Sat Nov 11th Crossing Over Fire Island Heading To The Mainland
Touching Down
and
SPLASH !
IT'S A BOATSHOW !
TEN DAYS IN NOVEMBER
November 11 -20, 2006
Not to be confused with "13 Days In October" ...
that was much more serious and they made a movie out of it with Kevin Costner.
On Saturday Nov 11th, 2006, I boarded a plane in Nashville, Tn for a trip to Long Island primarily to do a reading of my "The Knapps Lived Here" manuscript at the Mastics, Moriches & Shirley Library. Of course it doesn't take much to get me on a plane these last few years to visit back home, even though I consider my research finished as far as The Knapps Lived Here book goes. Besides that, I am always looking for extra material for my planned spinoff book "The Mastics .... From Blueblood To Blue Collar" especially in the photo department.
Well this trip was no disappointment to say the least and held more surprises than I could of ever imagined. Initially I had planned a real short trip home but wound up going a week early so I could visit with some old friends who had out of town Thanksgiving week plans and could not attend the Library "extravaganza" on Sunday the 19th. Flying into MacArthur Airport on Veterans Day reminded me of an early airshow I attended there in the 1950's with my brother Butch and our Dad. We saw the Navy's Blue Angels in their Sabre Jets and went aboard a American Airlines DC-3 with a curved lounge in the rear and a cockpit full of as much neat (and newer) airplane stuff than the we even saw in Schulte's barn a year or two earlier. see footnote *
Sat Nov 11th Crossing Over Fire Island Heading To The Mainland
Touching Down
and
SPLASH !
IT'S A BOATSHOW !
Not Really .....my flight got in a little early, so this time I spent a little time in the terminal photographing The Eight Ball, something I had been meaning to do ever since I first interviewed Bill "Cut" Reddin in 2002. "Cut" was very helpful to me with some Bill Dana and Dodi Knapp boating history and was the first to tell me about Dana's "Wa Hite" and Knapp's Sea Sled "Miss Demure" plus Knapp's involvement with The Bonney Gull. Cut's father William was the caretaker for The Mark Estate in Center Moriches. The Mark family was very active in the early 1900's yacht clubs and regattas on Moriches Bay . The Eight Ball is on loan from The Suffolk Marine Museum In 2003 Kenny & I visited there to see among other treasures Bill Dana's 1915 Gil Smith cat boat "The Lorelei"
*Paul Schulte who was known as the Mayor Of Mastic Beach in 1922, opened the first business in Mastic Beach , a hotel and tavern. When prohibition was over he receives several buildings from J. F. Knapp and moves one of them off the estate, over to section four in what was called "new town" Mastic Beach. where "Schulte's Tavern" a landmark watering hole the family operated continuously from 1933 to 1996 is still located. They sold it for a short time, but now own it again and are planning to re open it. The Knapp's secretaries house according to Estelle Schulz, gets placed right behind the stable / tavern and becomes a residence for either Paul or his son Paul Jr. It too is still there although heavily restyled on the exterior. "Schulte's Barn" stayed on the estate property on the corner of Dogwood and Jefferson. Sometime in the late 50's or early 60's the barn was torn down by Sam Cole (the same man who took down the chimneys in the mansion and plowed the remains under). I recall exploring Schulte's Barn with my friends long before we were ever brave enough to set foot in the mansion. Being just an old barn it didn't look as scary and it was just a few feet in off the road. However when we went up in the hayloft, we discovered something that we never gave any thought to about why it was there. What was up there was a whole lot of broadcasting radio equipment and airplane cockpit parts. It was all broken up (the bakelite panels) but we kids hauled a whole big chunks of it out of there in wagons and set it up in my driveway. Then we played airport with it. I recall my father coming home from work and asking us "Where did you find this stuff?" (He was a Navy radio operator in WWII ) We told him and next day our "airport operation" disappeared and eventually so did the rest of the stuff in the hayloft. Last time I was up there, there was just a few pieces of wire left. We never thought anymore about it. ..... Excerpt From "Section 9" Of The Orignal "Knapps Lived Here"Website Story 2000
PLAN B: FOR SALE NOVEMBER 2006
Greta Tucker (Paul Schulte's Grandaughter ) actually did re open the Tavern in 2003, but it went Up In Smoke in Jan 2004. Now the entire block of Schulte's Property Is For Sale, The Boarded Up Bar, The Lot on the Five Corners where Schulte's / Fischer's Market Once Stood, The Little Bungalow on Diana Drive and Neighborhood Rd that once was the Smith Fish Store and this home the former Knapp Estate secretary residence of Ed Kiely (Dodi's Lawyer). It once sat alongside of "Schulte's Barn" on Jefferson Drive up until 1941. Asking price for the whole shebang is just under a Million according to the realtor I spoke with.
On Saturday Evening I attended a Pot Luck Supper with my hosts Kenny & Pam at the Carriage House located behind the old Southaven Church in Brookhaven. This was a major nostalgia trip for me as I played there several times in the 1970's including my "Farewell to Long Island" concert there in Feb 1977. I even got to see Kathy Kellogg who used to book the shows in the Coffee House. And as an added bonus got to play the piano ( The organ was out being restored ) inside the Southaven Church itself. Did I play my tune Revival ? You Bet.... Did I Play Phoebe Knapp's tune "Blessed Assurance" ?? ...... Is The Pope Catholic? ... Was Phoebe A Methodist?? .... Did William Floyd go to the Old Southaven Church??? ..... On Monday the 20th (my last day there), I returned to the church with a "very special friend" (who surprised me by attending the Library Show) and I took this shot. Notice The Fish Weathervane On The Steeple! The story about that is on the "Going Over" pages.
On Sunday A Rainy Day I went out with Kenny as he made his rounds checking on his houses out east. We made a stop in Center Moriches to view the hole that is now where The Long Island Hotel that was built in 1858 used to be.
In the days before Centre Moriches became Center Moriches
And Here Sometime In The 1930's , Gardiner Murdock (Marion Knapp's father in law) of Southaven Ran It During The Speak Easy Days
Early Photos : "Illustrated History Of The Moriches Bay Area " by Van & Mary Field
It Did Last 148 Years.....BUT Caught Fire For The Last Time In 2005. The Signs Posted Then On The Building Initially Said They Would Rebuild It.
( There Are A Whole Lot Of Links On These Pages So Don't Forget To Click Them If You Want To See & Know It All )