Sophomore Michael Lambui Fills in Missing District History
Of all the people who contribute information and photos to the public information staff members that operate the Huntington School District’s website, few can match the specialized historical “detective” services of high school sophomore Michael Lambui.
After an article was posted on www.hufsd.edu in late November telling the story of former Robert K. Toaz Junior High School English teacher Ralph E. Thompson’s fatal fall off a trapeze in the school gym while practicing for a Thanksgiving assembly program, Mr. Lambui went to work.
On his own, the Huntington student posted an online request for a photo of Mr. Thompson’s gravesite in Long Island National Cemetery, which was known as Pinelawn when the teacher was buried there in November 1953. After he obtained the photo, its existence came to the attention of the district’s public information staff who reached out to Mr. Lambui.
Since then, the sophomore has provided assistance in tracking down gravesite photos of the district’s first superintendent, Robert K. Toaz, who passed away on April 15, 1938 and who is buried in the Memorial Cemetery of St. John’s Church in Oyster Bay. Those photos led district researchers to inquire about the family’s history with Mr. Toaz’s oldest grandchild, Alice Toaz DeBaun, who lives in Fort Meyers, Florida and who attended grade school in Huntington.
Mr. Lambui’s help has been appreciated and he has been trying to obtain a photo of the gravesite of former Huntington teacher and administrator J. Taylor Finley, who passed away October 3, 1975 and is buried in Pompton Reformed Church Cemetery in Morris County, New Jersey.
The teenager’s interest in historical detective work strikes close to home. “My grandparents on my father’s side passed away at a very young age,” Mr. Lambui said. “Whenever I have attended family functions I would learn more about them as people. My dad has always taken me to my grandparent’s gravesite at Long Island National Cemetery every Christmas. I was interested in putting together my family tree and had heard about a website called ancestry.com. In my research, I came across a site called findagrave.com and I could not believe when I put in my grandparents’ names, they were already listed. So I requested pictures of their gravesites and from there I started asking my maternal grandfather about the history of his side of the family.”
Mr. Lambui recalls being given a list of high school clubs at his freshman orientation. “The one that stood out the most was stage crew,” he said. “When it came time for the first meeting with Mr. [Ken] Gilbert and the existing stage crew members, I found it as something that I really liked and thought I could apply my technical and carpentry skills that I learned from my father, who is a carpenter.”
Mr. Gilbert is a perfectionist but even he was impressed with Mr. Lambui’s skill level and he started to include the then-freshman in more demanding projects. This year Mr. Lambui was approached by Bo-Ashley Brindley, a senior stage crew member who asked if he would be an intern with her and Brian Connell, learning and later working the light board.
“All of the lighting people are currently seniors and need someone to continue the function for the next two years,” Mr. Lambui explained. “In the beginning of my sophomore year at the first meeting, Mr. Gilbert wanted me to be a stage manager, but since Bo wanted me to be on the light board I had to turn his offer down.”
The teenager has many other interests, including playing golf with his grandfather. He even learned how to cook with his patient mother serving as the teacher. Mr. Lambui does yard work around the neighborhood, walks dogs for owners and was kept busy this winter with snow-blowing jobs.
School is going well. “I love all my classes and teachers, but the class that interests me the most is computer graphics with Ms. Mohanty,” said Mr. Lambui, whose work has been displayed in the district’s art show.
As for the future, Mr. Lambui is thinking about “something along the lines of forensics and criminal justice or possibly pursuing a career in stage production.”
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