Smoke n` Cinders

Monthly Meeting
Sunday May 15, 11:00-3:00
Steve & Nancy Borakowski
15 Whitetail Lane
Commack, NY 11725
631-499-0363
May 2016
11:00-3:00
Smoke n’ Cinders
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE LONG ISLAND GARDEN RAILWAY SOCIETY INC
SAVE THE DATE!
The Summer picnic will be held on August 20 at Southaven
Park where we will again be the guests of the Long Island
Live Steamers. More information and a reservation form will
be published in the June newsletter. Bob Russo will accept
reservation checks at his home address and at meetings.
Volunteers are needed and may contact Bob to let him know they
can help.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to raffle winner Gregory Piro of Glen Cove who was the
winner of the Bachmann Thomas & Friends train set at the Planting Fields
Arbor Day celebration.
Inside this issue:
View From the Cab
3
From The Secretary
4
Tom’s Picture Puzzle
5
Chic Chat Corner
7
Monthly Photo Contest Winner
10
Golden Spike Nominees
10
This Months highlights:

Dinner Train p 6

Thanks to volunteers p 9

Summer Picnic
Raffle p 9
Smoke n’ Cinders Staff
LIGRS Officers
President (‘15-’16)
Tom Rizzo (631) 470.2217
tomjudyriz@optonline.net
Editor
Louise Sewall
(516) 541-4837
louisesewall@verizon.net
Dir-At-Large
Louis Cortese (‘16-’17))
(516) 681.0789
lvcjr54@verizon.net
Vice President (‘16-’17)
Mike Kmeth
(631) 757-3784
solarelectric@verizon.net
Web Master
Trish Iannacone
(516) 455-9259
ohmscrabtree@yahoo.com
Treasurer (‘16-’17)
Bob Sewall
(516) 541-4837
trebor11758@verizon.net
Membership Director(‘16-’17)
Karl Wagner
(631) 584-6619
sgauge@optonline.net
Dir.-At-Large (‘15-’16)
Rick Bishop (631) 475-5165
rewindswept@optonline.net
Program Director (‘15-’16)
Rich McGorty (516) 285-4710
thekegrr@optonline.net
Dir.-At-Large (’16-’17)
Bob Russo (631) 277-1813
pokey21@optonline.net
Secretary (’15-’16)
Nick Guarino
(631) 595-2062
maryb492001@yahoo.com
Club Contact: Karl Wagner
152 Northern Blvd.,
St. James, NY 11780
Phone: 631.584-6619
sgauge@optonline.net
2016 LIGRS Meetings &
Events Schedule
Dir.-At-Large (‘15-’16)
Frank Clemente (631) 838-0890
vfrfc@aol.com
LIGRS
Good & Welfare
Module Coordinator
Quartermaster
Video Librarian
Club Merchandise Coord.
Eileen Wagner
Dan Saporito
John Sakal
Nick Guarino
Georgiana Gaherty
(631) 584-6619
(631) 587-7282
(631) 754-6998
(631) 595-2062
sgfortthill@verizon.net
Date
Program/Notes
Time
Place
May 14, 2016
SATURDAY
Refurbish layout
10:00 AM
RMLI
May 15, 2016
Monthly Meeting
11:00 AM
Steve Borakowski
June 11, 2016
Club Anniversary Celebration 6:30 PM boarding
Essex Dinner Train, CT (see page 7)
June 18, 2016
SATURDAY
Monthly Meeting
11:00 AM
Bob Gibney
July 17, 2016
Monthly Meeting
11:00 AM
Tom Rizzo
August 20, 2016
Summer Picnic
11:00 AM-3:00 PM
LI Live Steamers, SouthHaven Park
August 27-28, 2016
Railfest
TBA
Riverhead, Railway Museum Of Long Island
September 10, 2016
BOD
10:00 AM
Karl Wagner
September 18, 2016
Monthly Meeting
11:00 AM
Ed Assaf
October 16, 2016
Monthly Meeting
11:00 AM
Rich McGorty
November 13, 2016
Monthly Meeting
11:00 AM
Northport Yacht Club
November 26-27, 2016 Tabletop display
TBA
Sayville Historical Society
December 4, 2016
Save the date
Snapper Inn
Page 2
Christmas Brunch
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
View From The Cab
We all missed Bruce and Catherine
Herlich. I planned on purchasing
$200.00 worth of plants for our setup to make up for what the Herlich’s used to bring us.
I have been trying to push participation in club events Susan Cortese saved the day with the help of a friend
in most of my columns. I guess maybe members real- Otto Keil owner of Emma’s Garden Growers. Otto
Keil and his son Craig very generously lent us hunly are reading them, because of the amount of our
members that turned out for the Planting Fields show dreds of dollars worth of plants. Thank you so very
much, it was really appreciated.
this past weekend. When I was the Membership Director and keeping attendance I don’t ever remember
(see more on page 8)
seeing so many members helping setup. It was really
nice to see our four newest members show up to help Our Fairy Garden Ladies did a beautiful job on their
presentations. They worked twice as hard to make up
setup this magnificent display.
for the Fairy Garden Ladies that were unable to participate. If we do it again at Bayard Cutting
this fall I hope we can get some more memWe were lucky Friday setting up, the weathbers to present their creations.
er forecast was for rain, but it turned out to
be a beautiful day. It got a little hairy setting
up the trestle with the new roadbeds, but
I want to thank Lou and Sue Cortese, Dan
after a short while we worked out the kinks
Saporito and Nick Guarino for going to seenough to get it up and running. We will
lect and pick up and return the plants for
need to make a couple of modifications for
the display. I really need to thank Bruce
the next time to make it less problematic.
Kropp for volunteering to pick up and return
But most members thought the roadbeds
the trailer to Riverhead. Everyone that
were well worth the expense. Ed Assaf and
Dan Saporito did a great job of coordinating the con- showed up pulled their weight to make this show a
great success. Thank you all for your ideas, and all
struction of the display with the pond in the center
the time and labor putting together this great looking
and the lower trestle interwoven around and under
the high one. Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday layout.
were great, for the weather and public participation.
Let’s hear it for Spring! It seemed like it was a long
time in coming, but it’s here at last.
Tom Rizzo
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Page 3
From The Secretary
Long Island Garden Railway Society Inc.
th
Executive Board of Directors Meeting, April 16 2016
Attendees: Tom Rizzo, President. Mike Kmeth, Vice President. Bob Sewall, Treasurer. Nick Guarino, Secretary. Karl
Wagner, Membership Director. Rick Bishop, Lou Cortese,
Bob Russo, Directors at Large. Dan Saporito, Past President.
Pat Russo, Member.
Smoke n Cinders for two months, they will be available for
purchase.
Club DVDs – Riverhead Museum has 13, Dan Saporito has
16, and Georgie Gaherty has 10, totaling 39 DVDs remaining
in our inventory.
Club Resource Library – Approximately 24 train related books
were donated to the club by the Huntington library. Tom Rizzo
would like Nick Guarino to keep some of the books and add
President Tom Rizzo asked for a motion to open the Board of them to our library collection. The remaining books will be
Directors meeting. A motion was made by Mike Kmeth and
sold off.
seconded by Karl Wagner to open the meeting at 10:16 AM.
Club Computer – Karl Wagner and Tom Rizzo are working on
Tom asked for a motion to read or accept the minutes from
getting the computer dedicated to membership up and runth
the January 17 Board of Directors meeting. A motion was
ning. There is still a problem printing the roster and call back
made by Karl Wagner and seconded by Rick Bishop to aclist.
cept the January BOD minutes.
Roadbed Project – Mike Kmeth developed a plan for building
Financial Report – given by Bob Sewall. Bob stated that for
roadbeds that attach to the tall trestle bents. The roadbeds
second quarter (1/1/16 thru 3/31/16) the club had a starting
provide a level surface for the elevated track. A committee
balance of $3948.71, with income of $3927.77 and disburse- was formed and the construction was done at the home of
ments of $4373.41 resulting in an ending balance of
Frank Clemente. The cost of the project has not been estab$3503.07. If you have any additional questions please contact lished.
Bob directly.
Golden Spike Awards – BOD to consider several members.
Membership – given by Karl Wagner. Karl stated that currentShows and Events:
ly the club has 33 individual members, 20 family
members, 2 extended family member (3 in a family)
Planting Fields Arbor Day Setup – April 23rd and 24th.
totaling 55 household memberships. The BOD votSetup April 22nd at 8:30 AM. We will be suppling our
ed to make Ernie and Marie DeCarolis lifetime
own
plants for the setup. A motion was made by Karl
members because of their years of active participaWagner
and seconded by Bob Russo to spend $200
tion in the club.
to purchase plants and flowers. Tom also suggested
Junior Membership – Ray Shelton will be developthat we use the Fantasy Gardens as a theme for the
ing a list of criteria allowing individuals under 18
display.
years of age to become members. There was some
th
preliminary discussion from the board regarding junior mem- Freeman Railroad Cleanup – May 14 at 10:00 AM, at the
Long
Island
Railroad
Museum,
Riverhead.
bership. A motion was made by Bob Sewall and seconded by
Lou Cortese to table the discussion until the next board meet- 25th Anniversary Dinner Train, Essex Ct – June 11th, boarding
ing in September.
at 6:30 PM. Dan Saporito reported that 33 people have registered for the trip.
Meeting Dates – See Richie McGorty to schedule a date to
host an outdoor meeting. All outdoor monthly meetings for
2016 have been filled.
Club Picnic – August 20th, 11:00 – 3:00, held at the Long Island Live Steamers. Bob Russo is the chairperson. The comClub Insurance – Nick Guarino contacted the insurance agent mittee consists of Pat Russo, Bob Sewall, Mike Kmeth, Tom
and advised him that we had a reduction in membership. This Rizzo, Paul Tobin, Bruce Kropp, and Richie McGorty. If you
would like to volunteer please contact Bob Russo. There will
resulted in a $140 refund from Nationwide Insurance.
be a meeting at Bob’s house before the picnic to discuss the
25th Anniversary logo - Club mugs with the 25th anniversary
arrangements.
logo need to be ordered before the end of the year. We are
Railfest – August 27th and 28th, at the Riverhead Railroad
also considering placing the logo on hats and pins. Richie
Museum of Long Island. We will be running trains at the FreeMcGorty to get pricing on club pins. Georgianna Gaherty to
man Railroad.
get pricing on club hats.
Bayard Cutting Arboretum Fall Festival – TBA.
Green Trailer - The tail lights on the trailer are working. Bob
Russo will be installing new tail lights on the fenders of the
trailer during the summer.
Sayville Historical Society Thanksgiving Setup – November
26th and 27th. This is a new venue for our club. It will be a
large table top display to usher in the Christmas season. The
Red Trailer - President Tom Rizzo asked for a committee to
event is advertised locally and attracts a large group of peodesign shelves and containers to more effectively house the
supplies in the red trailer. Preliminary volunteers are Lou Cor- ple.
tese, Mike Kmeth, Rick Bishop and Bob Russo.
Christmas Brunch – December 4th, 11:30-2:30. Mike Kmeth
Club Inventory – Frank Clemente gave the BOD a final count will be the new chairperson this year. The BOD is considering
of the inventory in the red trailer. The BOD has elected to sell the Sunday Brunch at the Snapper Inn located in Oakdale.
Final details have not been established. (go to page 6)
off excess items in the trailer. After the items are listed in
Page 4
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Tom’s Picture Puzzle (10 solutions on next page)
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Page 5
Solutions to picture puzzle
From the Secretary (continued)
Cradle of Aviation – TBA.
New Business:
Hechscher State Parks Fair – June 18th. Dan Saporito was
contacted by Don Fischer regarding the possibility of doing a
one day step up at Hechscher State Park. The set up would
have to illustrate how our club positively impacts the environment. There would be no electricity available to us. The BOD
decided that our club would not be able to participate in this
event.
th
Smithtown Historical Society Setup - September 18 . Several
members met with the director of the Historical Society to discuss the possibility of a ground display. The BOD elected not
to participate in this event due to lack of security. Our equipment would not be protected.
Planting Fields Arbor Day Event – Several members noticed
that LIGRS was not mentioned as an attraction in any of the
advertising for this event. Lou Cortese made the suggestion
that our contact person for this display meets with the public
relations person at the arboretum to insure that our club is
mentioned. The BOD accepted this suggestion.
There was a suggestion made that the club purchase a “G”
scale starter set to be auctioned off at the Planting Fields
ground display. Bob Sewall suggested that special auction
tickets be printed to avoid confusion at the time of the drawing.
The ticket would cost $5 each or 3 for $10.
A motion was made by Bob Russo and seconded by Mike
Kmeth to purchase the starter set. Motion accepted.
The next BOD meeting is tentatively set for September 10th at
the home of Karl Wagner.
President Tom Rizzo asked for a motion to close the BOD
meeting at 12:45 PM. A motion was made by Bob Russo and
seconded by Mike Kmeth to end the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted, Nick Guarino, Secretary.
Club Anniversary Dinner Train
Join us as we celebrate our 25th year on board the Essex Dinner Train Saturday June 11th 2016. The train boards at
6:30 pm and departs at 7 pm, returns at 9:30 $80. per person includes meal, tax and meal service gratuity and train
fare. Alcoholic beverages and soda are a separate cost and payable onboard, a gratuity for these beverages is customary (tea, coffee
and glasses of water are included with dessert). This is a self-drive trip is about 3 hours driving time to Essex. Please mail your reservation check for $80. Check payable to
Long Island Garden Railway Society, Inc. to Dan Saporito, 104 Sheffield Ave. West Babylon, NY 11704
(Please include your dinner choices.)
(Checks must be received by May 25th)
Page 6
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Chic Chat Corner
Our beautiful Fairy Gardens from the Arbor Day Display, accompanied by
Brittany Sparkles, a fairy from the circus appearing that weekend.
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Page 7
Plants Donated for Arbor Day Display
We would like to again thank the Herlicks for all the years that they donated the use of plants to
beautify our Arbor Day displays as well as the man hours they and their crew spent assisting with
the installation of the plants.
As mentioned in the View from the Cab column, we were fortunate to have friends of the Corteses
that are also in the business. Emma’s Garden Growers donated the use of plants to enhance this
year’s display. Below, see a brief history of their business taken from their online blog.
Otto Keil Florist/Emma's Garden Growers is a wholesale plant supplier with a long tradition in the service
of Landscape and Garden Center customers. Otto
Keil came from Germany in the 1930's with his brother Henry and together they began Keil Brothers
Nursery in Bayside, Queens. Otto eventually married
Emma Schwaner another German immigrant from his
home town in Frankenberg, Germany. In 1942 Emma
and Otto rented in Huntington Long Island, what was
formerly the estate greenhouses of Otto Kahn the famous (at that time) industrialist and symbol of fantastic wealth and began Otto Keil Florist. Several years
later Otto and Emma were able to purchase the
Page 8
greenhouses and several acres surrounding them.
(The original greenhouses they purchased are still in
use and are now approaching100 years in age.) In
the beginning Otto and Emma grew cut flowers which
they sold to the local and NYC trade. Later they added potted plants and spring annuals.
Today Otto Keil Florist/Emma's Garden Growers consists of four locations spread between Huntington and
the North Fork of Long Island and is run by Otto Jr
and his four sons Eric, Jeff, Greg and Scott.
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Many Thanks To Our 2016 Arbor Day Volunteers
See more pictures on Shutterfly at https://ligrs2016events.shutterfly.com/102
William Arndt
Edward Assaf
Richard Bishop
Babette Bishop
Steve Borakowski
Frank Clemente
Louis Cortese
Susan Cortese
Ernie DeCarolis
Joe DiBenedetto
Linda Dunn
Tom Dunn
Georgiana Gaherty
Steve Gaherty
Robert Garruba
Roseann Garruba
Geraldine Coney
Bob Gibney
Paul Giorrdano
Nick Guarino
John Hagedorn
Fred Holzkamp
Michael Kmeth
Bruce Kropp
Jack Lane
Joseph Luginsland
Kevin Mahon
Dorothy Mahon
Richard McGorty
Helen Nelson
John Pizzulli
Walter Poppe
Barbara Poppe
Thomas Rizzo
Judy Rizzo
Robert Russo
Pat Russo
Danny Saporito
Bob Sewall
Louise Sewall
Karl Wagner
For This Year’s Summer Picnic Raffle
These attractive structures, barn and gas/service station, donated and built by Steve Borakowski are this year’s Summer
Picnic raffle prizes. Tickets may be purchased from Richie
McGorty.
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Page 9
Monthly Photo Contest Winner
This month's winning photo was taken by tom Rizzo of an old bridge on his
Sandy River & Penny Copper Railroad
Golden Spike Nominations?
Golden Spike awards are now being considered by our BOD. Share your nominations
of club members with any of our directors or other club officers. (Their names and
contact information are listed on page 2 of this month's newsletter.)
Can’t Make A Meeting?
To ensure that a voting quorum is reached, and an official meeting held, pleas send a signed
proxy form to any of the club officers or the Board of Directors.
A link to a printable copy of the proxy form can be found on the home page of the LIGRS website.
See our distribution policy on the home page of LIGRS.org
Page 10
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Monthly Meeting
May 15, 2016
Steve & Nancy Borakowski
15 Whitetail Lane
Commack, NY 11725
631-499-0363
11:00-3:00
Take the LIE or Northern
State Parkway to Deer Park
Ave (Rte. 231) north.
Bear right onto Deer Park
Road East. Merge onto
Jericho Tpke. (Rte. 25)
Travel on Rte 25 for approximately 1.5 miles.
Turn RIGHT onto CALVERT
AVE. (Hess station on left,
fabric store on right)
Turn LEFT onto SPINNER
Lane.
Turn RIGHT onto WHITETAIL Lane.
SMOKE N’ CINDERS
Page 11
Happy Mother’s Day!
Happy Memorial Day!
Trains, Mother’s Love and Apple Pie
Visit us on the web @
www.ligrs.org
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE LONG ISLAND
GARDEN RAILWAY SOCIETY INC
Smoke N’ Cinders at P.O. Box
2002, No. Massapequa, NY 117582002
Newsletter of the Long Island
Garden Railway Society Inc
Advertising Policy
Advertisement shall in no way be construed as an endorsement of any product, manufacturer, product or reseller
by The Long Island Garden Railway Society. Inc. Commercial Ads or Ads from Non-members for large scale or
garden railway products are at a rate of $35.00/ full page, or $20.00/half page/issue. Artwork is the responsibility
of the advertiser, at the discretion of the editor. Ads From Members for large scale or garden railway items are
accepted at no charge and will run once. Ads may be repeated at the advertiser’s request, space permitting. Ads
should be submitted by e-mail to the editor. The deadline for ads will be the meeting prior to the next issue.