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Fair Fighting for Seaford's history
Although it is plagued by structural issues, lack of funding and a lack of support in the community, the Seaford Historical Museum has found a glimmer of hope in one of Seaford’s younger residents.
Nine-year-old Mark Simonson Jr., a student at Seaford’s Manor Elementary School, is trying to do his part to support the museum, setting up a lemonade stand outside the building and advertising that all proceeds will go to preserving it. Thus far, he has raised $196 for the museum, with a goal of collecting $500.
The museum, run by the Seaford Historical Society, is housed in a historic building on Waverly Avenue that dates to 1893. The building served as a schoolhouse until 1917, when the school board decided that the school population had outgrown it. The building sat vacant for two years before becoming a firehouse in 1919, and served Seaford in that capacity until 1975. The fire department donated it to the historical society, which then turned it into the museum.
“The building itself is a Seaford artifact,” Judy Bongiovi, the historical society president, said.
The artifacts inside the building include old pieces of clothing, pictures and paintings of historic Seaford, glass bottles, and gear that belonged to the “bay-men” of Seaford’s past. The most notable item in the museum’s possession is an authentic Seaford skiff, a world-famous boat model that originated in Seaford and was intended for use in the bays and marshes for hunting waterfowl, digging for clams, and fishing.
According to Bongiovi, the boat in the museum is one of the last remaining original Seaford skiffs in America.
“The Mystic Village, from Connecticut, came down and wanted to purchase this,” Bongiovi said. “We, of course, said no. So they instead have a copy of this one up there.”
Over the years, the building has fallen into disrepair, and although there has been an effort from a few dedicated historical society members to help preserve it, the building is still deemed unsafe for large gatherings and needs more funding and support from the Seaford community.
Bongiovi said that the community has written to local politicians as well as state parks officials requesting funds, but they have gotten nowhere. “The funds are just not available,” Bongiovi said. “So we’re depending on the community.”
Museum officials sent letters to residents in the immediate vicinity asking for help, and nine-year-old Mark immediately stepped up to the plate.
He moved to Seaford when he was very young and has become deeply involved with the historical society. In September of 2021, he was named the society’s youngest member.
Karin Simonson, Mark’s mother, said they met Bongiovi and her husband, Steve, while they were doing renovations to the museum. “So Mark (Simonson) Sr. decided to come help them paint,” she said. “So ever since he was little, Mark Jr. has been running around in this building. He’s always interested in what’s going on here.”
The nine-year-old was apparently very upset when he found out that the building was closed down because it was deemed to be structurally unsound in October of 2021, and he was determined to do something about it. He had always wanted to operate a lemonade stand, and decided to combine his desire for that with his love for the museum.
“We had someone come within the first five minutes,” the boy said. “Some people came and didn’t even want lemonade. They just wanted to donate money to the museum.”
Bongiovi said the historical society is grateful to the youngster for his efforts, and hopes that it will inspire the Seaford community to rally in support of the museum.
“If everyone donated five or 10 dollars, we would meet our goal,” Bongiovi said. “And we are so grateful to Mark Jr. and his family for bringing this issue to the forefront. For a young man to have this much community spirit is commendable. He is our youngest lifetime member. He will be president some day.”
