In March of 1914 Mrs. Lena
Hoag, wife of the editor of the Suffolk County News, called a meeting of
local women at the office of her husband's newspaper with the idea of
forming a civic organization. She was amazed by many women concerned with
the betterment of Sayville. The issues that concerned them then are the
issues that concern us now: the desire to make Sayville a better place in
which to live.
The first issue they
addressed was the dumping of garbage. This was a way of life for the
people of 1914. The group petitioned the Board of Health to limit garbage
dumping to the area called "The Meadows"' where the Fire Island parking
lots exist today, as well as to the area near Easy Street.
A beacon light was erected at
the end of the breakwall by the entrance to Browns River for the safety
of the baymen.
During World War I, a local
branch of the Red Cross was established and Honor Boards were erected for
the local servicemen, one of which still hangs in the Library.
They then decided to see if
they could start a library. They wrote to Andrew Carnegie as they heard
that he was funding libraries around the country, one of which was in
Patchogue, but he never wrote back. So the ladies set aside space in
their meeting room and went about getting shelves, furniture, books
donated and volunteers. By August, it was open for business. The
Society's involvement with the library continued until 1965. Even today
books are donated to the library to honor deceased members.
In 1924, the Society
determined that Sayville should have its own bathing beach. The Blue
Points Oyster Company agreed to sell some of its shore front property to
the Society for $5,000. The women raised the money through fundraisers
and door-to-door solicitations. The beach was opened on July 1, 1925. An
engraved marker is embedded in the wall of the present bathhouse.
Other ongoing projects have
been:
The beautification of
downtown Sayville and a committee called the "Greenthumb Committee"
begun 40 years ago. It uses redwood boxes made by students at the Junior High
School, filled with flowers planted by members, to beautify our main
roads. The fundraiser for the event is The Holiday Cocktail Party, held
the first Saturday of December at our own Gillette House. Today this
Committee is called the "Beautification Committee" and redwood planters
have been replaces with 48 attractive stone planters.
Our newest project has been
sign directories: informative guides surrounded by beautiful plantings in
areas that were long neglected. To date three wooden signs have been
erected and one Trompe L'Oeil painted on the side of the building at
Gillette Avenue on Main Street.
In the 1960s Honey Locust
trees were planted on Main Street to replace the dead or dying elm trees.
In the 1980s the Society offered diseased resistant elm trees which the
community could purchase along with a plaque, to be placed on main roads
throughout the town.
Another major fundraiser is
the ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLE FAIR held the third Sunday in Main in
Gillette Park. An 85th Anniversary Cookbook, a collection of the ladies
favorite recipes, is now in its second printing.
Whether large or small,
serving a high school senior with our Annual Scholarship award or our
local needy with food, toys or coats, our Society has always dedicated
itself to the betterment of Sayville.
SO WELCOME TO SAYVILLE!
Please join us! We
hope you love it as much as we do and will dedicate yourself and your
family to making it a batter place in which to live! |