It was a great weekend. It started on Friday as the Stevenson Academy of Art opened at noon. Friday evening the Friends of Raynham Hall Museum held their annual auction at the Hoffman Center. It was a great evening of talk, food and fun. Scott Greenfield was the auctioneer and the bidding was brisk.

Sunday the Lions held their pancake breakfast and Palma Monaco Douglass was there taking photographs of the workers and guests.

Saturday and Sunday was an open house for the Stevenson Academy of Art. Local artists were there taking a look at what the school offers. There on Sunday, we met Tony Fabbricante (who has an invention that allows blind people to create paintings), Suzanne Dillenbeck (who showed us wonderful pastel drawings of her grandchildren) and Beth Williams who chairs cultural programs at the Oyster Bay High School. She wants people to know what happens to the funds they raise at their Gold Coast Gala. One of the things is a yoga class at the high school.

As we left the art academy holding a red rose that was a gift to visitors, we noticed the door open at the former Book Mark Café and walked inside, as did other people strolling around town. The new owners were there as workmen were painting the walls. A painter named Pat drew his name on the wall before he began rolling the rich chocolate color onto the plaster. "We always do that," he said." We remember our Uncle George telling us the same was true of workers in the giant New York skyscrapers.

The new restaurant will open in April and its name is Wild Honey. The young woman said they were from Port Washington.

The front of the restaurant has dark rose walls. There was music playing and the whole atmosphere was so relaxed and laid back, we are sure it will be a great place. We can't wait to go there for brunch.

As for the letter to the editor from John Hammond:

We welcome his letter. In fact he told us something we will have to research from his book on Oyster Bay. Theodore Memorial Park was designed as a memorial to TR and had various memorials to him in the park at one time.

It had a statue of TR at the entrance near the railroad about 50 years ago. (Where is that statue now?) We will take a lesson from Mr. Kappel and ask that there be more public input on the location of the statue. That includes asking the NYS DOT if they feel it is appropriate for an area of town that is one of two major traffic problems in the hamlet. As for the statue of TR as a Rough Rider - we want it, truly. We just want it in a setting worthy of the man.

So, let's have a focus group meeting. We are getting to know how to put them together in Oyster Bay. Here's for diversity and inclusion.

- DFK