The year 2020 marks the 75th commemoration of liberating prisoners from the Nazi concentration camps, and exposing just how inhumane humans can be. The National Socialists Party of Germany, aka the Nazi Party, never painted the words Only Aryan Lives … Full Story
Fresnel Lens – The Invention That Saved a Million Ships
Long Island is home to some 20 odd lighthouses. Montauk Point Light was the first built, but Fire Island Light is the tallest at 168 feet (with 182 steps – but who’s counting) and is 50 feet higher than her … Full Story
Death’s Cold Hand Grips the “Louis V. Place”
Captain William H. Squires and his crew of seven were exhausted. For the last four days they only had been able to catch intermittent snatches of sleep. Shivering, chilled bone-deep by the freezing conditions of a nasty storm raging from … Full Story
Pandemics and Fire Island: A Brief History
AS ISOLATED AS FIRE ISLAND is it has had more than its share of pandemics. COVID-19 is only the latest, and thanks to the leadership of mayors, police officers, business owners and just plain folk, Fire Island is skirting most … Full Story
Forgotten Bay Shore Aviation History
Long Island has a rich aviation history. It is home to the three busiest airports serving New York City (JFK, LaGuardia, and MacArthur) as well as numerous small airports dotting the island that provide everything from recreational flying to flight … Full Story
Robert Moses: A Visionary Stricken with Myopia
It is not hard to understand why Fire Islanders with a knowledge of history of the island would dislike Robert Moses. He did, after all, try to jam a four-lane highway down the center of their island in spite of … Full Story
The Two Other Halves: William Floyd’s Wives
General William Floyd (1734-1821), one of only 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, had two homes and two wives. The first home is the William Floyd Estate in Mastic, part of the Fire Island National Seashore. His first wife … Full Story
Shinnecock’s Missing Light
Necessity builds lighthouses. Progress replaces them. Heritage preserves them. At one point there were three proud lighthouses standing guard over the south shore of Long Island: Fire Island Lighthouse, Montauk Lighthouse, and the Shinnecock Lighthouse. Today only two remain. Where … Full Story
Wild Things: Maurice Sendak on Fire Island
Maurice Sendak is the author of the 1964 Caldecott Award winning children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are.” The book remains number three on the top 10 bestselling children’s books of all time.1 You may have read it yourself. And … Full Story
The Bizarre History of the Smith Point Bridge
Fire Island is accessible by boat or by bridges at either end. The more well-known of the two bridges is the Fire Island Inlet Bridge, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Robert Moses Bridge because it is a continuation of … Full Story