Storytelling with Bay House Owners and Waterfowlers

Waterfront Heroes asks: Who has saved our shoreline communities and nautical traditions? Who has helped to preserve New York’s legacy as America’s greatest port? How does this work impact our environment, our economy, and the development of our region? What work remains to be done?

The Waterfront Heroes exhibit, created by Long Island Traditions and City Lore, honors ten Waterfront Heroes and their contributions to the connected waterways of our region.

Please join us on October 13th at 1 pm for a special program featuring bay house owners and waterfowlers. Bay houses are small shacks that stand on the South Shore's marshlands in the Town of Hempstead that were originally built in the 1700 and 1800s by fishermen, baymen and duck hunters for shelter while they harvested clams, salt hay or went duck hunting. Through the years they have been passed down among their families. On October 13th, you'll meet the Muller Family - Bay house owners Laura, Allison, and Larry Muller - who will share their knowledge of what makes a bay house a part of our heritage. Also participating in this special program is bay house owner and waterfowler Dennis Carr of Meadow Island who will discuss the work that waterfowlers do to help preserve the marshlands of the south shore.

“They say that not all heroes wear capes,” says co-curators Nancy Solomon of Long Island Traditions and Steven Zeitlin of City Lore. “Sometimes they wear waders, wool caps, and rubber raincoats, boat shoes, sunglasses, or life jackets. This exhibit pays homage to the unsung champions of New York harbor, the women and men who help to sustain our working waterfronts, restore historic vessels and other objects destined for the junk yards. These working men and women carry on the occupational culture of our waterways so that future generations can learn of New York’s crucial maritime heritage.”

The Oyster Bay Historical Society is located at 20 Summit St, Oyster Bay. Funding for Waterfront Heroes is provided in part by the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.