Tottenville History
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Friday, April 27, 2012 11:15 PM
April 2012 On Sunday, April 22, the Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre, in cooperation with the Conference House Association, presented a newplay by Anna Mione entitled Tea Party. It was particularly significant to be in the audience experiencing this reading, as Wayne Miller (who produced and directed Tea Party) pointed out, set in front of the fireplace that cooked the meal served at the September 11, 1776 peace conference. The Conference House was the perfect venue to bring the audience back to the time of John and Abigail Adams. Anna Mione’s play has Sarah (Amanda Delalla) and Abby (Samantha Rose) reviewing American History for a quiz, with examples to correct the biased point of view of the history books. For example, how many knew the British were the ones who taught the Indians to scalp people, paying them for the scalps? Current references to the Tea Party of today, and to questioning if our founding fathers actually read the Constitution with how many in Congress actually read the Health Care bill before voting on it, worked their way into the story of the two young women’s discussion. While I enjoyed the two discussing history, and evenl earned a few things I didn’t know, the crux of the play was Abigail Adams and her correspondence with James Lovell, brought into the play through discovery of letters in an antique desk one of their mothers had purchased. Abigail supported John Adams from the start of the Boston Tea Party, keeping him steadfast in the revolt. She wrote to him every day, even though he only wrote back to her sporadically. She spent half of her married years alone, beginning her correspondence with James Lovell to find out more about her husband, but leading to a more personal correspondence between the two. The end of the reading has an exchange between Abigail and Abby, but since I don’t believe in writing spoilers, I will just say this exchange between the two was the most important part of the reading to me, and I had hoped it would have had a more extended presence in the production. After the reading, Wayne Miller presented Anna Mione to the audience, who answered some questions from the group, before joining us at the post show reception hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Maltese. I was happy to have attended, honored to meet and to talk with Anna after the show. FURTHER INFORMATION: Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Conference House Books by Anna Mione Some references online to the correspondence between Abigail Adams and James Lovell: |
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AngieMangino: Posted on Sunday, April 01, 2012 2:37 AM
March 2012 To me, history is so much more than the boring statistics that tortured all of us in school. History, when properly told, is a collection of stories of people through time. Yes, we need the journalistic questions of who, what, where, and when, but, to me, the depth of history is answered in the why and the how of the people. Their lives, and how they went about things, always with an emphasis on the core issue of why, is how we learn true history. Last month I wrote of Dorothy Day: who she was, some of the things she did, where she was, when she was there, but I hope I adequately shared with you so that you grasped the important how and why she lived. Her passionate love of God drove her, and little by little, she tried to make lives of people better to share the divine love she experienced. Therefore, this month, in line with my upcoming book, Tottenville Speaks, I want to fast forward in discussing Tottenville history and its people. I wasn’t here when Dorothy Day was contributing to Tottenville history, but I am here as an up and coming Tottenville woman is living Tottenville history with her skills and talent. It is a privilege to share this interview of Jaclyn Lurker. AM: Jackie, let’s begin by speaking about your education. JL: At St.John’s University, I earned a BA in English Literature, with a minor in Psychology, going on to earn a MA in Psychology at Hunter College. AM: Let’stalk now about your writing. What have been your most recent works? JL: My short story “Insult and Insolence” was included in the book Bad Austen. The Staten Island Playwright’s Collective presented “Tailor-made,” a short story adapted into an original short play, inWacky Love Shorts in February 2011. This led to their most recent presentation in February 2012 of 7 By 7: 7 DeadlySinful Shorts, where I wrote of Pride in “In the House of Mourning.” AM: As a Tottenville native, what would you say has been Tottenville’s influence on your work? JL: Fascinated by the Revolutionary War Period, the Conference House always has been my favorite spot in Tottenville. When live original theater came to the Conference House with “JacobMarley's Christmas Carol,” I was first introduced to the Staten Island theater community. Three of the actors performing in it went on to Wacky Love Shorts and 7 By 7: 7 Deadly Sinful Shorts: Rina Sklar in “Tailor-made,” Joseph Smith in “In the House of Mourning,” and Charlie McLaughlin with his performances on the sins of Anger and Greed. AM: Tell us more about “In the House of Mourning.” JL: This was my first writing of a play from scratch. With the Collective, we workshopped, I did editing, and the creative process pushed me out of my comfort zone. Originally, I wrote a comedy about pride, but the feedback was more receptive to drama. AM: What challenges did you have in writing this play? JL: The play had a common theme, found in many other works. For money, do you go with other’s desires, or stand by one’s own principles? When I mentioned that to a friend, looking to be more original, the reply was that everything’s been“done” before, but it depends on how “you” do it. Then, while in Rome, I saw the Caius cestus, a pyramid built right into an ancient Roman wall. Legend has it that a man who died mandated in his will that his son would not inherit unless he built this pyramid within 365 days. A number is etched into the pyramid as proof of meeting the deadline. That’s when I realized I wasn’t going to come up with anything “original.” AM: Any other challenges? JL: A fortune cookie saying hints on the challenge all writers face. “Art is a craft, not an art.” The difficult part is when what you see in your head doesn’t come out on paper. That’s where the challenge of craft comes in. As a writer, you search for the right language and mechanics to make it the way you envision. It’s important to me to have some kind of meaning in my writing. AM: How did you add to the meaning of “In the House of Mourning?” JL: A quote from Ecclesiastes, along with EdithWharton’s House of Mirth, was my inspiration for the title. “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,while the heart of the fool is in the house of mirth.” -Ecclesiastes 7:4 There are several layers to writing a play, especially one to be included in a collection having a unifying theme. The set, the names of the characters, what they wear, how they walk, all add to the layers. The audience doesn’t need to know the symbols to appreciate the performance, but the inclusion of symbols adds layers to discover. AM: Name a few of the symbols you utilized. JL: The character Colton Hawthorne's name has the symbol of a horse, and wearing a purple shirt connected to pride symbolism. Dr. Francis Hawthorne, the good brother, gets his name from St. Francis of Assisi, the exact opposite to pride. Verity Gold has a name meaning both truth and greed. A character with no filter, she can’t help but speak the truth, even though she loses if the brothers reconcile. The cast of “In the House of Mourning” from left to right: Dr. Francis Hawthorne (Joseph Smith) Verity Gold (Marissa Terzino), Colton Hawthorne (RJ Lucci) AM: What encourages you in your writing? JL: There’s a purpose to my writing, even if I’m the only one who notices and gets enjoyment out of it. I get motivation from people who enjoy reading and understanding what I wrote. It is so encouraging to be able to open people’s minds to look at things differently. AM: What direction do you see your personal writing path leading? JL: I see myself continuing to write short stories, looking for opportunities to write more plays, and eventually a novel in my future in the mystery genre. With my psychology background, I am drawn to the workings of the mind, so my writing has to be meaningful, very character orientated, with well-defined characters whose actions will show the story. AM: Is there a current writing project in the works? JL: I’m working on a series of four historical mysteries set on Staten Island that follow a family through several generations. Writing in first person is more natural for me, with dialogue my strength, so it may possibly be through personal letters. AM: Thanks, Jackie, for sharing with us this glimpse into your writing. To those reading this blog, please add your comments about this first interview done on the Tottenville blog. Your feedback is very important to me. What did you think of this interview format? Are there any questions or comments for Jaclyn Lurker? Any suggestions for interviews for future blog posts? Maybe you? This is the opportunity for Tottenville to speak to me. I’m listening. Further information:
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2012 5:02 PM
February 2012 This month has me thinking of love in all of its many forms in our lives, spurring me to discuss a woman connected to Tottenville who I never had the privilege of knowing personally, but have come to know rather well through people who knew her, and from her writings. Dorothy Day was born on November 8, 1897. Until her death on November 29, 1980, she impacted so many lives with love, and after her death continues to do so. Her legacy continues. On June 10, 1997, as a new freelance reporter for the Staten Island Register newspaper, I wrote an article, “Spanish Camp residents shaken by sale of land.” The next week I wrote, “Dorothy Day had deep affection for Spanish Camp.” I had no way of knowing at the time what this assignment from then News Editor Bill Franz was to do to my life. I wrote about Spanish Camp for the weekly newspaper for over 3 years, following the difficult story where real estate investors won out over middle class families. Along the way, Dorothy kept touching my life. I went to the sixth annual Dorothy Day pilgrimage held by Pax Christi, Staten Island on Sunday, June 29, 1997. We visited several significant sites. We saw the bungalow, and its outhouse at Spanish Camp, where she was able to come back to the beach of Staten Island in the seventies, calling it her oasis. This picture shows Dorothy at the bungalow in Spanish Camp. We made a stop at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, my own parish in Tottenville, seeing the baptismal record where Dorothy had her daughter Tamar baptized, and where Dorothy was accepted into the Catholic Church. She is currently being considered for sainthood, and as she did in her life, brings extra blessings to Tottenville, and to all the places with which she was connected. We prayed at her grave at Resurrection Cemetery. On November 25, 1997 I wrote a commentary for the Register, “The legacy of Dorothy Day,”sharing my attendance at the Catholic Center at New York University in Manhattan for a symposium to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Dorothy’s birth. “Somehow, I keep being pulled to Dorothy Day. I originally attended to see if there was a news story related to Spanish Camp. Instead, I found something more compelling, more personal, that just didn’t fit into news format. Although we never met, Dorothy has touched my soul.” I wrote of Patricia Rusk, Dorothy’s long time secretary who still lived at Spanish Camp at the time, giving me her personal copy with notes on Dorothy’s writings, By Little and By Little. One note under the title shows Pat’s comment, “The Passion of Dorothy Day.” I shared Robert Ellsberg’s introduction to the book: “She wrote to give reason for a marriage of convictions that was a scandal and stumbling block to many: radical politics and traditional, conservative theology. Yet it was not what Dorothy Day wrote that was extraordinary, nor even what she believed, but the fact that there was absolutely no distinction between what she believed,what she wrote and the manner in which she lived.” Let me end with Dorothy’s own words on love, written On Pilgrimage in 1948, from By Little and By Little that is as relevant today as when she wrote them. “Whenever I groan within myself and think how hard it is to keep writing about love in these times of tension and strife which may, at any moment, become for us all a time of terror, I think to myself: What else is the world interested in? What else do we all want, each one of us, except to love and be loved, in our families, in our work, in all our relationships? God is Love. Love casts out fear.”
Read more about and by Dorothy Day Biographical Essay on Dorothy Day By Angie Mangino “Dorothy In Love,” an article in America Magazine, by ROBERTELLSBERG | NOVEMBER 15, 2010 |
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 7:30 PM
January 2012 As part of my goal planning for this year, I reflected on the direction my writing has taken over the last year, so I wanted to share with you the direction I plan to take with our Tottenville blog. Since its inception, the blog’s format was to come out weekly. True, I confess to missing some weeks along the way, but mostly I achieved my goal. For the new year, however, I believe it will be more beneficial for me, and for my readers, if we proceed on a monthly basis going forward. Much has happened this past year in my life. Added to my personal writing and book reviewing workload, I have introduced critique service for unpublished manuscripts, and have even taken on a business client for content editing. All of this is exciting, and I’m enjoying the expansion of my freelance writing career. What I don’t want this expansion to do, however, is to make the Tottenville blog, and the writing of the book Tottenville Speaks, to get lost in the process, or become uninspired, by my trying to keep the blog going weekly. Quality is important, and if I allow myself to become overwhelmed, I suspect that quality will suffer, something that is not acceptable to me. One goal of mine going forward is to make the blog more interactive, more in line with the title of my upcoming book, Tottenville Speaks. So speak to me, Tottenville. Add your comments, as well as contacting me if you would like to be a guest blogger sharing Tottenville’s history. Let me know what you think of my decision of going monthly. Share topics you’d like to see explored. If it’s related to Tottenville, this is the place for you.
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Saturday, December 24, 2011 2:43 PM
It doesn't matter if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Ramadan, Diwali, Dongzhi, or Winter Solstice; we share so much that is the same. This is the season of awareness, inner renewal, blessing, and affirmation of self-worth for all of us. We may all seem different by our winter celebrations, but under closer inspection, we are all saying the same thing. If only the people of the world could all learn to recognize this fact, peace on earth would actually exist. That’s the real message of the season that I hope you’ll be able to discover in your celebrations this year. While wishing each other a happy holiday, I’d like to share with you my own personal take on the form of greetings for this seasons that mystifies me in becoming a problem for many, rather than a shared wish for happiness & blessings. Each year a childhood friend of mine who celebrates Hanukkah wishes me a “Merry Christmas,” while I wish him and his wife a “Happy Hanukkah.” They give me a Christmas wrapped gift, while I wrap my Hanukkah gift to them in Hanukkah paper, with gold wrapped chocolate coins “gelt” attached on top of the package. We share our love of each other at the holidays by honoring each other’s different beliefs. So now that it’s Christmas, if someone wishes you a “MerryChristmas,” from their belief and joy at this time, and that is not your belief, know that the greeting is coming from a place of love, wishing you blessings, not an attack on your beliefs. Find that equivalent place in your belief, and receive the greeting in that spirit of blessing. That said, I close this week’s blog from my heart, wishing you every blessing in this season of mutually similar beliefs searching for that elusive “peace on earth” we all desire and need. Merry Christmas! Angie
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Friday, December 16, 2011 8:37 PM
 The Colonial Christmas at the Conference House on Sunday, Dec 11 was a wonderful pause in the hecticness of the season, taking one back to a much simpler time. It was my pleasure to go with Jaclyn Lurker, a fellow writer from Tottenville, who has been so supportive of my work writing about Tottenville from the very beginning when I first applied for a COAHSI grant to do the research and to conduct interactive workshops on the history of Tottenville. It is she who set up & maintained my first webiste, teaching me along the way that technology is my friend. Her support keeps me going during the rough times. Recently having her submission “Insult and Insolence” selected to be published in Bad Austen:The Worst Stories Jane Never Wrote, Jackie is in the process of writing a seven minute play on Pride for The Seven Deadly Sins, a presentation of the Staten Island Playwrights Collective, to be performed at the Unitarian Church in the end of February.  As a special Christmas treat for both of us, we both got calls from the Conference House after the event to pick up the baskets we won. Appropriately she won the Sangria basket, while I won a wine basket of one of my favorites, Gato Negro.
Enjoy a peak at the event with the pictures I took & share in the Christmas spirit I found there. |
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2011 6:08 PM
It’s that time of year where most of us go into supercharged mode in anticipation of the holidays. Yet during all this joyful, and unfortunately sometimes stressful, preparation, I know I have to remind myself repeatedly that all that really needs to be done will get done…and if it doesn’t get done….well….then maybe it’s because it really didn’t NEED to be done! Annually the Conference House here in Tottenville offers a break from the stress with a short repast back in time with the Grand Illumination and Colonial Christmas. Did you attend the Grand Illumination last Friday night, December 2? Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go this year to see the Conference House lit up with candles in each window, or to indulge in the hot cider and cookies while singing Christmas carols. Having attended last year, I missed that sense of community celebrating the holidays from a simpler time in Tottenville’s history. However, I do plan to attend the Colonial Christmas at the Conference House on Sunday, December 11 at some point during their hours of 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Hopefully all goes well for me to attend, and if so, I would love for readers of this blog to come up to me so that I can share some in- person time with you who share so much online time with me each week.
Information: |
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 5:08 PM
HappyThanksgiving! On this day of turkey & football, I’d like totake time to reflect on that for which I am grateful this year. I am thankful for: · … my faith, a gift from God, thatsustains me as my source of strength. · … my children, whose love and support are a blessing to me every day of my life. · … my grandson, who keeps me honest and centered on the really important things in life, by his questions,observations, and unconditional love for me. · … my friends and family, standing by me in both the good and the bad times. · … my writing career, that lets me use my talent, hopefully to make a difference for those who read my words. What’s on your list? Reading over this list, I noticed something that I hope helps you compose your own list. What is most important are my God and other people. Obviously, I’m grateful for food on the table, a roof over my head, and many extras that I enjoy, but that’s just things, and not what is most important, nor what first came to mind when writing this. So to all of you, I send my love on this holiday,with the wish for many people in your lives to love, and to be loved by. May we all remember to keep the spirit of gratefulness, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year.
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AngieMangino: Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2011 11:50 PM
On Saturday, November 19, at 11 am at the Tottenville Memorial Site on Amboy Road & Main Street, The Tottenville HistoricalSociety will dedicate the 9/11 memorial clock and monument to honor theTottenville residents who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. FF Paul M. Beyer Louis A. Caporicci FF Scott M. Davidson FF Francis Esposito FF Gary P. Geidel FF Jeffrey J. Giordano Michele B. Lanza FF Carl E. Molinaro Mario Nardone Jr. FF Paul J. Pansini. Ten years ago, we vowed that we would never forget. This dedication the year of the tenth anniversary is a fitting sign of the fulfillment of this vow. Those we lost are in our hearts forever. I encourage all who can to attend the dedication if possible, but more importantly, each time you pass the corner of Amboy Road & MainStreet, take a quiet moment to remember. ….and then why not do one good deed in their memory to make life better for others in the Tottenville community? To me, that will be the greatest tribute to them, which this monument stands to encourage. Then we can witness with our own lives that love indeed, does live on. For those who may have missed my September 11 post for the tenth anniversary, you can access it through this link. More Information: |
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Wednesday, November 09, 2011 8:49 PM
This Friday, November 11, is Veterans Day. · Is it just a long weekend with Friday off from work or school? · Is it just a jump start for the holidays with Veterans Day sales at the Mall and online? · Is it just a holiday that you vaguely remember from history class that holds no meaning for you? What does the day really mean? No, it does not mean a day only dedicated to our veterans who have died. That’s Memorial Day, which we celebrated in May. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day,with the 1919 proclamation of President Wilson to commemorate the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, when the fighting after WorldWar I ended with an armistice, to honor the veterans of World War I for achieving peace. This was seventh months before the official end of the war that was to end all wars with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Armistice Day became a legal holiday in 1938 as a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace. In 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars, replacing the word armistice with veterans. It was to be a celebration of all our veterans, living and deceased, to honor their willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Especially, it was to be a day to give thanks to living veterans for their service. So for Veterans Day this year, may I suggest 3 ideas for celebrating the day from its history? 1. Take the time to contact every veteran you can and say, “Thank you,” whether in person, on the phone, or over the Internet. 2. Learn more about the history and of the honor roll of Tottenville veterans from the links below. 3. Let’s put emphasis onto the attainment of world peace, so that maybe at some point the last war we wage WILL be the war that ended all war. Before you say that’s a utopian dream, consider reading the review of Captain Paul K. Chappell’s book The End of War. Captain Chappell is a veteran whoserved in the U.S. Army for seven years, loving and serving our country. He points out new ways to look at peace and ending war that are not hopelessly ideal and naïve, but rather supported by common sense practical actions that anyone who loves America as he does can do if they so choose. MoreInformation TottenvilleHistorical Society: Veterans– Honor Roll U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs: VeteransDay History VeteransServices
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