Thursday, October 1, 2026
If you felt a little extra spirit in your step over the weekend, it might just have been astrological in origin. Last Friday’s date, 11/5/10, is also Baldwin’s Zip code, 11510, a happy cosmic convergence that was observed throughout the hamlet in a number of ways, including discounts at local businesses, Spirit Days at schools and a general economic mantra encouraging residents to start “Shopping Baldwin First.”
The idea to celebrate the date began with Lenore Rust, a local photographer, who recalled a conversation with a friend. “She mentioned that 11/5/10 should be Baldwin Day,” Rust said, “and I asked, ‘Would you mind if I took that idea and tried to run with it?’ And, so, here we are.”
Rust asked Jim Scannell, the Baldwin School District’s vice president of instruction, about the concept at a September Board of Education meeting. Scannell, in turn, presented the idea to area school principals, who incorporated it into their curricula. Eventually, the concept of Baldwin Day took on enough momentum that “each school took its own approach in celebrating Baldwin,” Rust said.
To publicize the idea and the date, Ed Chiarello, director of fine arts, asked students to design posters and create photography announcing the occasion and the school Key Club helped put them on display around town.
Rust also helped recruit local business owners to get behind the promotional effort. “From a business perspective, I went around to all the local businesses and asked them if they would be interested in participating in such an event,” she said. “Over 50 businesses did. A flier was created, and Baldwin Graphics was kind enough to print fliers for the entire school district for free. Scannell’s office then distributed them, and Kathy Engelhardt of the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce was able to secure funding for advertising.”
With the word effectively hitting the streets, the community united behind the idea. There was a Pub “Crawl for a Cause” to benefit hospice care, which took in local watering holes — with and without alcohol — as well as numerous school-related activities. Among the ways in which district schools showed Baldwin pride on 11/5/10:
Brookside: Students and staff wore Brookside school colors, and teachers coordinated commemorations in each room. One class, for example, had a math lesson featuring word problems based on Baldwin history.
Meadow: Students and staff wore Meadow school colors, and teachers read and shared Baldwin history with their classes.
Milburn: Students and staff wore Milburn colors, and during lunchtime, Principal Mark Gray read the children a history of Baldwin and showed “then” and “now” posters that were donated to the school five years ago.
Plaza: Students wore Plaza school shirts and teachers shared Baldwin history with their classes.
Shubert: Students and staff wore blue and gold, and third-grade students created original T-shirts celebrating the day.
Steele: Students and staff wore Steele school shirts and participated in an assembly with Lucy B’s Jump ’n Fun.
Middle school: Students wore blue and gold and displayed their artwork in the Commons.
High school: Students dressed up to celebrate Baldwin Day. A group of students also helped deliver the hundreds of posters created by district children to local businesses.
Lenox: The Lenox Music Club performed a special song about Baldwin (see sidebar). The students also viewed a SmartBoard presentation entitled “Baldwin Then and Now,” and contributed to a time capsule describing their thoughts and ideas on the concept. This capsule will be hidden and reopened in 100 years for the next 11/5/10.
Comments about this story? CConnolly@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000.
