A school district that traces its origins to February 1657 is sure to have a history that is fascinating and that’s certainly the case with Huntington UFSD. Much of that history is cataloged and displayed in the School Heritage Museum, but artifacts continue to surface in the unlikeliest of places.
Teacher, administrator, mentor, friend and founder of Huntington UFSD’s School Heritage Museum, Jack Abrams wore many hats over the years, always contributing in one way or the other to the rich traditions and history cherished across the district.
Long before the phrase urban renewal found its way into America’s lexicon, the Huntington School District erected a four room school on School Street in Huntington Station. The structure, built in 1906 for $6,500, was Huntington Station’s first school.
A few years after the town was settled a group of community members came together to hire Jonas Holdsworth as the first school teacher in Huntington. Given a four year contract, he commenced class on February 11, 1657 in a private home. Huntington UFSD traces its origins to that day, 364 years ago.
Lou Giani’s love affair with wrestling began as a junior at Robert L. Simpson High School as Huntington High School was then known. On the horsehair filled mats in that dusty old room in the building’s basement, the sport took hold in the teenager’s life, propelling him to the 1960 Olympics and a National Wrestling Hall of Fame coaching career.
The Rock at Huntington High School has been the canvas upon which students and community members have painted heartfelt messages for decades. Located on the corner of Holdsworth Drive and the northern entrance to the campus, the large rock most likely originated in the New England area. It was dragged down to Long Island during the Ice Age and left here when the Earth’s temperatures warmed and the ice melted and gradually retreated to the north.
The Huntington High School boys’ cross country program was first organized in the fall of 1923 by physical education director W.H. Grigson. That year he took several members of the team to the 11th Annual Columbia University Cross Country Race at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. They competed for the Gutavus T. Kirby Trophy.
Pride. Huntington High School students have always possessed it in abundance. It was evident even a century ago and probably decades earlier, too.
It has crossed many minds, but there have been few answers. Until now. How did Huntington High School happened to acquire its distinctive Blue Devil nickname and logo, with its piercing eyes and formidable horns?
Once a piece of history is tossed into a garbage can it’s usually lost forever. Brian Hansen doesn’t want that to happen to any Huntington School District related artifact. So send the curator of the School Heritage Museum a message first and he’ll be a happy man.
Legendary Huntington High School football coach Joseph Lucey has passed away. He was 91 and residing in East Quogue.
Faced with growing enrollment just a few years after it opened Woodbury Avenue School and Lincoln Elementary School, the Huntington School District decided to erect a stately looking brick building on Bay Avenue in 1928. Named after Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale, the school served children from the Halesite and Huntington Bay areas.
Legendary teacher and principal Jack Abrams, who founded Huntington UFSD’s School Heritage Museum to preserve artifacts and share the history of the district and later became an essential component of that same history has passed away.
Long before there was a national Math Honor Society chapter at Huntington High School there was a math club called Sigma Mu. It was formed in 1926 “by a group of students who desired to advance farther into mathematics than what the school offers,” according to the 1931 yearbook.
The Nathan Hale chapter of the National Honor Society at Huntington High School was organized in 1954. It will celebrate its 65th induction ceremony this fall.
Dozens of students are expected to be involved in this year’s drama club at Huntington High School. Since it was founded, the club has entertained tens of thousands and produced well over a hundred plays. Now entering its tenth decade, the interest in an organized club devoted to acting and stage production has never been stronger.
Encouraging the free exchange of ideas and thoroughly debating and discussing positions on every side of any issue has always been one of the hallmarks of the well-rounded education provided to youth studying in the Huntington School District.
Huntington High School’s Nathan Hale chapter of Mu Alpha Theta, the National Math Honor Society will induct 41 new members during a ceremony next Monday night. The scholarly organization’s historical roots run deep, stretching back more than 90 years.
Once a piece of history is tossed into a garbage can it’s usually lost forever. Brian Hansen doesn’t want that to happen to any Huntington School District related artifact. So send the curator of the School Heritage Museum a message first and he’ll be a happy man.
With a history stretching back 360 years, the Huntington School District has its fair share of mysteries. Unraveling them and discovering what really happened takes time and plenty of research. Some of the stories have happy endings and others don’t. This one doesn’t.
Surrounded by flowers and plants, a large gold-plated sculpture sits serenely along the main walkway near the entrance to Southdown Primary School. It’s been there for more than 40 years, but few, if any, of the hundreds who pass it by each day have any idea of who it honors or why it’s there.
Since 48 leading citizens came together in 1793 and pledged the funds needed to erect a school building devoted to providing the young people of the community with a classical high school education, Huntington has been on the cutting edge of classroom instruction and has been sending its graduates to the top colleges in the country and into every career field imaginable.
Sensing the need to add another elementary school to meet the needs of a growing community, the Huntington School District purchased an eight acre tract of land on Oakwood Road more than 56 years ago and in 1961-62 erected what would later be named Jefferson School, in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and the author of the Declaration of Independence.
Huntington schools have been known to close for snow storms, ice storms, hurricanes and similar calamities, but because of a beached whale? It happened; it really happened.
Frank DeGraff was an affable fellow who students and faculty colleagues took a liking to. After serving a stretch as a math teacher, he spent the last 19 years of his career as the assistant principal at J. Taylor Finley Junior High School before retiring in June 1984. He recently passed away at 90 years old.
One of Huntington High School’s greatest coaches ever passed away suddenly last week. Aaron Littman, who taught physical education over parts of five decades and won three Suffolk titles and the 1975 Long Island championship as head coach of the Blue Devil boys’ lacrosse team was 79 years old.
Retired Huntington School District teacher and principal Edward Abrahamson passed away on November 15. He was 86.
Nearly three dozen former Jefferson School colleagues recently held a reunion, bringing back many fond memories for members of the group.
Huntington, like the rest of Long Island and the world, was a very different place in the 1930’s. It was the era of the Great Depression, of legions of unemployed, of storm clouds forming over Europe and of bread lines even on Main Street. It was also a simpler time when the local high school was the center of the universe for many teenagers and their families. It was a time of Friday night bonfires in Heckscher Park, social events in the school cafeteria and auditorium and an annual five-day senior trip to Washington, D.C.
It’s certainly a startling photo when viewed today. Huntington High School students and their faculty advisor on the front steps of the building holding rifles.
The School Heritage Museum was established in December 1985 to serve as the official depository of the Huntington School District’s traditions and history. Beginning with eight cartons of assorted pieces of memorabilia, the collection has grown to include thousands of artifacts, photos, documents and pieces of school lore. Among the items are school illustrations from 1794, science equipment from 1898, gymnasium benches from 1910, building plaques and cornerstones dating to 1910 and even 1920’s era drinking fountains and the bell that rang out from the original high school, which stood from 1857 to 1909 on Main Street at the site of the current town hall.
The Heritage Museum, which is located in Huntington High School’s room 140, has effectively chronicled 350 years of public education in the community. Artifacts include a complete set of school yearbooks since the first one was published in 1930 and annual bulletins from prior years, decades of district newsletters and newspaper clippings detailing school milestones, 19th century diplomas, historic athletic award banners, trophies and cups, distinguished alumni displays and quirky items such as the letters that once spelled out the name Robert K. Toaz Junior High School high atop the first junior high built in Suffolk and the megaphone used at the 1939 homecoming festivities.
Individuals, community and school groups are welcome to visit the facility and learn more about the history of the district and the students and staff who studied and worked here through the years. Customized tours can be arranged by calling the curator at 673-2048.
Brian Hansen assumed the post of School Heritage Museum curator on July 1, 2012. He is only the second curator to lead the museum, having taken over from the institution’s founder, Jack Abrams.
Mr. Hansen obtained an undergraduate degree in communications (radio and television) at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and earned two graduate degrees in early childhood education/special education and English as a second language at St. John’s University.
The current curator interacted with Mr. Abrams in the time leading up to his appointment and Mr. Hansen received the founding curator’s imprimatur. He has worked as a substitute teacher in Huntington, as a full-time teacher in the New York City public schools and as a private tutor.
Mr. Hansen has been a freelance producer and writer for many years, including work as a coordinating producer/segment producer, story coordinator and associate producer for various VH1 productions. He also gives guitar lessons.
The curator’s personal interests include writing children’s books, writing and playing music, coaching sports, technology and computer production.