For more than a generation, immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries and their children and grandchildren have settled in Port Washington, making significant contributions to our community and forming an important part of Port's history. Under the auspices of the library's Local History Center, the experiences of Latino families are being recorded, thanks to a grant received from the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York Archives, part of the Department of Education.

Elly Shodell, the library's local history director, said that the Latino Families project is part of a larger effort to identify the pockets of our population that are under-represented in the written and oral history and in the archives. Previous local history undertakings have included African-American families, the sandminers, and workers on the grand estates. "We want to inform the suburban community of the diversity and complexity of its past," said Shodell. She added, "About 15-20 percent of Port's population are of Latino background; it is overdue that their voices be heard. And, in 2003, I think that the Latino community is ready and willing."

One of the major components of the project is the creation of a scrapbook that will become a permanent part of the library's archives. Under the leadership of Dolores Girillo and Ellen Zimmerman (former TESL director and teacher respectively), TESL graduates and current and former teachers have been coming together to design ways to reach out to the Latino community. They are endeavoring to establish a chain of contacts that will reach throughout the community. We attended a recent meeting and were impressed with the enthusiasm and accomplishments of the TESL graduates. Included were entrepreneurs, computer scientists, lawyers, teachers, photographers, health care workers, homemakers, and employees in a variety of businesses. Girillo said, "We want to see where everyone is, to document the strength of the Latino community to see what they have done." She added that over 85 percent of the TESL graduates have gone on to college, commenting, "They are doing so well and are providing so many valuable community services, whether they are lawyers or custodians, bank tellers or landscapers." One of the graduates who attended the meeting, and who has been very supportive of the program, was Israel Guzmán, owner of the popular Mi Ranchito restaurants on Main Street and in Manorhaven. The next meeting of this group will be held on Tuesday, May 20 at the library. They are developing an invitation list for a major TESL reunion that will include alumni, family and friends. The event will be held on November 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Brunch will be served, and there will be music.

The scrapbook will include photographs and bios. Also included in the archival collection will be records of individuals; businesses; social, cultural and political groups, and sports clubs. The records being collected are such things as correspondence, invitations, diplomas, school papers, business records, fliers, photographs, church bulletins, meeting minutes, and the like. A survey form is now being developed to collect information; the library expects to distribute it in July of this year.

Following the collection of documents, the library will gather oral histories, resulting in audiotapes and transcriptions to be lodged in the Local History Center. The "Rediscovering Latino Families" project is projected to go on for three to five years, but the collection of information will be ongoing. Ultimately, the library expects that it will be published as a web site.

The Local History Center is reaching out to other organizations and other communities to gather information. For example, it will incorporate the results of a project currently being carried out by the Port Washington Schools in which current students will interview parents and other family members and write about their families' immigration experiences. This project is funded by an Excel grant, and is directed by Linda Scalice, coordinator of ESL for the school system. It will also include findings from a study being carried out by the Diocese of Rockville Centre on the churches in its catchment area.

Carol Clarke, an archival consultant, has been hired under the grant to help coordinate the publicity, mailing lists, and collection of documents.

For further information, or to learn how you can participate, call Carol Clarke at 516-883-4400 X107, Dolores Girillo at 516-767-4069 or Ellen Zimmerman at 883-3298. You can also e-mail the library at localhistory@pwpl.org.