Riverhead celebrates Independence Day and local history at Jamesport ceremony

Riverhead marked Independence Day yesterday with a ceremony hosted by the Greater Jamesport Civic Association on the lawn of the George Young Community Center.

The fifth annual Independence Day ceremony hosted by the civic association featured selections performed by the Jamesport Meeting House Chorus, remarks by Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar, Assembly Member Jodi Giglio, Riverhead Town Historian Georgette Case and U.S. military veterans.

“Today’s gathering is an occasion commemorating the passage of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, and signed by members of the Continental Congress,” Aguiar said. “The signing of the document was then considered treason, punishable by death, which became a true sign of our bravery.” Independence Day today is also an occasion to “celebrate the nexus between family, friends, faith, and the community.”

Giglio said Americans celebrate “the birth of our great nation as we stand together with unwavering patriotism and enthusiasm for the principles that define our country.” The Declaration of Independence is “the cornerstone of American freedom and opportunity” and “enshrines the belief that all individuals are created equal.”

Riverhead VFW Post Commander Thomas Najdzion, of Riverhead, an Army veteran who retired after a 23-year career, that included a year-long deployment to Iraq in 2004 and working for five weeks at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

The son of Polish immigrants, Najdzion expressed his love for America and suggested everyone should “go somewhere else in the world and see how other people live.” That’s the best way to appreciate how blessed we are to live in America, Najdzion said. “There’s no place else on the planet that’s like what we have here,” he said. “It’s truly the greatest nation on our planet.”

Kevin Carrick of Aquebogue, a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant and lifetime member of the Riverhead VFW Post 2476, reflected briefly on his two decades in the military, which included multiple deployments to combat zones in the Middle East, then spoke of the history of our nation and the meaning of Independence Day.

The holiday “represents great sacrifices endured by our forefathers to secure the freedoms we enjoy and take for granted today,” Carrick said.

“Long Island was very much involved in the fight against British for our freedom. On August 27 1776, Long Island fought in the Battle of Brooklyn at the western edge of Long Island where the British campaign to take New York took place,” he said. It was a three-day battle the outnumbered Americans lost. “The Americans lost many battles, but with great perseverance by the people, they won the war and sent the British packing,” Carrick said.

“The American militia was actually a ragtag army of people that showed up the fight with only what they owned, mostly a hunting rifle. Many had no many had no uniforms, and some even had no shoes on their feet. Yet against all odds, they defeated the most powerful military in the world and secured their liberty,” he said.

Carrick said Americans must “stand ready to sacrifice as those before us have” to secure our freedoms “for tomorrow and future generations to come.”

Greater Jamesport Civic Association celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Jamesport School / George Young Community Center

Yesterday the Greater Jamesport Civic Association also marked the 100th anniversary of the Jamesport School, which was repurposed as the Jamesport Community Center in 1974 and named for former town councilman George Young in 1997.

Jamesport School alumni Carl Gabrielsen spoke to the assembled community members about what the school was like when he attended grade school there.

The civic group invited the community into the center after the outdoor ceremony to enjoy refreshments and a display of memorabilia chronicling the history school and the civic association — which this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

The displays, which were assembled by civic members Rose Sanders and Catherine Welsh, included items such as class photos taken in the 1950s and ’60s, a copy of a diploma granted by Jamesport School to Daniel Griffin in June 1957, two corsages pressed and saved by Rose Marie Doroski (Class of 1955) and newspaper clippings documenting the history of the school and the conversion of the building for use as a community center nearly 50 years ago.

Both Griffin and Doroski were on hand to take in the displays and reminisce about their days as students in the building.

Griffin toured his former classrooms with his wife Doris and son Kevin, admiring the tin walls and ceilings and recalling how the room served as a classroom for both the third and fourth grades. Class sizes were very small in Jamesport, often fewer than 10 students in a grade.

Kevin Griffin provided photographs on display in the community center during the event, including one of his great-grandfather, Daniel Griffin, standing with a group of four men and a little girl outside the Jamesport train station, circa 1900-1905.

Doroski remembered details about every one of her 16 classmates —marriages, careers, deaths. She recalled asking Frankie Zaweski to the Sadie Hawkins party hosted by the 4-H club on June 4, 1955. He was the best-looking boy in her class, Doroski said with a twinkle in her eye.

“His mother bought me this corsage,” she said. The flower’s petals are dried and brown, but the memory still brings Doroski joy as she shows off the memento, mounted next to her graduation day corsage on a piece of tattered, yellowed paper.

Doroski also recalled early dismissal on Wednesdays for religious instruction at St. Isidore’s parish school in Riverhead. The children would travel by train from Jamesport to Riverhead each week.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti