Westhampton Beach Historical Society

The Enduring Legacy of the North Fork Farmer

January 12th, 2020

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Steve Wick will present “The Enduring Legacy of the North Fork Farmer.” A Newsday reporter and editor for 37 years, Mr. Wick is the author of three books including Heaven and Earth: The Last Farmers of the North Fork. He is currently Executive Editor of the Times Review Media Group of three newspapers.

The WPA: Art, Artists, and Others of Long Island

February 9, 2020

James (Zak) Szakmary, Colonial Long Island Historian and Suffolk County Historical Society Trustee, will present “The WPA: Art, Artists and Others of Long Island.” His topic will enlighten us about the artists and the art they created in many of our public buildings during the Great Depression.

Mr. Szakmary, a US Marine Corps veteran whose service included Viet Nam, is a retired FAA Air Traffic Controller. He earned his BA at Stony Brook University, an MA at Empire State College, and is currently working on an MS degree at LIU/Post. He is also a volunteer at the Suffolk County Historical Society, the William Floyd Estate, and is past president of the Narrow Bay Historical Society.

Guardians of Hope: Our Historic Lighthouses

March 8, 2020

Edward W. Webb, Chairman, Southold Historic Preservation Commission and Lighthouse Cruise Narrator will present “Guardians of Hope: Our Historic Offshore Lighthouses.” Mr. Webb, whose ancestry on Long Island’s East End dates back to the early 1800s, has a lifetime interest in local lighthouses and has explored many of them. His lecture will include stories of based on personal experiences and interviews with lighthouse keepers.

A US Navy veteran and former radio broadcaster, Mr. Webb has a Master’s degree in Communications and Speech Pathology from Adelphi University. He served as Chairman of many local organizations including Brecknock Hall Foundation, Southold Town Historic Preservation Commission, East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation, and as President of Oysterponds Historical Society and the Oysterponds School Board of Education. He is a member New London Maritime Society Board of Trustees, Secretary of Peconic Landing Retirement Community, and offshore lighthouse cruise narrator for Cross Sound Ferry and East End Seaport Museum.