Historical Society leader looks back and ahead

Seafordite Judy Bongiovi has one foot in the past and the other foot in the future. As the new president of the Seaford Historical Society, she intends to expand upon the work of her predecessors as well as develop educational programs in the community. Meanwhile, she hopes to begin the Herculean task of identifying the museum’s vast holdings. “There is so much here,” she said. “I want more people know about this gem, right here in Seaford.”

Bongiovi, who has lived in Seaford with her husband, Stephen, since 1982, became a member of the Seaford Historical Society when she retired in 2006. She started as a volunteer for the annual Harvest Fair, then became recording secretary, then corresponding secretary and is now president.

“We are pleased as punch,” Charles Wroblewski, outgoing president of the Historical Society, said of Bongiovi taking the reins. “She is very involved in the community — at St. William’s, here at the Historical Society and as a citizen member of the Seaford Chamber of Commerce, so she knows about the community’s issues and needs. This will be a smooth transition.”

Bongiovi will serve as president for two years. She was inducted at a ceremony on May 14 inside Seaford’s old schoolhouse, now the Seaford Museum. The ceremony took place just before dusk, because the museum’s interior work, including overhead lights, has not been completed. “We had to get out before sundown,” Wroblewski explained.

“We are working hard to finish the museum,” Bongiovi said. “We need to do the floors and hopefully we can re-open in September.”

The museum has undergone a major renovation, under the direction of Wroblewski as well as directors Frank Allaire, Carla Powell, and the late Bill Powell.

“The renovations began when we discovered problems with the heating system,” Bongiovi explained. “We put in a split unit for heating and air conditioning, then realized this 1893 building had no insulation. We took down the walls to insulate, then began the task of rewiring.”

Additionally, the society replaced walls and ceilings. “We’re finally near the finish line,” she said. All renovation work will restore the museum to its original condition as the third schoolhouse in Seaford.

Outside gardens were replaced and replanted. Boy Scouts from Troops 239 and 581, as Eagle Scout projects, did some of the work.

This is just the beginning for Bongiovi, who hopes the museum will grow into a community center. “When the Seaford Fire Department had the schoolhouse they had all kinds of events there, including weddings,” she said. “Now wouldn’t that be nice.”

Bongiovi also envisions the museum as a place to provide educational programs for children and adults. ”We want to bring in more scouts, run school programs as well as increase the number of [adult] programs,” she said.

Sometime in July or early August, the society will have two local baymen come in to speak with the children about life on the bays. “They bring in things for the kids to touch, so it’s a real hands-on experience for them,” Bongiovi said.

“She has been reaching out to the children in the community. It’s something she believes we must do,” Wroblewski said. “We want to bring in a wide spectrum from the community.”

In October there’s an adult program — Aunt Barbara — who is the top Tupperware salesperson and a neighbor from Massapequa.

And there is the Seaford Historical Society’s big event, the Harvest Fair, held the last Sunday in September that features “something for the entire family — even an old-fashioned scarecrow contest,” she said.

One of Bongiovi’s long-term goals includes a “rigorous program to identify our holdings,” she said. “We have thousands of pieces including a wedding gown from 1883 and a mahogany breakfront. We also have photographs of Babe Ruth when he came to Seaford for hunting and fishing.”

She said her husband, the society’s corresponding secretary and another avid historian, attended a seminar at the Oyster Bay Historical Society to learn about preserving and scanning documents. “Everything needs to labeled so it can be displayed,” she said.

In addition to Bongiovi, the society has several new directors including Karen Kohlmaier Cass and Patrick Martz. Wroblewski will remain as a director to pursue his passion “doing research and lectures.” Other officers are Allaire as vice president, Marilyn Fannon as treasurer and Veronica Gaglione as recording secretary.

“New blood is good for the Seaford Historical Society,” Wroblewski said. “We are full steam ahead. We wish her the best.”