Tom's Fence Readied for Fair

AHRC Lends Helping Hand to Oyster Bay Historical Society

By R.T. Sachs and D.F. Karppi

Tom had a fence that just had to be painted. If only I had a group of willing helpers, he thought. You've all heard the story. But it's not Tom Sawyer, it's Tom Kuehhas, director of the Oyster Bay Historical Society, who turned to the Nassau AHRC Lifestyles program for help in painting the fence at the society's Earle-Wightman House on Summit St.

Busy working on the fence at the Earle-Wightman House are, from the left: John Oakes of Levittown; Tom Kuehhas director of OBHS; (seated) John Kennedy of Port Washington; Michael Hurd of Westbury; John Sullivan of Mineola; Allen Tenga of Westbury. Coach V.J. Perri is hidden.

John Sullivan of Mineola, works hard scraping off the old paint on the fence in front of the Earle-Wightman house.

OBHS Director Tom Kuehhas in the garden of the Earle-Wightman House, currently exhibiting, "At the Water's Edge: Shipbuilding and Related Trades." Now through Oct. 31.

Michael Russell of Seaford, John Sullivan of Mineola, John Kennedy of Port Washington, Tom Kuehhas - director of the Oyster Bay Historical Society, John Oakes of Levittown, Michael Hurd of Westbury, Allen Tenga of Westbury and AHRC Activities Coach V.J. Perri.

"It's a great boon to the historical society, which relies almost entirely on volunteers," said Mr. Kuehhas. "I'm so happy to have the men here, and I know we'll be working together a lot. It's great they were able to do this now, in time for the fair."

The house is being readied for their Sept. 26 Maritime Heritage Fair for Children. It will be held at the Earle-Wightman House, 20 Summit St., Oyster Bay, on Saturday, from 1-5 p.m. Lectures, demonstrations, period games, a fortune teller, magician and costumed interpreters will provide a full afternoon of enjoyment and education for visitors of every age.

An important element of the fair is its hands-on component. Visitors will be invited to try their hand at caulking a ship's side, boring holes with an auger, driving treenails into a plank, steering a ship, lifting weights with a pulley and much more.

That's the reason why the hands-on work was such a great match for the house. The Nassau AHRC's Lifestyle program enables adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities to perform community volunteer work for any nonprofit organization that needs it. Sue Sailor, AHRC Lifestyles Coordinator, learned of Tom Kuehhas' need for help when he registered for the "LIVE" (Long Island Volunteer Enterprise) program. She offered the services of V.J. Perri's group --- six men with developmental disabilities who love outdoor work.

The first project the Lifestyles group tackled was painting the back garden fence. Tom calls the area "The best kept secret in Oyster Bay."

The garden is maintained on a regular basis by the North Country Garden Club which regularly clean up and maintain the re-creation of a Colonial-era garden.

The six men were hard at work under the supervision of AHRC Activities Coach V.J. Perri on several glorious days last week. V.J. said that Oyster Bay passersby were all enthusiastic and complimentary about the work of the Lifestyles group. One of them was Florence Higgins of Oyster Bay Cove, who was pleased to see the young men at work and mentioned it at the Rotary meeting at the Homestead Restaurant.

"That's why we're here," said Mr. Perri. "We can make a valuable contribution to the community. It's great to get recognition and to be welcomed by the people in town."

AHRC's Lifestyles is a program of Nassau AHRC, a nonprofit membership organization. Nassau AHRC is now celebrating 50 years of fulfilling the promise for children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. AHRC will be announcing events for this year-long celebration. For more information, please call 626-1000, ext. 1134.

Please call Tom Kuehhas at 922-5032 for more information on the Maritime Heritage Fair for Children. Admission is $5 per person, with children under 5 years of age admitted free.