By Thomas McGann Happy birthday, Walt Whitman, born 200 years ago, May 31, 1819. It is of thee we sing! We celebrate your birth! “Starting from fish-shape Paumanok, where [you were] born, well-begotten, and rais’d by a perfect mother…isle of … Full Story
The Hurricane of ’38
Personal Stories from Fire Island By Thomas McGann The hurricane hit Fire Island around 2:30 p.m. The eye was about 50 miles wide, the storm itself about 500 miles across. High tide was even higher than usual because of the … Full Story
Wolcott Gibbs: F.I. mellows a curmudgeon
History By Thomas McGann “Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind,” reads Wolcott Gibbs’ parody of Time magazine, an article that is still highly touted, so much so that it tends to obscure much of what else he wrote, and … Full Story
The Fascinating History of Lighthouses
From Pharos to Fire Island By Thomas McGann On Aug. 7, we will celebrate National Lighthouse Day, and countdown to the 30th anniversary in which Congress passed this resolution. It was on Aug. 7, 1789, that the Bureau of Lighthouses … Full Story
Lambda Legal: Protecting LGBT rights for 45 Years
By Thomas McGann Lambda Legal is a civil rights organization that specializes in lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender (LBGT) rights, as well as those living with AIDS/HIV. In 1971, Lambda Legal’s founder William J. Thom was sitting around a pool … Full Story
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: Von Steuben (1730-1794)
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben and the American Revolution By Lorna Luniewski This is a name that many may not be familiar with, myself included, but Baron von Steuben is credited with being one of the fathers of the Continental Army, … Full Story
The William Floyd Estate
Gunpowder and Gumption By Thomas McGann This year celebrates the 300th anniversary of the William Floyd Estate, one of the gems of the Fire Island National Seashore. The estate is the ancestral home of William Floyd (1634-1821), one of only … Full Story
History: Rumrunners of Fire Island
By Thomas McGann It started with Prohibition. Thanks to the active political participation of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the Anti-Saloon League, and the likes of Carry A. Nation, an uncorseted woman (“bad for the vital organs” she claimed) … Full Story
Fire Island on the Small Screen
By Thomas McGann Fire Island has had its share of exposure on the big screen (movies), not often, but enough to be notable. However, it is not much seen on the small screen (television), until fairly recently. To touch on … Full Story
Fire Island’s Woodhull School Celebrates Its Centennial
By Thomas McGann Happy birthday to the Fire Island School District! Fire Island’s only school, the Woodhull School, is a public school located on the southeast corner of Midway and Surf Road on the border of Ocean Beach/ Corneille Estates … Full Story