Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 260

Q2i ON THE ISLAND i I Summer and the Was Busy Teddy Roosevelt moved Washington north and put Oyster Bay on map LEYER By Bill STAFF WHITER What did Theodore Roosevelt do on his summer vacation? Often he didn't take one He moved his DC staff to the Moore's Building right and engaged In such activities as helping end the Russo-Japanese war ON AUG 5 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt left his home at Sagamore Hill and boarded the naval yacht Mayflower anchored nearby in Oyster Bay Harbor That was the signal for Japanese and Russian delegations to come aboard with flags flying and guns saluting for a ceremony beginning peace talks that ended the Russo-Japanese War Although Oyster Bay is a relatively quiet town seat now the hamlet was at center stage of the world at the onset of the 20th Century The high visibility stemmed solely from one man: Oyster most famous inhabitant the 26th president Roosevelt used his Cove Neck home as the summer White House and brought his White House staff with him to live and work in the hamlet That glamorous period in Oyster Bay history has now been documented in book length for the first time by resident Sherwin Gluck who has written and published Summer White House Oyster Bay Gluck know anything about that period until five years ago when he and his brother Jerritt began restoring the Building which served as the headquarters for staff while the president was in residence at Sagamore Hill In collecting information on what the 27j-story Queen Ann e-style building originally looked like for the restoration Gluck learned enough about it to write a brochure After it was published he kept collecting information it coalesced into a he said John A Gable executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association who wrote the foreword called the 395-page paperback important contribution to the history of Oyster Bay and the record of administration It shows the Summer White House was more than Sagamore Gluck 29 worked for 27j years on the project He pored through newspapers from 1902 to 1908 on microfilm studied presidential records and reviewed TR photo collection he did in the White House he decided he wanted to have separate quarters for his Gluck said want to have them in his private living Roosevelt had the West Wing of the White House built The government first rented space in the Oyster Bay Bank building now demolished at the comer of South Street and Audrey Avenue It was the first time in peacetime that the executive branch was relo- Monday File Photo 1998 Dick Kiaw From his base in Oyster Bay TR coordinated the 1905 negotiations to end the Russo-Japanese War an effort that won him the Nobel Peace Prize TR introduced the representatives of the two countries on the presidential yacht Mayflower in Oyster Bay Harbor and the talks were held in Portsmouth NH while Roosevelt stayed in Oyster Bay and was kept up to date by cables 3 TR sent the first transglobal message chines and in later years installed telephones to be in contact with Washington He left a skeleton staff in The presidential staff headed most of the years in Oyster Bay by executive secretary William Loeb Jr totaled about five people The staff rented housing in the hamlet When the Building was completed in 1903 across the street from the bank the presidential staff moved there There is no evidence Tit ever visited either of the offices in town work did not dry up during the summer was very Gluck said United States was then becoming a superpower Even with Congress in recess the business continued Congressmen and foreign diplomats would come to Oyster Bay to see him from the Building In 1902 and 1906 naval reviews of the North Atlantic Fleet were held for Roosevelt out on Long Island Sound near Oyster Bay And in 1905 TR became the first president to submerge in a submarine when he went for a ride on the Plunger in Oyster Bay Harbor When TR was town so was the press corps everyone around the world knew the president lived in Oyster Gluck said The press coverage focused on all of activities whether they be presidential or personal was the first president who was really allowing the press into his private POSTINGS State residents ages 5-21 The Olympic-style competition includes track field swimming table tennis wheelchair basketball and equestrian events Call 631-669-1000 ext 295 SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAMS Youth Enrichment Services (YES) is offering free Bummer youth programs for ages 6-20 Call 631-587-5172 for information on Bay Shore Brentwood and West Islip programs Central Islip residents can call 631-348-3513 REGISTRATION The Masque Theatre Workshop is conducting registration for youth teen and adult classes Call 631-724-6621 COMPILED BY ALICE NORKETT PLAYWRIGHT COMPETITION The Brookhaven Arts and Humanities Council is sponsoring an open-juried competition for playwrights in two categories ages 16-26 and age 55 and older Entrants must submit an original one-act play on the state of theater in the past 35 years how it has changed and impacted their work Contest deadline is June 15 Send a stamped self-addressed envelope to: Brookhaven Arts and Humanities Council PO Box 457 Farmingville NY 11738 for a prospectus Call 631-732-3536 EMPIRE STATE GAMES The Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale hosts the Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged June 1-4 The games are open to New York ATTENTION: LOW INCOME MOTHERS There are new broader financial guidelines for Catholic Food and Nutrition (FAN) program The program offers free supplemental food to women who are pregnant up to one year post par-tum or have children under 6 years of age and meet other requirements Infonts on the program receive a foil supply of liquid formula each month Current participants in the New York State WIC program do not qualify Call FAN at 631-491-4166 I i i i i i p1 it 22Sb.