Levittown students may remember bus driver Edward Zuchelli who retired two years ago. Zuchelli, who lives in North Massapequa likes to keep busy and learn new things. That all came together recently, as he joined the volunteer crew working in wooden boat Building J on the Town of Oyster Bay’s western waterfront, helping to construct the ship.
Zuchelli said, “Last year, in September, I saw an article in an Anton Media Group newspaper, with a picture of Herb Schierhorst and Bill Shepherd standing by the door to Building J. I spotted Herb, who I had worked with and thought, ‘Well, let me go down there and check it out.’ It interested me. I like to learn new things. I filled out the paperwork and Hank Tiska, project manager welcomed me in.”
Zuchelli has lots of skills to offer. He worked for 32 years in what used to be known as Meadowbrook Hospital, when it was, “in 1972 an 18-story building,” he said, and where he worked with Herb, to when it became Nassau University Medical Center. After leaving NUMC, Zuchelli drove a school bus for Atlantic Express Transportation for 12 years for the Farmingdale district, and drove five years for the Levittown School District. “After that I was looking for something to do.”
Zuchelli is at home on the water. During the Vietnam War he served in the Navy as an engineman. He and his wife MaryLou have two sons, Edward and Brian. Both attended the Farmingdale schools. Edward was a field goal kicker on the football team and played lacrosse and soccer as did Brian. Today, one is with the Pipe Covers Union and the other works with Homeland Security in California.
As for the skills he needs for wood ship building Zuchelli said, “I knew how because of all the work I did at my home: carpentry, a little bit of electrical work… a little bit of everything.”
Zuchelli said he teams up with Ed Peterson, the Ida May project manager. Peterson explained another aspect of his job, “I manage the building. Josh (Herman, shipwright) tells me what to do and I delegate the work to the rest of the guys.
“I work with Ed on whatever he is doing, but not just Ed, I need to work with everybody to make sure they know what to do.”
Zuchelli was glad to hear that the Ida May Project got a new delivery of tree logs to feed into their sawmill.
“That’s great. We had run out of wood and now we’ll have a lot to do this week.” It’s a happy crew.
The volunteers work Tuesdays and Thursdays in Building J. Visitors are welcome, as are more volunteers. The need for hands on help is a function of wooden boat building. Each needed part is separately created to follow the ships specs. They are building the shop the old fashioned way, a step back in history.
The volunteers have signed onto the project for the long haul with an expected ETA of three years. The prize down the line is that the Ida May, as her sister-ship the oyster sloop Christeen, will serve as a floating classroom for marine education and recreation but with greater capacity. Additionally, the Ida May will be able to offer dinner cruises on the Long Island Sound. The Christeen is famous for her harbor tours, sunset sails and private charters.
The Ida May Project has received a NY State Parks Department HAS matching grant of $173,451. Each volunteer’s hour of work is valued at $26.45. The greatest challenge for the project is raising $100,000 in cash to pay the shipwright and buy materials.
If you are looking for a worthwhile project to support this holiday season, donations can be made online at idamayproject.com or by check made out to the Christeen Corp and mailed to P.O. Box 386 Oyster Bay, NY 11771. For more information call 516-305-9204.
