SINCE 1899
Vol. 113 No. 32 September 9, 2011
1 DOLLAR
Serving Bayville, the Brookvilles, Centre Island, Cold Spring Harbor, Cove Neck, East Norwich, Lattingtown, Laurel Hollow, Locust Valley, Matinecock, Mill Neck, Muttontown, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Syosset and Woodbury
In memoriam for our neighbors ▲ ▲
Anthony Perez Andrew K. Friedman ▼
Bernard E. Patterson ▼ Stuart Todd Meltzer
After 10 years, lost loved ones still shining in our hearts The Guardian is paying homage to our close neighbors, to the 350 Nassau County residents and to all who perished in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Ten years ago the events of tht fateful Tuesday changed the world in many ways, but the biggest damage came to the families who will forever be missing members. In the following alphabetical list, family and friends share some anecdotes as well as thoughts about their loved ones, reinforcing that although they are gone, they will never be forgotten.
MARIA ROSE ABAD
▲ Brooke A. Jackman
▲
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Edward J. Papa ▲ John Ballantine Niven
Thomas A. Mahon
Jonathan “J.C.” Connors ▲ Timothy M. O’Brien ▲
▲ Maria Rose Abad ▲
Jonathan S. Ryan ▲
Joseph A. Kelly
Described as a “hardworking executive, always with a smile,” Maria Rose Abad, 49, of Syosset had started as an Administrative Assistant at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and had worked her way up to Senior Vice President as well as the highest ranking woman in the company. She was in her office on the 89th floor of Tower Two at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th. Born and raised in Queens, Abad had originally studied socially and wanted to be a teacher. She was an avid reader who absorbed hundreds of books per year. Abad is survived by her husband of 26 years, Rudy. He said, “We had a Cinderella marriage. Everyone knew that we were the happiest couple you’d ever meet. We lived for each other.” Her plan was to join Rudy in retirement at the end of 2001 so (Continued on page 6)
Venditto ready to serve again in town he loves Oyster Bay Guardian: What drives you to run for an eighth term?
by David J. Criblez dcriblez@oysterbayguardian.com
Photo by David J. Criblez
John Venditto greets Carol Petraglia.
Supervisor John Venditto has enjoyed one of the most successful careers in the history of the Town of Oyster Bay. After serving as a Town Board member (19811990) and Town attorney (1991-97), Venditto has reigned supreme as Town supervisor since 1998. Throughout both the North and South Shores, Venditto’s popularity has increased with each term handily winning elections by big margins. Currently, he has announced his candidacy for an 8th term. The Guardian recently spoke with Supervisor Venditto about his reasons for running again, his subscription to the Republican philosophy, how he connects with the residents and his lifelong desire to be an elected official.
Supervisor John Venditto: “We still have some unfinished business. There are projects that I’d like to see through to competition. We are in this economic downturn and it’s a challenge. I’d like to stay with the Town rather than abandon ship during these perilous times. If I’m fortunate enough to win and serve my term it will be a sweet 16.” OBG: What keeps you coming back? Venditto: “I was born and raised in this Township. I can’t tell you how much I loved growing up here and how much I appreciate it. When I became an adult I never
thought about going anywhere else. I’m in love with the Town. When I say ‘there’s no better place to live, work and raise a family’ - there’s much more truth than rhetoric in that statement. This is where I want to be and this is what I want to do.” OBG: There are many elements to your job. Which part do you enjoy the most? Venditto: “In the course of a given morning I could be on the phone with a resident discussing potholes on their street or how the snow wasn’t plowed as well as it should have been. Minutes later I could be on a phone conference with the Governor of the state of New York talking about an environmental bond issue. It’s amazing (Continued on page 7)
Exhibit at Raynham Hall celebrates its women Raynham Hall Museum, a historic house museum dating from the 1740s, certainly had its fair share of celebrated residents including Robert Townsend who served as a spy for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Other founding families in the Oyster Bay area included the Weekeses, Coles, Underhills, and Youngs. Naturally, these families intermarried often, and the Townsends and Weekeses were no exception. The men of these families were well regarded in such fields as law, politics, mercantile trading, and medicine. While the undertakings of the Weekes men are well-publicized, often the many accomplishments of the women have been overlooked. In a traditional genealogy, family lines are described as stretching into the distant past along the fathers’ side. However, matrilineal genealo-
Alice Russell Howland Delano
Alice Hathaway Delano Weekes
gies — those traced along a female line — can provide a wealth of information that a traditional genealogy omits. The high social standing of the Weekes is evidenced by the collections of documents that survive them, like the Weekes Family Scrapbook, which is the centerpiece of a new exhibition. This scrapbook contains letters,
Alice “Wynne” Delano Weekes
Alice Delano Weekes
autographs, certificates and other written ephemera from the celebrities and dignitaries of the time. The stations of the Weekes men allowed them to collect the writings of such individuals as Theodore Roosevelt; Victor Emmanuel, the King of Italy; and William Wordsworth, among others. However, this scrapbook does not merely serve as a repository for famous
signatures, but also contains more personal correspondences, such as valentines and notes written from parents to children. Indeed, by examining the contents of the scrapbook as a whole, the integral role of women in the Weekes family comes to the fore. Raynham Hall’s new exhibition, “A Scrap-Book for the Ages: Four Generations of Alices,” which opens to the public on September 10th, focuses on the lives of four women of the Weekes family, all of whom were named Alice. In this exhibition, the four Alices include a mother, daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. That four successive generations of women in this family bore the name “Alice” illustrates a tradition that stems from the extraordinary nature of each Alice, and allows the matrilineal line to be emphasized more (Continued on page 7)