Going through the newly redesigned exhibits at the Theodore Roosevelt Museum at the Old Orchard at Sagamore Hill was especially engaging, on Sunday, Jan. 25 because the building was filled with museum volunteers taking their first look at the finished project. It was also the day some of the children who were in the focus group that was a part of the planning process came to see the exhibit.

The official ribbon cutting for the gala opening took place the day before, on Saturday, Jan. 24, and was sponsored by the Friends of Sagamore Hill and the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

"This exhibit represents an important opportunity to tell more fully the story of Theodore Roosevelt's life and career at the site," said Gay Vietzke, Sagamore Hill superintendent. "The story of TR is varied and complicated and we now have a venue to share that richness. We are hopeful that this exhibit will help people understand some of TR's influences and achievements which have left his mark on the presidency and on America."

The exhibit opened for public viewing on a regular basis from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. beginning Wednesday, Jan. 28. The current days of operation for Sagamore Hill are Wednesday through Sunday with the site being closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and federal holidays. (For further information call 922-4788.)

Dignitaries attended both days, including the wife of TR impersonator James Foote, Joni Foote, who was in charge of the refreshments on Saturday and Sunday. She said there were 90 guests for the grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony. "It was a beautiful day. Folks commented that they enjoyed the exhibit and the refreshments were good," she said.

Dr. John Gable said attending the ribbon cutting on Saturday were Judge Melissa Jackson, a great-granddaughter of TR (who came with her husband and son Theodore) and Sam Hornblower, a great-great-grandson of TR. Both were part of the program. Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto spoke of the quality of life in Oyster Bay and said, "The spirit of TR is still being reflected in the community."

Dr. Gable said the supervisor walked through the exhibit and was impressed by the TR quote:

"I am not in the least a hero; I am a perfectly commonplace man and I know it; I am just a decent American citizen who tried to stand for what is decent in his own country."

Also attending were James Pepper, assistant regional director of the Northeast Regional Park Service and Tom Campbell, Friends of Sagamore Hill chairman.

National Parks Service Planner Ellen Carlson said after visiting the exhibit, "You really learn plenty here!"

Sunday was a great day for Brad Smith, a volunteer tour guide for 10 years who said, "It's great to have all the artifacts out on display where the general public can see them. These are things you can't display in the house," he said. He pointed to a picture of TR boxing and said, "TR had a boxing accident and lost the sight in his left eye while he was president of the US. He sparred with his staff members in the basement of the White House while president. He even got the middleweight champion of the US to come to the White House and box with him."

The volunteer staff includes Jerry McCue and Christine Ghent. Mr. McCue was a social studies teacher. Ms. Ghent answered her own question: "Where do good teachers retire to? To Sagamore Hill to Volunteer." Ms. Ghent is a volunteer curator who has been getting books for the site since 1987. She was a librarian in the Glen Cove schools.

What made the day especially interesting to the volunteers is that they had been part of the process, which included proofreading the material. Sagamore Hill Curator Amy Verone said, "I'm a happy person today. I've been working on the show for a long time and I'm very happy to get it open and available to the public - so I'm a happy girl!"

She had challenged her staff on Sunday to check the exhibit for any errors they might have missed as they proofread the material. Curator Verone said on the opening day, Saturday Jan. 24, someone found an error in a caption. "We are going to put in a clarification."

She said, "Our volunteers have been reading the scripts and the panels." She agreed it was like working for a newspaper and looking for any errors but said. "It's like going over the same edition over and over. You need a fresh eye. We've found three problems, but I'm giving out dollars for any new things they spot," she said.

"I found something that is not an error, but something that needs more explanation," said volunteer Kathy McLeavy of Northport.

Theodore Roosevelt Executive Director Dr. John Gable said, "The new museum fits the house nicely." He said some new additions included the famous Lincoln ring, now on display and the bust of TR, made of resin so you can touch it. The bust has been on exhibit, but in a case, for the last 40 years," he said.

A unique addition to the exhibit is a ring that contains a strand of President Abraham Lincoln's hair. In death, a strand of Lincoln's hair was cut off by a physician. It was given to John Hay, his private secretary who had been Lincoln's secretary of state. It belongs to the TRA and has never been on public exhibit. Mr. Gable is not worried about security - the entire museum is alarmed, he said.

Three objects, hard to see in the home, have a place of prominence in the exhibit - a Russian flagon and two samurai swords. Attending the opening were two men involved in the upkeep of the samurai swords, Ron Bonanno and George Precht. They are members of the Metropolitan New York Japanese Sword Club. They took the sword apart to study it. The blade was made in the middle 1300s; the scabbard is from the 1800s. The blade was signed in1408 by Sanemitsu and rests on a Tachi, a formal court mount.

On Sunday, Gay Vietske said to the entire staff, "The completion of the project was a really long time coming. I feel very blessed, to come to Sagamore Hill in the last moments of the project." She thanked the Sagamore Hill staff for their extraordinary work over the last two years, saying that, "The interpretation staff kept visitors happy [in spite of the fact they couldn't visit the Old Orchard site]. The curatorial staff poured their hearts and souls into the exhibit. My thanks to the maintenance staff on the huge amount of work done on building the new, now handicap accessible museum with heating, air conditioning, climate control and sprinkler systems. Thank you to Dr. Gable and the TRA who supported us throughout the project and helped with financial contributions."

She thanked the Friends of Sagamore Hill for their support. She introduced Ellen Carlson, "who will lead the creation of a general management plan (she is a planner with the National Park Service in Boston) as she talks to everyone as we set a vision for the future." Ms. Vietske asked people to get involved as much as they can in that project.

She added, "One of the best things about working here is the staff. They always say 'thank you' something money can't buy!"