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V O L U M E 3 , I S S U E 1

T H E F O G H O R N

F I S H E R S I S L A N D ’ S M O N T H L Y C O M M U N I T Y C A L E N D A R

D I D Y O U E V E R K N O W T H I S A B O U T N E W L O N D O N ?

A couple of months ago The Fog Horn received a very interesting piece of mail from Diana Fiske. Her friend was a volunteer for New London Main Street, a downtown revitalization program initiated by the National Trust for His-toric Preservation. When the big cruise ships were coming into the harbor last summer, these volunteers were there to help people coming off the boat learn more about New Lon-don and give them a little history. Diana sent us a copy of the notes the volunteers were given. Here are some interesting facts about New London, CT., the city we all come and go from.

Saturday, January 26th, 2008 will be a fun-filled evening, with dinner and a show, beginning at 7:00pm. At the Union Chapel. This has become an annual

event for the community and is a very special night. If you wish to see your fellow islanders, of all shapes, sizes and age showcase their talents for a captivated audience, you must come to this event. If you wish to see a certain members of your island community make utter mockeries of themselves, you must come to this event!

Accompanist Sandy Towle will be here for rehearsals on Wednesday, Jan. 16th and Wednesday, Jan. 23rd at 4:30 pm at the Union Chapel. Final rehearsals will be Friday, Jan. 25th at 4:30-6:00 and 7:00-9:00 at the Chapel.

Tickets will be going on sale soon and all proceeds go to the Sunday School program. Contact Union Chapel for details :788-7898

C O M E T O T H E C A B A R E T !

• There are so many significant buildings that the whole 26 blocks is a National Register Historic District.

• The Amistad landed HERE, not New Haven.

• Henry Hobson Richardson railroad sta-tion on the city pier is the last and largest of the HHR’s monumental public build-ings, in Romanesque Revival style (1888).

• One of New England’s largest collection of Tiffany windows (7) at St. James.

• Nathan Hale was misquoted: I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.

• Benedict Arnold was from Norwich. He burned New London down at the end of the Revolution in 1781-The reason so few pre-colonial and Colonial buildings are in NL even though the city was founded in 1646.

• Oldest continually operating courthouse.

• Eugene O’Neill summered in NL –Monte Cristo Cottage-only American dramatist to win Nobel Prize for litera-ture.

• The door on the US Custom House is made of oak from the USS Constitu-tion.

• NL is six square miles and a little over 25,000 people.

• Wyland’s Whale Wall #41 was painted in 1993, restored in 2006.

More fun NL facts to come!!

Page 2 T H E F O G H O R N

W H E R E I N T H E W O R L D I S B R O N Y A ?

Namaste friends and family!

I hope your holidays went well back home, this year was certainly different from the past and one to remember, camping under the stars in the Western Ghats of India, with roadside candle light singing as our bus broke down on Christmas eve. Everything has been going well and always full of surprises.

India is nearing to an end in less than a week and has surpassed all of my ex-pectations! I thought 8 weeks was going to unbearable but now I do not want to leave. The country has so much to offer and is extremely diverse with at least 18 recognized languages, a collection of religions, beaches, mountains, huge cities and beautiful farms each with their own unique culture. And full of color! I have traveled from Delhi to Nagpur, Pune, Dharam-shala, Mumbai and finally Dahanu. By plane, sleeper train, sleeper bus and jeeps and slept in 17 different beds which all have been an adventure. The lectures and field sites in India have been far more interesting to me with various topics such as indigenization, environment discourses, traditions, development and justice, social movements, development, agriculture, Gandhi, colonization, political economy, women's rights, BT cotton farming, farmer suicides, subsidies, health issues, wildlife conservation, urban biodiversity and spirituality and much much more. It is exciting and overwhelming all in one, I have no idea how I will ever be able to wrap this whole experience up and share it because this letter does it very little justice.

Currently I am on a farm retreat in Dahanu doing yoga, farm work, discussing traditional history of the Warli villagers, human rights, and environmental organizations and learning the skill behind artisanal fishing. And in my spare time (where ever that is), constructing a bamboo raft to go down river, possibly to the beach if I am lucky! It is a great place to relax and have the last week here staying put and getting my balance back before leaving for New Zealand. The group is excited to continue our worldwide adventure but sad to be leaving our friends, families and experiences here. I hope to get more pictures out as soon as I reach NZ and find some FREE TIME :)

Love,

Bronya

CONGRADULATIONS ART!

Art Baue will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Critical Care Medicine, an International organization, at their meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, beginning February 1st.

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S C H O O L C H R I S T M A S C O N C E R T

Here is a collection of pictures from the Fishers Island School Winter concert. There was a lot of good music and talented people performing that night. Nice decorations too!

Thanks to Linda Bean for the photographs from the Fishers Island School website!!

Page 4 T H E F O G H O R N

F I S H E R S I S L A N D S C H O O L D I G S D E E P

The third and fourth grade classes are exploring the island using archeology. Jill Paciorek, third and fourth grade teacher new to the island, was charged this year with teach-ing a curriculum unit about Fishers Island. She decided that instead of teaching a specific FI unit that she would relate every subject back to Fishers Island. For example, a unit on land masses and glaciers led to walks around the island looking for kettle holes and terminal moraine debris. A unit on the American Indian prompted a call to Cynthia Riley asking for her assistance on island “Indian sites”, which naturally led to a trip to the museum. (Thank you Pierce Rafferty.) While at the museum, students identified places on the island where Indian artifacts had been found and sought to find the artifacts on display that corresponded with site names.

Based on available evidence at the museum, students sought answers to the questions: “If you were an Indian 6,000 years ago on the island, what would you eat? What would you build a shelter with?”

Students made a list of some of the sites they would like to visit on the island. Dur-ing the warmer months, students will prepare a picnic lunch of “Indian food” and eat it where the Indians might have eaten.

The trip to the museum had an added benefit. It triggered student interest in the science of archeology! As a result, Ms. Paciorek and Ms. Riley are planning a late spring dig. With the students, they will identify places to dig looking for evidence of life prior to ours. What will they find? Fort Wright activ-ity, evidence of colonial life, Indian artifacts, or just muck and mud?

Ms. Paciorek is looking forward to combining social history with scientific inquiry. Her class will share their findings with you. Keep an eye out for these budding archeolo-gists!

If you have a suggestion on a good dig site, let Ms. Paciorek know. You can reach her at school.

This is a very interesting project and they are doing some amazing work.

We want to introduce the LISS to you and bring you some reports from

them in the coming months.

The LISS knows that to fully restore the health of the Sound, a cooperative

effort focusing on the overall ecosystem was needed. As a result, EPA, New

York, and Connecticut formed the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) in 1985,

a bi-state partnership consisting of federal and state agencies, user groups,

concerned organizations, and individuals dedicated to restoring and pro-

tecting the Sound. In 1994, the LISS completed a Comprehensive Conser-

vation and Management Plan that identified seven issues:

(1) low dissolved oxygen (hypoxia), (2) toxic contamination, (3) pathogen

contamination, (4) floatable debris, (5) living resources and habitat man-

agement, (6) land use and development, and (7) public involvement and

education. We will be bringing you information about what the LISS is do-

ing and how it is helping our waters.

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W H A T D O W E D O A B O U T B R O A D W A T E R ?

Broadwater Energy is proposing to permanently anchor a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) proc-essing facility in Long Island Sound. As large as the Queen Mary II, this factory would harm this estuary of national significance and begin the industrialization of Long Island Sound. Broadwater acknowledges that only 15% of the LNG stored there would be for use on Long Island, and energy officials on Long Island say that even this amount is not required to meet anticipated energy needs. Even more disturbing, the Broadwater project would delay the im-plementation of alternate energy strategies like wind and solar, increase our dependence upon foreign oil, imperil Long Island’s coastal environment and increase the risk of an envi-ronmental accident or terrorist attack.

Senator Schumer, Senator Clinton and Long Island’s Congressional Representatives Timothy Bishop and Steve Israel oppose the Broadwater plan. But they need help from their Congres-sional colleagues. It is time to call the New York State Congressional delegation to work to-gether to develop a strategy to prevent the establishment of the Broadwater LNG facility in Long Island Sound.

Also, Gov. Spitzer was given the Federal OK recently and now he needs to make his decision by Feb. 12. We need to write letters ASAP to Spitzer’s office saying why we oppose it, plus memories and why we love Long Island Sound.

Take action now to protect Long Island Sound and stop the development of the Broadwater Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal by contacting your congressional representative now!

You can write to Gov. Spitzer at:

Eliot Spitzer

State Capitol

Albany, NY 12224

518-474-8390

W E A T H E R J O U R N A L : A F E W H I G H L I G H T S B Y C Y N T H I A R I L E Y

Page 6 T H E F O G H O R N

January, a month of contradictions.

Jan. 2004, windiest coldest Jan, in over 50 years. From Jan. 5th-31st, the tem-perature went above 30 degrees only once. Real temperature and wind-chill brought the average daily temperature to 10 degrees. Jan 15th, 9 degrees, wind-chill –15. Jab 16th temperature was 0 degrees with a wind-chill of –19. It was like that most of the month. Wa-ter pipes were freezing all over the is-land.

Jan, 2005, 13 days clear, 9 days of rain, drizzle and fog., 10 days of snow-fall. For 11 days in a row wind-chill was below zero.

Jan. 2006, The month began with tem-peratures in the 48-60 degree range. Cherry blossoms were blooming, daffo-dils were out of the ground by about 8 inches. By Jan. 10th temps began drop-ping and hovered in the high 20’s - low 30’s the rest of the month. As cooler temps moved in, so did the whales! Fin Back Whales could be seen off the south shore of the island, while Pilot whales swam in Fishers Island Sound. There were more seals than normal and in more places than normal. Island residents were enchanted by whale watching. Ferry crossings were a delight as whale spouts seemed to escort the boat! On the south side of the island, one could find pockets of people stand-ing on shore at sunset, oblivious to the cold winds whipping their faces.

Jan. 2007, Will the whales return? The weather has been odd. From a normal seasonal chill of 20’s and 30’s to a frigid January 3rd with wind-chills around –9. Despite the sun, temps hovered around 18 degrees that day. But, Jan. 8th, it was a calm 60 degrees. Sweater weather.

NOW HIRING: Island Community Center is looking for a Director

The Community Center is progressing well. It is fully enclosed, and all exterior work is complete with the exception of land-scaping, which will be done in the Spring after the bulk of the work is complete.

Over the past six months, the Management Committee has met regularly to develop schedules, routines, programs, house-rules and other details necessary in operating the facility successfully.

After the first of the year, a search will begin in earnest for the Executive Di-rector. The individual in this position will be responsible for all aspects of the Center, and, as such, will need a broad set of skills and interests, as well as creativity. Major responsibilities will include day-to-day operations of the Center, program creation and membership development.

A detailed position-description will be available in early January; in the meantime, however, any-one with an interest in the job can send a resume or letter of interest to Mere Doyen at Box 464.

N O T H I N G B U T N E T S

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I . P . P C H R I S T M A S A N D W I N T E R L I G H T S C O N T E S T

The July issue of National Geographic has a comprehensive article, Malaria, Stopping a Global Killer, In which the writer states, “One of the best defenses against malaria is a gauzy piece of fabric –a mosquito net. Treated with insecticide and draped over beds, nets can cut infection by half and child deaths by a third.”

This is an interesting fact and there is a way to help with the problem that anyone can do. Buy a net for someone. Visit the website www.nothingbutnets.net and look at all the opportunities to help out with this prob-lem. It is a rather informative website and there are more that a few ways you can help get nets to people in need.

This summer The Fog Horn showed several pictures of some very cool rock sculptures down at the Race. They were cairns that our friend Thayer Talbott had taken pictures of on July 4th, 2007. We posted them to see if anyone knew who done it? In Decem-ber the cairns were featured again on the cover as they will be on the cover on the ICB Annual Report and we finally found out who made them! They were constructed by Marc and Karen Reich. Karen is the Director of the CT Fellowship Summer Youth Camp and they build them as a lesson in patience. Thank you for the cool art and for letting us know who built them!

M Y S T E R Y S O L V E D !

P.O. Box 464

Fishers Island, New York

06390

Phone: 631-788-7990

Fax: 631-788-7990

Email: mharr@fishersisland.net

T H E I S L A N D C O M M U N I T Y B O A R D

Operation Hours

Compost Facility: M-F 8:00am-12:00pm, 12:30pm-4:30pm

Sat. 8:00am-12:00pm

Doctor’s Office: M & Thu. 9am-12pm & 6:00pm-7:00pm.

T,W,F 9:00-1:00pm

Ferry Reservations: M-Sat. 9am-12pm

Ferry Freight Office: M-F 7:45am-12:30pm, 1:30pm-4:45pm

online at fiferry.com

F.I. Bowling Sat. 6:30pm-9:30pm

F.I. Museum Call for appointments 631-788-7239

online at fergusonmuseum.org

F.I. Library: M&F 1pm-5pm, W 1pm-6pm

Sat. 9am-12pm

Drink and Vessel: M-F 3pm-5pm,

Sat. 10am-12pm, 3pm-5pm.

Island Hardware: M-F 8am-3:45pm, Sat. 8am-12pm

Island Mobil: M-F 8am-4:30pm, Sat/Sun. 8am-12:00pm

Our Lady of Grace: Tu,W,Thu,F-7am S/S-6pm. Sun 10am

Peepfrogs: Call for appointments 631-788-7668

Post Office: M-F 8am-5pm, Sat. 8am-1pm

window hours: M-F 8am-1pm, 2:15pm-5pm

Sat. 8am-11:15am

Union Chapel: Sun 10am Worship and Sunday School.

Texaco: M-F 8:00am –4:15pm

Transfer Station: M,W,F 7:30am-12:30pm, 1:30-4:30pm

Sat. 7:30am-11:30am, Sun. 10am-1pm

Village Market is the News Cafe M-F. 7:30am-1pm, 3:00pm-5:00pm Sat. 8:00am-1:00pm, 3-5pm Sun.

Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

Call C.J. Finan for information

788-7412

COUNSELING SCHEDULE

Dr. Ron Casey will be on the Island for counseling on Fridays: January 18th and Feb. 1st. He can be contacted at 203-318-8399 or by email at

roncasey@yahoo.com

Fishers Island Home Basketball

Come cheer for our young people when the school teams play home games!

January schedule:

Jan. 5 Boys 10:00 and Girls AWAY

Jan. 12 Boys 12:30 and Girls 2:00 HOME

Jan. 15 Boys JV 3:00 and Girls JV 4:30 AWAY

Jan. 19 Girls V 1:00 and Boys V 3:00 AWAY

Jan. 25 Boys and Girls AWAY

Jan. 26 Girls 2:00 and Boys 4:00 AWAY

Jan. 29 Boys AWAY

Jan. 31 Boys JV 4:00 and Girls JV 6:00 HOME

What or who is this?

This is the head of a stick found on the beach. It had washed up from some-where, but where? And what does it mean? It is a stick long enough to be a walking cane and it has a snake carved onto it as well as this two-faced man. If you can make up a good story about this stick, send it to the Fog Horn and we will see if anyone comes up with a good one.