Get To Know Your Local Lighthouse

To mark National Lighthouse Day, the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society is offering tours of the local landmark, including a deluxe candlelight dinner version.

By Sarah Grisham
info@longislandergroup.com 

While Huntington may not have the centuries old castles of Europe, its lighthouse possesses a timeless beauty and a historical value that speaks for itself. With its beacon marking safe haven, it played an integral role in days gone by. Having recently celebrated its 107th birthday, the Huntington Lighthouse is actually considered relatively young; however, a little over a century is more than enough time for the degrading effects of the sea and time to make themselves apparent.

Luckily, the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society is here to ensure that the building remains fully functional and beautifully maintained so that it can continue to serve as a town symbol well into the future. On Aug. 7, you can experience the lighthouse yourself by coming to take part in the National Lighthouse Day fundraising event which will include both daytime tours and a special nighttime dinner tour.

From noon until 3:45, everyone can be a kid for an hour as they tour the lighthouse for $15 per person, the usual children’s fee. The boats for these tours will leave every 45 minutes from Goldstar Battalion Beach located at 324 West Shore Road. Make sure to wear sneakers, or another flat and rubber-soled shoe, as flip-flops are very dangerous on the slippery lighthouse and boat, and thus not allowed. If you’re interested in bringing a group of 10 or more to visit, a reservation should be made beforehand.

At 6 p.m. that same day, the celebration will continue with a special dinner tour which, while more expensive at $75 per person, promises to be well worth the money. A buffet of classic Italian cuisine will be supplied by Tutto Pazzo which has coordinated with the lighthouse for over a decade to create evenings with a food selection as memorable as the view. While enjoying your meal, you’ll have the opportunity to watch the Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club’s weekly sunset sailboat race, which ends right by the lighthouse.

As Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society president Pam Setchell puts it, “You get to become intimate with the place and realize how magical it is.”

The tours are filling an important fundraising role as the Lighthouse MusicFest that the Society stages over Labor Day weekend will not be taking place due to communication conflicts with the town. The event had become a staple in the group’s fundraising efforts, and its billing as “the only music festival in the world held on an offshore lighthouse” drew over 1200 boats from across the tri-state area. While  Setchell is disappointed at the loss of the event, she remains optimistic, mentioning multiple future lighthouse fundraisers. These included a comedy night featuring Mark DeMayo, who has appeared on both Comedy Central and Showtime, as well as the annual holiday boat parade which will showcase luminously decorated boats circling the harbor. She even dropped a few hints about a special new event for which she has high hopes.

Setchell stressed the importance of continuing the fundraising effort so that the building can be maintained and kept in good repair.

“We’re one of the only towns in the country that has an offshore lighthouse where you can actually go out and see it. People don’t really understand the treasure they have out here in their own backyard…these are our castles.”

This upcoming Wednesday will provide the opportunity to learn more about the town’s past, and secure it for others long into the future.

Kids’ Project Spacebound

South Huntington rising 6th graders Gianni Balanos, Jacianna Chiechi, Alex Romano, Christina Rosploch, and Jancarlos Silva sent their experiment to the International Space Station.

By Sophia Ricco
sricco@longislandergroup.com

An experiment developed by South Huntington students to aid astronauts in space is taking a trip to the International Space Station this summer.

Rising sixth graders Gianni Balanos, Jacianna Chiechi, Alex Romano, Christina Rosploch and Jancarlos Silva devised an experiment to remedy digestion issues astronauts may face in microgravity. They were chosen for the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP) that partners with NASA under the Space Act Agreement, dedicating time and resources to student experiments. After learning about the stomach discomfort space causes, the students were curious if probiotics, a beneficial bacteria for digestive health, could reproduce in microgravity.

“Science is all about engineering,” South Huntington’s supervisor of data and STEAM initiatives, Marijean Scardapane said. “They are engineering solutions to the problems they identify.”

Despite numerous delays, Space X 18 took off on July 25 at 6:01 p.m. from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Students viewed the rocket launch online, along with family and school officials.

On board was there experiment, sent into space in a “mini-lab” transport tube. Tasked with making the project compact, the students divided the tube into sections, containing a probiotic capsule, non-refrigerated milk and an unopened capsule. They have instructed the astronauts to “shake well,” which will mix the bacteria and nutrients together.

“They want to see what happens to the healthy bacteria that’s in the probiotic capsule,” Scardapane said. “If it survives and thrives in the zero gravity environment of space, as compared to what happens to it on Earth.”

When South Huntington was asked to submit an experiment to SSEP, they enlisted fifth through seventh grade classes to design space-related studies. It fit into the students’ science curriculum, that explores space travel, zero gravity and outer space.

“This is the way you want kids to do science,” Scardapane said. “You don’t want kids sitting with a textbook. This is a way to work how a real scientist works… Even with the kids dealing with the delayed launches, this is what happens in the real space program.”

As students learned more about the conditions of the International Space Station, they researched and developed impactful theories that would benefit astronauts or further travel. Working in groups, 451 students competed to send their experiment into space. The proposals were judged and narrowed down to the top three by Farmingdale University, before they were sent to SSEP. The winning group from Barbara Wright’s fifth grade class hope the probiotic will thrive in space and help astronaut’s stomachs feel better.

“These are experiments designed to try to solve problems that astronauts really encounter in space,” Scardapane said.

Starting in September, the students spent months establishing and advancing a hypothesis that they would test and adjust. In the proposal, they had to prove they could assess collected data.

“They went to the high school to learn how to use a high power microscope, knowing they’ll need to examine the bacteria when it comes back,” Scardapane said. “They worked with the teacher who runs our research program so they could learn the correct way to evaluate data.”

The students will monitor the experiment through astronaut logs, that can be accessed on NASA’s website, under SSEP Mission 13. The experiment won’t develop until the end of August, but students plan to stay updated with the other 41 flight student experiments.

“They’re not done yet,” Scardapane said. “They still have to run the experiment, evaluate it, and present their findings at a conference in the Smithsonian. It’s a wonderful opportunity.”

Ballet School Founder Frank Ohman Dies At 80

Ballet school founder Frank Ohman of Centerport died on July 22.

Frank Ohman, a former New York City Ballet soloist, founder and artistic director of the New York Dance Theatre and the Ohman School of Ballet on Long Island, and internationally known dance professional, died suddenly on July 22 at home in Centerport.  He was 80 years old. 

Ohman began his critically acclaimed dance career with the San Francisco Ballet in 1959, moving quickly through the ranks while also serving in the U.S. Army Reserves.  He joined the New York City Ballet in 1962, and was a soloist for 22 years.

During his performing career, Ohman studied professionally with icons of the American ballet world including George Balanchine, Lew and Harold Christensen, Ernest Belcher, David Lichine, André Eglevsky, and John Taras. He appeared in leading and soloist roles in ballets of Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Ashton, Antony Tudor, and Jacques d’Amboise among others. He partnered many of the world’s leading ballerinas including Maria Tallchief, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Patricia McBride, Gelsey Kirkland, Kay Mazzo, and Suki Schorer. Ohman performed with the New York City Ballet at the New York State Theater, Kennedy Center, Marinsky Theater, Bolshoi Theater, the White House, and Jacob’s Pillow.

With the blessing of his mentor George Balanchine, Frank Ohman established New York Dance Theatre, Inc. in 1974 to bring classical ballet to a broader audience. Five years later, The Frank Ohman School of Ballet was founded as a training ground for young dancers, teaching the art of classical ballet in the style of Balanchine.

Frank Ohman as a principal with the New York City Ballet dances Balanchine’s "Western Symphony!” with Gloria Govrin.

Ohman’s commitment to the Balanchine legacy extended to his company’s annual production of “The Nutcracker,” an annual tradition for families throughout the region.

A prolific choreographer, Ohman created more than 200 original ballets which were performed by his New York Dance Theatre, Boston Ballet, Edmonton Ballet, Syracuse Ballet (where he was director), the Cassandra Ballet of Toledo, the Long Island Philharmonic, the Long Island Lyric Opera, the School of American Ballet workshop performance, and American Movie Classics, among others. 

Ohman was still actively teaching at his eponymous classical ballet school in Commack until his death. His teaching career also included stints at prestigious programs including the School of American Ballet, the Boston Ballet, the St. Louis Ballet, the National Dance Institute and as guest Ballet Master at Ballet Philippines.

Beyond his career as a dancer, choreographer and teacher, Ohman was a gifted fine artist whose paintings have been featured in art shows at libraries throughout Long Island and Queens. Ohman encouraged his students to be well-rounded students of the arts.  In his 2014 memoir, Balanchine’s Dancing Cowboy, Ohman wrote, “To be a great artist, one must care deeply and completely about something, and to work devotedly to contribute that artistry to the world.”

Ohman is survived by his son Johan (Soumala) and grandson, Luke, as well as his ballet family of students and colleagues who carry on his legacy. 

A private funeral service is being held for immediate family.A public memorial service is planned for late summer, details to be announced at ohmanballet.org.