Women's History Month - Jodi Picoult

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Smithtown Matters is proud to recognize the accomplishments of women.  It is fascinating to learn the wonderful and interesting ways women have made their mark on the world.  Throughout March, SmithtownMatters will give a brief history of women who made or make a difference.  

Day 24- Jodi Picoult - Author (Born in Nesconset - May 19,1966)

(Reprint from Writers.com) Jodi Picoult, 44, is the bestselling author of 18 novels: SONGS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE (1992), HARVESTING THE HEART (1994), PICTURE PERFECT (1995), MERCY (1996), THE PACT (1998), KEEPING FAITH (1999), PLAIN TRUTH (2000), SALEM FALLS (2001), PERFECT MATCH (2002), SECOND GLANCE (2003), MY SISTER’S KEEPER (2004), VANISHING ACTS (2005), THE TENTH CIRCLE (2006), NINETEEN MINUTES (2007), CHANGE OF HEART (2008), HANDLE WITH CARE (2009), HOUSE RULES (2010) —- the last four of which debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list —- and her newest novel, SING YOU HOME (2011).

Picoult studied creative writing with Mary Morris at Princeton, and had two short stories published in Seventeen magazine while still a student. Realism —- and a profound desire to be able to pay the rent —- led Picoult to a series of different jobs following her graduation: as a technical writer for a Wall Street brokerage firm, as a copywriter at an ad agency, as an editor at a textbook publisher, and as an 8th grade English teacher —- before entering Harvard to pursue a master’s in education. She married Tim Van Leer, whom she had known at Princeton, and it was while she was pregnant with her first child that she wrote her first novel, SONGS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE.

In 2003 she was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction. She has also been the recipient an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association, sponsored by the Margaret Alexander Edwards Trust and Booklist, one of ten books written for adults that have special appeal for young adults; the Book Browse Diamond Award for novel of the year; a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America; Cosmopolitan magazine’s ‘Fearless Fiction’ Award 2007; Waterstone’s Author of the Year in the UK, a Vermont Green Mountain Book Award, a Virginia Reader’s Choice Award, the Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award, and a Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award. She wrote five issues of the Wonder Woman comic book series for DC Comics. Her books are translated into thirty-four languages in thirty-five countries. Three —- THE PACT, PLAIN TRUTH, and THE TENTH CIRCLE, have been made into television movies. My Sister’s Keeper was a big-screen released from New Line Cinema, with Nick Cassavetes directing and Cameron Diaz starring, which is now available in DVD.

She and Tim and their three children live in Hanover, New Hampshire with three Springer spaniels, two donkeys, two geese, eight ducks, five chickens, and the occasional Holstein.

Teachers Make An Exit - Together

By Pat Biancaniello

Union President Rich ForzanoOne minute they were there filling almost every seat in Smithtown High School West’s auditorium.  One speaker, teacher union president, Rich Forzano, addressed the Board of Education and then they were gone in an amazing display of unity.  If they had stayed a while longer they might have heard the alumni who spoke eloquently about the quality education they received while students in the Smithtown School District.  But they didn’t stay.  If they had stayed, they might have heard the parents who spoke about the commitment and dedication they have seen from teachers in the school district.  But they didn’t stay.  And if they had stayed, they may have heard the taxpayers who spoke about the dilemma they were experiencing, no longer able to afford the taxes and yet desperately clinging to a belief in quality education for their children.  But many of the teachers didn’t get to hear any of it because after their spokesperson addressed the Board they stood up and walked out en masse. 

Rich Forzano, in a brief conversation before the meeting, said there were people on the Board who have been misrepresenting the Union’s positions.  “Smithtown teacher’s have been working without a contract and currently there are no negotiations.  We want negotiations to begin and we want to negotiate in good faith.”  “Governor Cuomo’s education budget cuts are a horrible recipe for the devastation of education.  Long Island has taken a disproportionate hit in the education cuts.” In his speech before the Board, Forzano stated that the teachers are willing to work with the board “The negotiations have never been about the unwillingness of the Smithtown Teachers Association to recognize the time in which we live.”

The audience watched as many of the teachers exited the auditorium leaving 24 people waiting to speak in the audience participation part of the meeting. Many people who addressed the board expressed frustration and some anger at the teachers for leaving.  Most expressed concern for the message the students who were present received by teachers walking out of the meeting.  The students were lined along the walls of the auditorium standing beneath wall banners bearing the words commitment, scholarship and leadership. 

Before the meeting I spoke with three high school students responsible for organizing the students Erin Fitzpatrick, Briana Kearney and Madiha Saeed.  They told me they were there to listen, learn and show support for art teachers Mr. Halem and Mrs. Breslin.   “We have heard that there will be cuts to AP Art and we want the Board of Education to know that art is not a lesser part of the school. As important as math is to some students that’s how important art classes are to students who are planning their careers around the arts.”

Not much was resolved at the Board Meeting Tuesday night there appears to be an $11.2 million budget shortfall.  Speaker after speaker urged the board and teachers to work together and maintain the focus on a sustainable plan for the quality education Smithtown has always provided.  

Women's History Month - Amanda Daflos SHS Class of '96

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Smithtown Matters is proud to recognize the accomplishments of women.  It is fascinating to learn the wonderful and interesting ways women have made their mark on the world.  Throughout March, SmithtownMatters will give a brief history of women who made a difference.  

Day 23 – Amanda Daflos - Businesswoman, Advocate, Concerned Citizen of the World

Amanda Daflos graduated from Smithtown High School in 1996.  Amanda attended Hamilton College in Clinton NY and received her master’s degree from the University of Colorado.  Amanda currently works for Deloitte Consulting and resides in California.

Amanda’s affinity for Nepal started while an undergrad at Hamilton College.  She traveled to Nepal and spent seven months living in the home of a family in the village of Kopan.  While she was in Kopan she worked at learning to speak and write Nepali. Becoming fluent in the language she then traveled the country on her own, examining the role of women in the Nepali school system. Her time in Nepal opened her eyes to the rich cultures of Nepal. 

After she returned to the United States she continued her education earning a master’s degree from the University of Colorado.  In Colorado she founded Aleigh Productions, a public relations and event consulting firm specializing in work with non-profit organizations.  It was Amanda’s goal to promote individuals and corporations by bringing their special events to life. 

Nepal remained a part of Amanda’s life.  She became the Director of Programs for the International Mountain Explorers Connection (IMEC).  The IMEC is a non-profit organization focusing on assisting people who live in developing mountain regions throughout the world.  While serving as director she focused on building partnerships for sustainable travel with western tour operators. Amanda has also been involved in issues involving porter rights (the treatment of indigenous people who work for and travel with tours).  She has lectured on the topic of porter rights at industry and academic conferences.

Amanda has not strayed from caring and concern for people. About Nepal,  “It’s definitely one of the most impoverished places I’ve seen, but to most of the people that I’ve met, it’s just kind of the way life is,” she says. “I think it’s the norm, so maybe it’s easier to deal with, or maybe it’s just a different way of looking at life. But it’s always struck me the way they can find a lot of kindness, in spite of all the challenges they face.”(Amanda Daflos as quoted in the Hamilton Review Online).

Amanda, along with John Oliva, co-founded Nepal Trek and Trail Run to expose others to the wonders of Nepal.  They take tourists, who sign up for a ten-day hike and run (running is optional) tour, through Katmandu and the Annapurna Mountains.  Some of the funds raised by the trek are used to support the Himalayan Cataract Project.

Women's History Month - Soledad O'Brien - Smithtown HSE 1984

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Smithtown Matters is proud to recognize the accomplishments of women.  It is fascinating to learn the wonderful and interesting ways women have made their mark on the world.  Throughout March, SmithtownMatters will give a brief history of women who made a difference.  

Day 22 - Soledad O’Brien was born Maria de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien on September 19, 1966.  She was raised in St. James and graduated from Smithtown High School east in 1984.  Soledad attended Harvard University in 1984 but left before graduating.  She eventually received her degree from Harvard and received in 2000. Soledad O’Brien is best known for her work at CNN.

Honors and Recognitions

O’Brien’s work has been honored several times, including a local Emmy for her work co-hosting the Discovery Channel’s The Know Zone.

In 2007, O’Brien was awarded the NAACP President’s Award.

She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, which named her the Journalist of the Year 2010 [24] and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She is a member of the Board of Directors of The After-School Corporation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding educational opportunities for all students.She also serves on the board of directors of The Harlem School of the Arts.

She was named to Irish American Magazine’s “Top 100 Irish Americans” on two occasions. She is also on Black Enterprise magazine’s 2005 Hot List. Also in 2005, she was awarded “Groundbreaking Latina of the Year” award by Catalina magazine.

O’Brien has given several keynote speeches over the years, including the undergraduate commencement at Bryant University in May 2007, where she was presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree,[25] the convocation speech at Cornell University’s Commencement in May 2007, a speech at Binghamton University commencement in December 2007, and the keynote speech at the 2008 annual National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Conference in Boston, MA in March 2008.

In April 2008, she became the first recipient of the Soledad O’Brien Freedom’s Voice Award, an award created in her name by Morehouse School of Medicine. “The award was created to recognize her accomplishments and willingness to be a voice for the voiceless in our society, and her determination to cover stories that might otherwise go untold. It will be given annually to mid-career professionals who serve as catalysts for social change in their given fields.”

She has been named in People’s 50 Most Beautiful in 2001 and in People en Español’s 50 Most Beautiful in 2004.

In November 2008, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health awarded CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien the Goodermote Humanitarian Award for her efforts while reporting on the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Asian Tsunami.[26]

“Ms. O’Brien has shown the world tragedies of human conflict, natural disasters, chronic and infectious diseases,” said Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. “In addition to focusing attention on the people impacted, she has shed a light on how humanitarian efforts can help alleviate suffering and where current efforts have fallen short. Ms. O’Brien has challenged all of us to think and act in ways that offer humanitarian answers to the problems of the moment and the problems of the century, including public health issues.”

During a panel discussion for the 50th National Convention for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated in New Orleans, LA, O’Brien announced that she would be inducted as an honorary member of the sorority in February 2011. She was inducted on February 7, 2011 during the Sorority’s 22nd Annual Delta Days in the Nation’s Capital. (Reprinted - Wikipedia)

Women's History Month - The Women Of Smithtown

By Kieran McGovern

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Smithtown Matters is proud to recognize the accomplishments of women.  It is fascinating to learn the wonderful and interesting ways women have made their mark on the world.  Throughout March, SmithtownMatters will give a brief history of women who made a difference. 

Day 21- The Historic Women of Smithtown

We all know of great, inspirational women in history whom all have had profound impact(s) on society at large. Some names that come to mind are Maya Angelou, Eleanor Roosevelt and Dolly Madison. But what about local women? People do not always consider the women who have done great things and created positive change in Smithtown, NY.

In fact there are quite a few such women but, unfortunately, great women of Smithtown have typically “lived in the shadows of the men,” according to Brad Harris, President of the Smithtown Historic Society. However, as far back as the Colonial Period, women were helping to sow the seeds of what we now call our hometown. Women like Ruth Norton Blydenburgh  (commonly known as Widow Blydenburgh).

Widow Blydenburgh (1738-1802) owned and operated the Blydenbugh Tavern, which was frequented by British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. She was well-respected as the local shopkeeper and a good woman, in general. The Blydenburgh Tavern was located in close proximity to the Smithtown Library, but was burnt down before the Library was constructed in the 1950s.

Tamer Wren (1890s-mid-1900s), who lived during the 19^th century, was a former slave known as a mustee (someone of African and Tribal American descent). She served as the Mills family’s nurse the abolition of slavery. Wren once delivered testimony in a court of law, very uncommon for most 19^th century women, let alone a mustee woman and former slave.

Other historical 19^th century women include Cornelia Stewart Butler (1846-1943) and Bessie Smith-White(1862-1950), daughters of Judge Lawrence Smith.  Both were active community members and philanthropists, contributing many to important causes. Smith-White, who married New York City architect, Stanford White, lived in the Smith House (which has been maintained by the Smithtown Historic Society) located on East Main Street.

Smithtown in the 1900s saw even more significant contributions by women like Cornelia Peek, Smithown Library’s original librarian. Literature professor, Kate Molinoff (1907-2001), who taught in schools and published studies on Walt Whitman, which are on display at the Smithtown Library. Barbara Van Liew (1911-2005) and Charlotte Ganz (1908-1990) were passionate historians. Van Liew was a highly active community member and architectural preservationist. Ganz edited Colonel Rockwell’s Scrapbook, a listing of historic houses in Smithtown. Alice Throckmorten-McLean (1886-1968) was a Saint James resident and founder of  the American Women’s Voluntary Services, Inc., which provided aide and services for WWII soldiers and their families. It is worth noting that Throckmorten-McLean was passionate about horses, keeping many on her estate and playing polo. Brad Harris points out that, although there was a women’s polo club, she held her own against the men.

In the 20^th century, Virginia Malone was the Town of Smithtown Historian. She published a weekly newspaper column for 30 years until her death in 1978, which came after a fall in one of the historic houses she loved so dearly.  Claire Nicolas White, originally from Holland, married Robert White, grandson of Stanford and Bessie Smith-White.  White is an author, poet and translator. She is a teacher and editor of a poetry magazine called Oberon.

Other 20^th century women of note include; Smithtown’s original telephone operator and one-time town clerk, Mae Edwards; Rosalie Psota Martin, postmaster (and not “postmistress”!) of the Smithtown Post Office from 1938-1952; Muriel Spahr (1923-2005), a well-known, charitable Smithtown realtor; Frances Hall and Thelma Drew, who promoted open-housing in Smithtown in the 1960; one-time Smithtown Society President, Louise Hall, who continues to be involved in local preservation activities; Sally Ann Slacke, CEO of Slacke Test Boring and advocate on behalf of women’s rights in the workplace.

Harris and Cathy Ball, historian at the Smithtown Library, assisted with much of this information. Harris notes that historic women in Smithtown “run the gamut from philanthropists like the Smith sisters (Butler and Smith-White) to ordinary, good neighbors to people like Alice (Throckmorten) McLean, who founded a nationwide organization.”

According to Ball, there are many other women of significant importance in Smithtown’s history.
“Women have unfailingly been an important part of history through all the ages of people,” Says Ball, “but they have not gotten their due in the history books… especially in Smithtown… so, I was pleased to be able to think a bit.” Ball believes the fact that more modern 20^th century women are known then those in earlier periods, is reflective of the Women’s Suffrage and Equal Rights Movement after the turn of the 20^th century, “women’s contributions, no matter how significant, often went undocumented (in those times).”

So while we all know of the high-profile, famous women, we must keep in mind the women who contributed to the community and shaped the place where we live: right here, in Smithtown. It is vital for us as Smithtown residents to know our roots so that we may continue to empower women to do great things in the future.