What was our purpose in taking on such an open ended “History Project”; for which we evolved a script of questions and got answers from over 150 subjects for two decades?
     We couldn’t answer the question in 1994 when people would ask “What are you going to do with the interviews?” All we could say was that for educational purposes we had to document our record now or lose the chance to preserve so many poignant accounts, funny stories and touching tales told by exemplary educators. We knew these dedicated public servants might shortly, for reasons yet unknown, be leaving Brentwood for good.
     So, we decided to let time sort out the details. We began scheduling appointments. We asked questions and listened saving for generations the essence of what it meant to have been an educator or employed, in this large public school system during the second half of the 20th century. Brentwood remains an exemplar to all others; a diverse microcosm of America reflecting 124 districts on Long Island while simultaneously resembling thousands across the U.S. We’ve accomplished something here to be proud of. Whether we were interviewed or not, ours is a claim of service that few professionals in the State of New York or elsewhere have positioned themselves to share in the way we have.
     INITIALLY the practice of sitting with a subject for an hour and giving them a hundred percent focused attention seemed somewhat daunting to a number of friends and colleagues. So much so in fact that many declined our repeated invitations to speak with us as they left careers or retired from full employment. Despite all assurances that we were not about investigative journalism or invading privacy, they deferred. Now, twenty years after we began, some are saying they may be ready. “Better late than never” we say. However, to all among you who were willing to share not only your classroom experiences and personal stories, but precious memories from your lives along with your fondest hopes for the future, we say “Thanks”. Thanks for allowing us to continue the process by paying it forward as we share these interviews with the Brentwood community and countless professionals and researchers near and far. Through an acceptance of ROBS offer of collaboration with Archivist Dr. Geri Solomon and The Long Island Studies Institute at Hofstra University our History Project lives on in academia as well as in the collection of the Brentwood Public Library, thanks to Director, Thomas A. Tarantowicz.
   Enjoy unlimited visits to www.robsny.org where you can watch and listen to segments from featured Interviews in the ROBS History Project Section on our Announcements Page each month. Return here to listen and learn again and again.

WHERE IS SANDRA CHASE?
POSTED 4/28/12
     I am reaching out to The Town Crier Mailing list (and other Brentwood people). I have been trying to contact Sandra Chase, who I know was very ill. When I just called now, her cell phone was disconnected and the land line rang for three minutes with no pickup. If you have any information or can suggest another place to try, please let me know, I am very concerned.
Claudia DeBellis