Issue #45, February 16, 2007

Lincoln And Washington On The NF

Roots To The North Fork Can Be Tied To These Two Great Men

By Phyllis Lombardi

You hear it all the time. “Forget about birthdays. They don’t mean a thing.” I disagree. Perhaps turning 12 or 53 or 72 isn’t particularly meaningful, but when a couple of guys reach 198 and 275, we need to celebrate. Maybe raise a glass of North Fork red? Bake ’em a cake?

These two birthday boys are a bit older than most North Forkers. They’re both retired, deserving every bit of relaxation retirement can bring. They worked hard at jobs their mothers would have approved of. Sadly, though, neither ever collected a dime of social security. I’m talking about Abe, whose birthday was a few days ago, and George, whose birthday’s next Thursday.

Yes, they’re two of our very special presidents. And yes, we do have this generic Presidents Day. But that’s pretty uninspiring. It evokes none of the glory, the guts, the grit, synonymous with the names Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Here on the North Fork we respect guts and grit – like most folks all over this country.

You know, if someone or something is important enough, we give it a name. The juice of North Fork grapes isn’t just wine – it’s merlot or chardonnay. Those silver swimmers in Peconic Bay aren’t just fish. We name them whitefish or porgy. The places we love and live in are not simply towns lining Main Road. They’re Riverhead or East Marion. That’s why I’m betting North Forkers know the name for Lincoln’s birthday, for Washington’s birthday, is not Presidents Day.

We know something else, too. Both men visited Long Island, although Abe apparently never made it to the North Fork. He did get to Brooklyn, though. The Fulton Street ferry from Manhattan to Brooklyn cost two cents and on Sunday, February 26, 1860, probably about 8 a.m., Abe and a pal (not Mary Todd) set out for Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights. Preacher Henry Ward Beecher gave powerful anti-slavery sermons and Abe was kinda interested.

The next night Lincoln gave his Cooper Union speech and the rest is history. He was busy from then on and probably didn’t even think about Mattituck. Though I believe there’s another reason he didn’t come out our way. Service on the Long Island Rail Road to Greenport was pretty unreliable. They were trying to figure out what to do about the gap between the platform and the trains. True, Abe had those long legs but Mr. Lincoln was also a lawyer. That might have been worrisome.

No matter. Abe had a poet/friend who came to Greenport many times. Walt was his name, Walt Whitman, and he just loved visiting his sister Mary in Greenport and fishing and sailing to Montauk. I’m sure Walt told Abe all about the North Fork when they got together in Washington. Why, Walt even wrote a couple of poems about Abe. That was after Abe’s death.

The other birthday president, George, did make it to the North Fork – and not on the LIRR. George had to travel to not-yet-wine country by horse and carriage, or just horse. That’s no carousel ride, Virginia to Greenport!

George came at least once to Greenport (in 1756 for sure) and points east so he could catch a boat to Boston.. He did a lot of traveling in those pre-Revolution years. A colonel in the colonial army, he had to hustle for men and material to fight in the French and Indian War. Anyway, he stayed at the Constant Booth Inn in Sterling (Greenport’s early name). That was near the intersection of Sterling and Main streets. Stop by and you’ll see a rock-monument placed there in 1932 by the Greenport George Washington Bicentennial Committee. In that Depression year, Greenport threw a big bash for GW. On the Bicentennial dinner menu (find a copy in Southold Town Hall) was Martha Washington salad, Minute Man cole slaw, Paul Revere and Nathan Hale sandwiches and Betsy Ross egg salad. Prices? Ten cents, mostly. Waitresses had family names we know today on the North Fork – Hulse, Manwaring, Gaffga.

Speaking of names, do you know Sandy and Dennis Kaser? Their Southold home, built about 1754 and known originally as the Freegift Wells home, has a George Washington story. At our first president’s death in 1799, the home’s fireplace mantel was painted black. This mourning custom was not unusual in North Fork homes. Sandy says the black seems to show through even today, after several coats of white paint.

So blow out your candles, Abe and George. I think I hear your birthday wish. That the conviction and courage you were blessed with continue to show through our lives, much like that paint on the Kaser mantel.