Thursday, June 19 was the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum’s 8th Annual Summer Solstice/ Luau Celebration at the Sagamore Yacht Club. This Hawaiian-themed celebration is one of the museum’s most profitable fundraising events and welcomed summer with food provided by the Harborside Delicatessen, an open bar, live Polynesian entertainment and more than 100 guests.
“We have three major fundraisers,” said John Specce, president of the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum, “and the luau is fairly substantial in helping the museum do what it does.”
This event was held in order to raise money to help restore the Oyster Bay train station to how it looked in 1902, when the town’s most famous resident, President Theodore Roosevelt, used it regularly. Many donations have already been received from organizations, government partners and individual donors in order to successfully revive this historic location, an important site in Oyster Bay’s and the United State’s history that is usually overlooked.
“Our train station is the only true presidential rail road station in America,” commented Gary Farkash, an OBRM Board of Trustees Member, “Heads of states, kings and queens would take the railroad to visit President Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill and he would meet them at the station.”
The museum will also benefit from the station’s restoration, receiving some renovations of its own. The museum will reside next to the train station on the end of Audrey Avenue where its interior and exhibits will be updated in order to preserve the history of the station and promote education to visitors. The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 2005 and will be revived to reflect its significance.
“What spurred the restoration was love for the station.” said Farkash, “It’s our station and a reminder that we are a piece of something much greater than us. Our significance as a town in history is important.”
For more information on the museum, its fundraisers and the restoration, please call 516-558-7036 or visit www.obrm.org.
