If you wander into Hallockville on any given Tuesday, you just might find a group of talented men with hammers in hand, cheerfully fixing or building something. Hallockville would not be what it is today without the efforts of the Tuesday Crew who have helped make the museum farm the community resource it is today. John Anderson of Sag Harbor was instrumental in bringing the Crew to Hallockville for the first time over 20 years ago. John recently passed at age 98, and the Hallockville family is grateful for his long-time dedication.
The Crew is currently comprised of David Higbee, Jim Calkins, Ben Zukosky, Willie Martin, Gary Ristau, Dick Romeo and John Consiglio. The group of skilled craftsmen got its start on a ship restoration project in Greenport and soon found itself helping not-for-profits on both the North and South Forks. David, a past Hallockville Board member, has been keeping track of the many and varied jobs completed by the Crew, and recording their work is a job itself—the over 1400 projects fill 53 lined pages.
There is no building or structure at Hallockville that has not been touched and improved by the Tuesday Crew. When the Cichanowicz House was donated to the museum farm, it was – in a word – a wreck. The Crew rehabilitated the main floor from the bottom up, providing for the valuable museum space that now showcases the Polish immigrant experience. They also constructed a rental apartment on the second floor, an important revenue source and often providing needed housing for staff.
Likewise, the Naugles Barn was in very bad shape when it was moved to Hallockville from farther down Sound Avenue. The Tuesday Crew ripped out and replaced flooring, and repaired doors and windows. Ditto for the Trubisz and the Sprout Houses. And in the Hallock Homestead, they repaired the flooring in the parlor and dining room using recycled period wood recovered from the Homestead Barn.
There is so much more – just to name a few- we thank the Tuesday Crew for:
· Building the bell tower in front of the Hudson House
· Erecting new columns on the Homestead front porch
· Building the display shelter structure for the Farmall tractor
· Replacing the shed on the west side of the Homestead
· Restoring the portable lavatory trailer (critical for renting the Naugles barn)
· Putting a new cedar roof on the shoe shop
· Repairing the smokehouse
· Rehabilitating the outhouse
· Tearing out the rotten floor of the pig sty, pouring new cement and building the new quarters for our friends Millie and Bear
· Building a new cow feeder
Oh, and did you see the new picket fence along Sound Avenue in front of the Homestead? This is made up of 500 handcrafted spindles and spans over 200 feet. And they are not done yet.
John made the long trip from Sag Harbor to the North Fork many hundreds of times over the last 20 plus years. He cheerfully engaged with many projects at Hallockville and at the end of every session John would say “We did some good today.” This has become the Crew’s mantra. Our heartfelt thanks to the Tuesday Crew. We will always remember John and all he did for Hallockville.
Written by Christine Killorin
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