Heroes Among Us. You may recall that we hosted a show of previously unshared works by Photojournalist Peter Foley. Soon after it opened, Firefly Steve Walker came in and saw his neighbor.
Claudia Makes History
Claudia Fortunato-Napolitano is a walking, talking inspiration. Our local historical societies are amazing.
Continue readingHuntington Art Center: A Best Kept Secret Moves Into the Light!
Photo of Wendy Curtis in the new home of the Huntington Art Center by Katheryn Laible
The Huntington Art Center recently celebrated a ribbon cutting for their beautiful new space on Wall Street in Huntington. Now, it is easy to find their quality framing, printing and design services, as well as a curated collection of local and national fine art.
At a time when I felt like I knew every corner of The Village, discovering the Huntington Art Center was delightful. I was just starting out as a fine art photographer, and looking at frames and art in ways I never had before. They say when the student is ready the teacher appears, right? I guess that’s why, after a lifetime of wandering the streets of Huntington, it was then I found the then-tucked away shop that had served the Village of Huntington since 1957.
Wendy was thoughtful and enlightening. I had so many questions! I’m not sure when I found out she was a regular reader of the newsletter – or if maybe that same day I discovered her was the first time she found me, too. I also had no idea that she was a major creative spirit behind Huntington’s Art Walks.
What I did know, instantly, was that this place was grounded in love of art and craftsmanship. It was a beautiful shop, for the frames alone, but it was also …. An art gallery…. Almost like a secret gallery…
Just knowing it existed made me smile.
Now! Now, I am grinning ear to ear because now this frame shop is where it should be: Right on Wall Street in Huntington where anyone can see it. Inside is a gorgeous selection of frames as well as local and national art; a beautiful gallery that can frame whatever you need.
It’s got the work of dear Firefly Constance Sloggatt-Wolf in there, for one – Big pieces that she can’t usually fit at the Firefly!
I love it so much…
Go see!!!
It’s beautiful…
Tribute to “Our Heroes” by Peter Foley at the Firefly
These images from September 11th and immediate aftermath, collectively titled “Our Heroes,” are on view at The Firefly Artists at 90 Main Street in Northport through 9/14. This is just a small piece of an incredibly moving collection captured by photojournalist Peter Foley…
We of The Firefly Artists are honored to host this special window exhibition entitled, “Our Heroes.”
This show of works by photojournalist Peter Foley honors the NYC Firefighters who ran in to do what they could in the aftermath of 9/11.
It’s kind of nice the way we were able to tuck it in at our westernmost window. A few pieces face inward, a few out. It provides good space for quiet reflection.
May these pieces remind us that, no matter how bad things get, there are those among us who will run in to give all they have to make them better.
May we ever honor and care for the heroes. May we ever arc toward our most noble ideals. May we live to be worthy of such sacrifice…
Images are available for purchase. You may find Synchronicity’s own tribute to that day here.
We Will Never Forget…
We Will Never Forget… Photo of the WTC memorial lights by Colin Hopkins, Local 580 Iron Workers. Colin was on week three of work when the towers fell, a day when these folks and many others who never expected to be such, came to serve as first responders and who continued working at the site for weeks after the attack. Later, Colin was also among those present at work who got to witness the Freedom Spire rise…
We Will Never Forget…
It’s been years since this was first written. The children are older…there are adults now who have no memory of this day, while those of us who lived through it will never forget. The sentiment remains the same…
Over the last two and half decades, we have learned a new rhythm….The end of summer comes, there is a flurry of activity about getting kids prepared for and off to school, and then, the moment all settles down the weight of solemn remembrance overshadows everything but the realization of how lucky we are to have that terrible event cast such a pall over our beings only once a year. Our hearts go out to so many others who lost so much…who experienced so much…who have since endured so much…
We remember the first puzzled and then stunned and horrified voices of the professionals whose job it is to tell us the bad news every day. We recall the images that replayed, the bells that rang, the world that all but stopped.
We remember the selfless bravery of firemen who went in where anyone in their “right mind” would be running out.
We remember the horrific loss of 2,977 innocent lives, including 343 of those firemen, 60 police officers and 8 EMTS. We remember the probability that anyone we encountered may have just lost someone dear. We remember how some of those who perished did so heroically apprehending hijackers and crashing their own plane.
Our hearts twist in the simultaneous gratitude for the miracle of how, despite intense confusion, so many lived to tell their tale or simply were not there.
We remember the people walking over the Brooklyn Bridge…covered in dust…the people being rescued from the end of Manhattan Island…the people desperately seeking people who would never be found.
We remember the school children who did not know. We remember the teachers who did, but could not tell them. We remember the beautiful day slowly overcast by those beautiful, yet terrible clouds. We remeber the taste. We remember the smell.
We remember the iron workers, the dock builders and the other hard working Long Islanders who heard of the disaster and raced to the scene to see if they could be of service. We remember those who spent weeks upon weeks shoveling through the twisted debris. We remember the price so many have paid for their commitment.
We give thanks to all who give so much to see them cared for. We wonder why they’ve had to fight so hard.
We remember being implored to go out and live. We remember being told it was patriotic to shop. We remember wishing there was something more meaningful to do. We remember Paul McCartney and the musicians he gathered to play for the world and those first responders. We remember Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick who were on Broadway as The Producers, and how they epitomized the notion that “the show must go on.”…how meaningful it was to simply carry on.
We remember the brave men and women who have been at war ever since that fateful day. We pray that they and all the others who bear intense burdens and indelible scars will be properly cared for. We pray for a peace that seems so very far away.
We look down at children, and now young adults, who never knew the days before then; who never wondered at those impossibly tall buildings but may have marveled at those even taller beams of light; who never felt that fateful day; who look at us in bewilderment at the ongoing challenges, both at home and abroad…who wish, sometimes loudly, other times in quiet sighs, that the adults of this world would finally grow up.
We remember the noble ideals that we stand for. We remember how innocent we were. We realize on how much has changed since then, including an explosion of communication that somehow seems to have opened chasms between good people of different perspectives, and tidal waves of information that seem to only muddy any sense we once had of the truth. We reflect on how much we still have to learn, and on how much we seem to have forgotten…
We remind ourselves that while the battle may rage on within our hearts and across this world, we must never let terror win. We must never let the blind hatred that enables it to win. We must overcome.
But how?
The words of many sages come to mind; visionaries and scholars of so many cultures and kinds. We keep coming back to the wisest ones; the ones who seem to have mattered the most…
Over and over they whisper from the ages the same small, powerful yet humble, healing, overcoming, uplifting light of a word…
And so…we reflect…on Love.
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Marian Conway: “Stop the Nonprofit Budget Fantasy — It’s Not Right.”
All she’s asking for is reasonable compensation for nonprofit employees to do the work that has to be done. The way it is now, a non-profit often doesn’t even get reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred while providing services! She won’t say it’s not fair – because life isn’t fair — but it’s not right!!!
Continue readingThe League of Women Voters Wants You to be Ready for Election Day 2019
This year is what is sometimes called an off-year election. It’s not the presidential election, which takes place every four years, and it’s not the midterms, when we elect state and federal representatives, which take place every two years. It’s all local elections, town and county, and often the voter turnout is far below the years when the other contests take place. Some may think that these local elections are not important, when in fact they are the elections that affect our everyday lives.
Continue readingHuntington Klaber Award Given for First Time Since 2015. Congratulations, Sheila Pariser!

Trudy here! I want folks to know about The Klaber Award and its latest recipient, Sheila Pariser. The award is given by the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce. It honors long term dedication to the Town of Huntington, NY and is bestowed upon an individual, age 60 or older, who has spent more than 15 years building a record of distinguished and exceptional voluntary service to the community, including key leadership positions with diverse town-wide organizations. The award is not given every year. It was recently given for the first time since 2015, when I was honored to be selected!
The honor itself memorializes a prominent local architect named John Klaber. Born in 1884, Klaber did not make his home in Huntington until 1945. Despite the late start, he had a profound impact, endeavoring to both improve the quality of life and preserve the existing beauty and charm of his adopted community. In his 26 years as a Town resident, John served as Vice President of the Old Village Green and Vice President of the local chapter of the NAACP. He was a member of the Huntington Historical Society, Historical Sites Preservation Committee, Huntington Lions Club and the American Legion. Mr. Klaber continued to be an active member of the community until his passing in 1971 at the age of 87. At that time he was serving on the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce’s Planning and Zoning, Human Resources, and Town and County Affairs Committees. Throughout, Klaber maintained a fascinating scrap book that was donated to the archives of the Town of Huntington in 2014.
This past August, I was pleased to join the Huntington Chamber of Commerce in celebrating the organization’s latest Klaber Award recipient, Sheila Pariser, who has been a volunteer on Long Island for 40 years. Sheila’s community endeavors began with becoming a Board Member of the Huntington Chapter of the American Red Cross in the late 1970s, where she served for five years. Since 1980 Ms. Pariser has been a member of Soroptimist International of Huntington (now Soroptimist International of Suffolk County), with roles including President, Vice President and Director. The organization has also honored her as a Woman of the Year.
In the 1980’s and 90’s Sheila served the Huntington Freedom Center (now Head Start), and volunteered at Huntington Hospital on Sundays. From 2006-2011 she served on the Board of Managers of the Greens at Half Hollow, then as Secretary of the Homeowners Association in 2011. From 2012-2014, Pariser was Vice President of the Homeowners Association of the Greens in Melville. In 2013, she was appointed Chair of the Special Needs Committee for the Community. From 2016 to present, Ms. Pariser has been member of Condo 3 Board of the Greens in Melville. She has also been appointed Government Liaison for its Government Affairs and Public Relations Committee.
Since 2010 Ms. Pariser has volunteered for the Visiting Nurse Service and Hospice Center of Suffolk. Since 2015, she has been a Board Member of the Friends of Oheka, serving on their artistic scholarship selections committee.
Previous honorees of this award honoring Klaber’s spirit include:
Clayton F. Mugridge – 1973
Bryon Sammis – 1974
John Ficker – 1975
Richard E. Allen – 1976
Honorable Fred Munder – 1977
Jack Lee – 1979 Jane M. Sullivan – 1981
Robert Mitchell – 1984
Ruth F. Concoran – 1986
John Jazombek – 1988
John Staib – 1989
Quentin Sammis – 1991
Anthony Mastroianni – 1992
Walter Spilsbury – 1997
Arthur Goldstein – 1998
Vaughan Spilsbury – 1999
Mary C. Cary – 2000
Libby Hubbard – 2001
Clifford Starkins & Joy Squires – 2002
Duncan Elder – 2003
Kenneth A. Christensen & Eleanor Casey – 2004
Dolores Thompson – 2010
Robert Scheiner – 2014
Trudy Fitzsimmons – 2015
If you know someone who should be considered for this award in the future, please contact the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce at 631-423-6100, info@huntingtonchamber.com.
Cliff Hammond: He’s Pretty Cool
Cliff Hammond shares his Rotary moment, his own determined gift of life after being hit by a car, and his determination to pay the good will he received forward.
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