Tottenville History
Events
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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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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.
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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 Thursday, September 15, 2011 11:43 PM
September 11, 1776 Peace ConferenceReenactment I’ll be honest, when I think of September 11th, the year that immediately jumps into my mind is 2001, not 1776. The reenactment, though, of the PeaceConference of 1776 at the Conference House this year held on September 10th was a fitting reminder of the previous history of that date without forgetting the significance of the date in 2001. Peace failed on both these historic days, but America, with much pain and sacrifice, did survive both events. May we learn from this date that however elusive peace may seem, it must always be our first, and most predominant goal. The opening ceremony at 11am featured the Staten Island Pipers, with a moment of silence & tribute in memory of those who died onSeptember 11, 2001. The activities of the day around the Reenactment included Conference House tours, colonial music with dancing, craft and cooking demonstrations, as well as children’s activities of kite-making, calligraphy, butterchurning and candle making. Booths were set up with vendors selling modern and colonial gifts, with refreshments available. The reenactment event began at 12:30pm when a rowboat carrying John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge, and a British hostage left Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The highlight of the event was at 1pm when the colonists disembarked from the rowboat onto the Conference House Beach. Admiral Lord Richard Howe met them, and together climbed to the top of the hill outside of the front door of theConference House to attempt a compromise to avert the Revolutionary War. (The actual Peace Conference was inside of the building, but to accommodate visitors with a better view of the meeting, each year the reenactment is outdoors.) Before the war, Lord Howe and Benjamin Franklin were friends in London. They tried to find a way for a peaceful solution. Representing the Continental Congress, Franklin introduced Adams and Rutledge to Howe as they sat cordially around the table. The actual conference lasted three hours as they tried to reach a compromise. Howe stressed the advantage to the colonists to be part of the British Empire. The delegates reiterated the colonies voted for independence after past indignities, tryingto convince Howe of the ways that an independent nation would be a benefit to England. As they tried to negotiate peace, they were destined to fail. The Continental Congress representatives only had the authority to work for peace through independence from England. The King’s representative, Lord Howe, had instructions that the King would never allow the colonies their freedom. With these conditions set firmly in place, there was no common ground with which to reach a settlement. Photographs generously contributed to this blog post by Jaclyn Lurker. More Conference HousePark Information:
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, September 01, 2011 8:37 PM
TottenvilleMemories (Part 3) Palace and Stadium Theaters in Tottenville As I continue to share from the si350 program at theTottenville Library, I look forward to your comments & to connect you withTommy Dee for the cash reward he is offering. Tommy Dee spoke at the event of his ten years of research of Staten Island theaters, not only in Tottenville, but also throughout Staten Island. He shared that Staten Island had over 60 theaters, and he knows about every one of them. His work includes a documentary scheduled for next year. Before discussing the cash he is offering, I’d like to share a bit about the two Tottenville Theaters. The Palace opened in 1914 and was a beautiful old time silent movie theater on Craig Avenue that closed not long after theStadium opened, unable to compete with the new theater that was twice as large on Main Street and showed “talkies.” The inaugural opening of the Stadium was on July 12,1927, closing as a movie house in 1957. The reported last movie shown at the Stadium before it shut its doors was Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison. A link below allows you to view video clips of that and seven other movies shown at the Stadium. Now to the cash reward. Tommy Dee is looking for photos, posters, and programs that he does not already have from any theater on Staten Island from the 1900’s to the 1960’s. So check out those attics & basements; ask family & friends; check out those yard sales;
Staten Island's 350th Anniversary (1661- 2011) PalaceTheater StadiumTheater |
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, August 25, 2011 5:42 PM
Hadkins Beverage Company Last week‘s post about the si350 program at the Tottenville Library introduced some of the history of Hadkins Beverage Company. Now I would like to expand on that introduction. In its time, Hadkins Beverage was the oldest soda business on the east coast, and was actively involved in the Tottenville community. In 1918 the TA Gillespie Company, located in Morgan, (now Sayreville) New Jersey, made ammunition during World War I. The explosion at the Morgan Shell Loading Plant, which caused shattered windows and flying debris into Tottenville, destroyed and damaged homes in New Jersey leaving 6,000 people homeless and 108 people dead, with martial law declared all the way to Perth Amboy. James Haskins immediately took the Hadkins truck to help the people evacuating from Perth Amboy. The teamwork of firefighters and volunteers prevented the main storage shed from catching fire, sparing Tottenville the need for evacuation. In a handout at the Tottenville Memories event, Kathy Marsh shared the process of making the soda in a two-story building at 407 Craig Avenue. “Upstairs in the syrup room were huge hundred gallon vats where sugar and other products were mixed. The syrup was then piped down to the first floor where all the machinery was. A huge bottle washing machine used to scrub the bottles perfectly clean. From this machine the clean bottles had to be taken and put into the filling machine were first the syrup was put in, about one and a half to two ounces of it. Then the bottle was moved slightly and the seltzer was put in and the same machine capped the bottles. The seltzer was made in its own machine. In this way a case was made a minute. The cases were stacked and were ready to be delivered. There were seven and twelve ounce and quart bottles. Paper labels were put on the quart bottles by a machine that had to be run by a person. A case of soda cost ninety cents with a two cents deposit on each bottle.” Collectors still covet empty Hadkins soda bottles. For More Information: Hadkins Beverage Company Morgan Company Explosion
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Angie Mangino: Posted on Thursday, August 18, 2011 4:34 PM
Tottenville Memories On Saturday, July 30, 2011, as part of si350, the Tottenville Library hosted “Tottenville Memories,” moderated by John Grzeskowiak. In the two hours slotted for the program, attendees learned more about Tottenville in the best way possible: from the mouths of those who lived it. I started this blog as a place to share from my years of research on Tottenville. My collection of information came from much time buried in books and searching on line, but the most valuable of the information to me was from former workshops I conducted, hearing from the people who made the history. Then I attend this excellent event, and now know it’s time to divert from my files to explore and share the latest information I discovered. Bill Marsh captivated me with his talk about the Hadkins Beverage Company, which his grandfather (James H. Hawkins) and father (William J. Marsh, Sr.) bought at the start of the depression in 1929, running it until his father closed the company in 1950. Bill would help working as a young boy, and by the time he was a teen he was out delivering soda to all parts of Staten Island and to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. First, let me clarify. Even though the names are very similar, the Hadkins and Hawkins are NOT related. Frank Hadkins, Sr. started the soda business in 1863. His son, Frank Hadkins, Jr. inherited the business from his father, and hired James H. Hawkins as one of his first employees in 1893. There is so much more to share with you from the discussion that day at the library, but I feel it best if you first watch the video clip put together from the event. Here is the link to a 12-minute video of the discussions. After you watch it, please leave your comments.
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