PHOTOS: Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society Keeps Local History Alive

The Miller Place-Mount Sinai Historical Society Annual Country Fair, which has been running the third weekend in September for twenty years, could not have asked for better weather.

“It is a real family event and the demonstrators are great with the kids,” said Antoniette Donato, Vice President of the Society.

Donato, a retired kindergarten teacher, has been with the Historical Society for twelve years.

"It gives me an outlet to stay connected to the kids," she said.

The demonstrators instruct visitors in the costumes, artifacts and crafts of a bygone era.

Samantha Norback was making cornhusk dolls and teaching visitors how to play "Shut the box" with a low score being the ultimate goal, and Nine Mens Morriss, a game dating back to the Vikings.

Arthur Kirmss, an artist, craftsman and musician who plays wooden flute and sings bass baritone in a local church, was dressed in modest Dutch working clothes of the 1600s. Kirmss was hard at work making Wampum from broken clamshells shaped with a stone hammer, then whittled with sandstone and water.

Kirmss explained that Wampum was not exactly American Indian money, but rather something sacred from the Great Spirit and used as a gift for special occasions such as births and weddings.

Harold Kovarick—which he said was Bohemian for Smith—was dressed in a brocade vest, cropped pants and a tri-corner hat all of which he fashioned himself.

Kovarick’s table displayed old coins, instruments (such as a Hurdy Gurdy), rifles guns and games.

Sitting on the table was a one-pound brick of tea. This was how tea was merchandised in the 1600s and 1700s.

"When they talk about 'all the tea in China,' this is how they saw it," Kovarick said.

There were men, young and old, dressed in military attire from the Civil War, some by campfires, others demonstrating how replica rifles from the era were fired.

"You can only learn so much from history books. When you get dressed and reenact a battle you really get the feel of it," said Garrett Hamilton, whose ancestors fought on both sides during the Civil War.

"The Miller Place Historic District is on the Federal, State and Town registries of historic places," Donato said. "It was the very first historic district to be identified by Brookhaven Town."

The district runs along North Country Rd. and extends down a portion of Lower Rocky Point Rd. The Historical Society encourages and supports the architectural and historic integrity of the area.

Ms. Donato was very excited about her subject, local history, and is a wealth of knowledge. She said there are many programs sponsored by the Society.

The one she seemed most excited about was the Postman Pete Christmas Program in December.
 
"Kids bring a prewritten letter for Santa to the Old Post Office on the grounds and Postman Pete delivers the letter, then every child receives a reply in the mail from Santa," she explained. "It has grown from 50 to over 300 kids."