Sagamore Hill Offers Volunteer Opportunities for Public Lands Day, Sept 25

Call for Volunteers to Assist with Beach Clean-up and Invasive Plant Removal

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site will offer Public Lands Day volunteer opportunities on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The activities will include a volunteer beach clean-up and invasive plant removal from 8:30AM to 12:00PM. Following the work period, refreshments and snacks will be provided behind the visitor center complements of the Friends of Sagamore Hill. In addition, participants over the age of fifteen will receive one free admission pass to be used for a future visit to a National Park Service site or other Public Lands in the United States. Participating Boy & Girl Scout groups will also receive Certificates of Participation. Please meet behind the visitor center at 8:30AM and be sure to wear appropriate shoes and old clothes. No reservations are required.

Fee Free on Public Lands Day!!!!

There is no charge to visit Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on September 25, 2010. Visitors will still need to obtain tickets to tour the home of the 26th president, which they should do upon arrival at the visitor center, located adjacent to the parking lot. Tours are offered on the hour, and on a first-come-first-served basis. Tours are limited to fourteen persons and it is very likely that all the tours will be filled by 1:00PM. Visitors are encouraged to come early in the day to reserve a tour time.

--NPS—

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, located at 12 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, New York, is a unit of the National Park Service. The site was established by Congress in 1962 to preserve and interpret the structures, landscape, collections and other cultural resources associated with Theodore Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, New York, to ensure that future generations understand and appreciate the life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, his family and the significant events associated with him. Please check our website at www.nps.gov/sahi or call 516-922-4788 for more information.

OBMSA Annual Meeting to be Held at Octagon Hotel, September 16, 7-9pm

Octagon Hotel as it appears today

The Oyster Bay Main Street Association will hold their Annual Meeting on September 16, 2010. The meeting will be held at the historic Octagon Hotel at 67 West Main Street from 7-9pm.

The Keynote Speaker for the meeting will be Nancy Melius-Murton, Director of Marketing at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. This historic home of Otto E. Kahn was built between 1917 and 1919. Following a period of neglect, the home was purchased in 1984 by Gary Melius, and since then the estate and gardens have been lovingly restored. Nancy returned to Long Island a few years ago to spend more time with her family and to develop the family business. Subsequently she founded the Gold Coast Mansions Historic Long Island Alliance, which is working to market mansions and historic sites on Long Island.

Over the past decade OBMSA has been responsible for bringing about needed changes in downtown Oyster Bay. Over 40 building renovation projects, parking and public space improvements, and the opening of several new businesses have resulted.

In the past year alone significant results have come from investing the $200,000 New York Main Street grant. Highlights include expansion of Jack Halyard’s American Bar & Grill (formerly Fiddleheads), restoration of the 19th century Brower House on East Main Street across from the Doubleday-Babcock Senior Center, and new signs and awnings for the building housing Coin Galleries of Oyster Bay. Another project, renovation of the Townsend Inn Annex at 9 Audrey Ave has also yielded the first new business recruited – a furniture consignment business called Mill Pond Consignment.

This summer Main Street offered the second season of the popular Oyster Bay Sundown concert series on the First Thursday of each month. And on July 30 the popular and successful Oyster Bay Farmers’ Market was started. The markett will run every Friday through October 8 from noon-6pm by the U.S. Post Office. Thanks to these and other events, more people are discovering every day what Main Street members already know – that we live in a charming and desirable place.

Main Street's collaborative efforts working with other organizations were shown through special events held at Atelier Fine Arts / Studio, The Teaching Studios of Art, and Oakcliff Sailing Center. OBMSA and the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District recently formed a partnership to promote service learning opportunities.

For more information, or to become a member of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, please visit www.oysterbaymainstreet.org or call (516) 922-6982.

Author Heather Worthington Will Read "Miles of Smiles" at Sagamore Hill, Sept 4., 1:30pm

Oyster Bay, NY: On Saturday, September 4th at 1:30PM, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site is pleased to host author Heather Worthington who will read her recently published children’s book Miles of Smiles: Roxey the Railroad Dog. Following the reading, there will be a free children’s craft activity and Ms. Worthington will be available to sign copies of her book. Copies of Miles of Smiles are available for purchase in the Eastern National Bookstore and Gift Shop located in the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site Visitor Center.

While at the site, children may also want to participate in one of four free Junior Ranger activities. These fun and educational activities teach children about the Sagamore Hill’s history and natural environment. Completion of the activities earns them a certificate and their very own Junior Park Ranger badge. Activity booklets and information are available at the Visitor Center and the Old Orchard Museum every day.

Please note that Sagamore Hill National Historic Site will adopt its five day operation off-season schedule beginning Tuesday, September 7th through Memorial Day 2011. The site will be open to the public on the Labor Day holiday, Monday, September 6th. During the off-season, visitor facilities, including the Roosevelt Home, will be open for tours and visitation Wednesday through Sunday only. However, the grounds of Sagamore Hill are open to the public year round from dawn to dusk without charge.

For further information about these programs or Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, visit our website at www.nps.gov/sahi or call 516-922-4788.

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, located at 12 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, New York, is a unit of the National Park Service. The site was established by Congress in 1962 to preserve and interpret the structures, landscape, collections and other cultural resources associated with Theodore Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, New York, and to ensure that future generations understand and appreciate the life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, his family and the significant events associated with him. Tours of the home are limited to fourteen persons and are offered on the hour from 10am to 4pm. Tour tickets are five dollars each and tickets are sold on a first-come-first-served basis each day beginning at 9 AM. The grounds of Sagamore Hill are open year round from dawn to dusk. For further information, visit our website at www.nps.gov/sahi, or call 516-922-4788.